Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Josh Bell has some crazy power. In fact, what he’s currently doing is unprecedented in National League history.
Bell hit a home run in the sixth inning of Wednesday’s game with the Chicago Cubs. It was not only his 26th long ball of the season, but also his 59th extra-base hit. The latter total broke an NL record set 16 years ago by none other than Albert Pujols.
Any time you can pass an achievement done by Pujols in his prime, you’re doing something special.
Amazingly enough, though, the significance of that hit goes beyond the record. Bell’s power stands in direct contrast to what his Pirates did (or failed to do) a season ago.
As Jesse Rogers of ESPN noted, the 59 extra-base hits is only two short of Gregory Polanco’s throughout the entire 2018 season. Polanco’s 61 extra-base hits led the team.
Whatever Bell is doing right now, he should keep it up.