Every time Bo Jackson gets a hit, George Bell gets the feeling he could be gone.
And Bell has been getting that feeling a lot lately.
Jackson continued his celebrated comeback Tuesday by going 3 for 4 and standing around in the outfield waiting for a fly ball that never came in a 3-2 Sox loss to the Florida Marlins.
The three hits, one an infield single, raised Jackson’s spring training average to .393 (11 for 28). He is tied with Ron Karkovice for most hits on the team and is just two behind Milwaukee’s Robin Yount for the American League lead.
Those impressive numbers, and the fact that Jackson played the outfield for the first time Tuesday, have Bell wondering about his future.
“If he comes back, I don’t know where I’m going to be,” Bell said. “I guess I’ll have to find a job someplace else.”
Maybe not. The Sox insist they can carry both players, particularly if Jackson can play left field a few dozen times this season. They still don’t know whether Jackson can do that. Tuesday’s debut in the outfield was inconclusive. Only two balls were hit Jackson’s way, and both were clean singles that rolled straight to him.
But even if he can play the outfield, Jackson would be little more than a less expensive, more famous clone of Bell-at least in terms of what each can contribute to the Sox.
Both are primarily designated hitters, although both could be used sparingly, and dangerously, in left field or at first base.
Bell played his first game at first Tuesday and made one error. Jackson has played three games at first base this spring and made three errors.
Before his hip replacement, Jackson was a solid left-fielder. Now the best anyone expects is that he would be competent, which is what Bell is when he is at his best in the outfield.
The last time Bell played outfield on a regular basis was in 1991, when he made 10 errors in 149 games with the Cubs.
Bell’s strength, and the reason the Sox agreed to pay him $3.6 million this season, is that he is one of the best designated hitters in the game. He leads all major-leaguers with 909 runs batted in during the last nine seasons, including 112 for the Sox last year.
The way Jackson is hitting this spring, he probably could drive in 100 runs as the DH. And for a lot less money than Bell. The most Jackson could cost the Sox would be $2.41 million-$910,000 base salary if he makes the team and another possible $1.5 million in incentives.
“Baseball is a business,” Bell said after Tuesday’s game. “You can’t predict anything. If they feel somebody else can do the job I did last year, I can’t help that.”
Bell’s name has been mentioned in trade rumors since last winter. The Sox are looking for more starting pitching. They probably could give up an outfielder, a relief pitcher or a backup catcher. But the quality player they could most easily trade would be Bell.
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General Manager Ron Schueler said Bell’s name came up earlier this spring in talks with the Seattle Mariners about pitcher Randy Johnson.
“Bell’s name came up in Seattle because they brought it up,” said Schueler. “I have not talked to one club about George Bell.”
Schueler said he was talking to several teams about relatively minor trades.
” `Minor’ really isn’t the word because we’re talking about big-league ballplayers, but we’re not talking about a major trade,” he said. “We’re talking, but not to the extent that we’re getting close to anything.”