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Josh Bell takes part in batting practice during the MLB All-Star Game back in July. (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
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In a 'good place,' Josh Bell thinks he’s close to breaking out

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

In a 'good place,' Josh Bell thinks he’s close to breaking out

Josh Bell isn’t worried.

After mashing the baseball in a way that drew comparisons — both statistical and contextual — to Hank Aaron, Albert Pujols and Willie Stargell through his first 86 games, the Pirates first baseman has endured a rather large slump over the past month.

In 22 games (21 starts) since July 6, the day after his last home run, Bell has hit just .173 with four doubles, five RBIs, 13 walks and 22 strikeouts in 75 at-bats — a whiff rate of nearly 30 percent.

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What has happened to Bell out of the All-Star break has sort of mirrored the Pirates’ problems, but Bell believes the tide is about to turn. Over the past handful of games, Bell feels like he has his timing back and a breakout is only a matter of time.

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“The last few games I feel like I’ve been in a good place timing-wise,” Bell told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Sunday morning. “I feel like I’m not swinging out of the zone as much as I was before. I feel like I’m making pitchers coming to me, especially [Saturday]. I had three three-ball counts. Drew a walk. Put two balls in play.

“Got a lot of baseball left. I’m not worried about hitting homers or driving in runs. I’m worried about timing and how well I pick up the ball. If I’m in a good place with those two things, the rest will take care of itself.”

There are numbers to back up Bell’s assertion.

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Over his past 11 games, Bell has hit seven balls with an exit velocity of 105.5 mph or higher, four of those at 109.1 or more. During that stretch, Bell also has a .300 batting average on balls in play (BABIP).

While those numbers have translated into just a .231/.348/.308 slash line, they do indicate that Bell is hitting the ball hard — and some decent things are happening when he does.

“The balls over 105, hitting it off the sweet spot and driving it on a line somewhere, I feel like once I start repeating that swing, repeating that timing, that’s when balls start traveling, that’s when balls start flying over the fence,” Bell said. “I’m just trying to repeat that and get back to that.”

The good thing, Bell said, is that he hasn’t been tempted to tinker during all of this.

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Previously the rub on Bell was that he couldn’t leave things well enough alone. When slumping, he would compound the problem by tweaking his footwork or stance or approach or something.

Now, Bell insisted he hasn’t changed a thing. He’s trusting the swing that got him here, and he’s trying to focus more on timing than anything.

“I feel like the only thing that’s changed the last month is a bit of timing,” Bell said. “I felt like I kind of lost that sync that I had with the pitcher’s arm slot, but I’m back with that now. It’s nice knowing that I haven’t gone to a toe tap or more crouched stance or anything like that.

“It’s also nice knowing I performed to a standard that’s worth striving for again. Can’t hit the panic button and say I’m going to try something new. I’m going to flush it, get back to that point and continue to drive the baseball.”

Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.

First Published: August 4, 2019, 3:55 p.m.
Updated: August 4, 2019, 5:08 p.m.

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Josh Bell takes part in batting practice during the MLB All-Star Game back in July. (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
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