About Heath
Heath Justin Bell (born September 29, 1977 in Oceanside, California) is a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball with the San Diego Padres. Heath is married with four children and resides in San Diego, California.
Heath attended Columbus Tustin Middle School and Tustin High School in Tustin, California, which is about 50 miles from his birthplace in Oceanside and 90 miles from his current job in San Diego. He lettered in football, basketball, and baseball. After high school, Heath attended Santa Ana College where he was named a senior All-American in 1997.
He was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 69th round of the 1997 amateur draft but did not begin his professional career until 1998, when he signed with the New York Mets as an undrafted free agent.
Heath made his major league debut on August 24, 2004 pitching two scoreless innings with three strikeouts against his current club, the Padres. On November 15, 2006, Bell was traded to San Diego, along with pitcher Royce Ring, for outfielder Ben Johnson and relief pitcher Jon Adkins. In 2009, Trevor Hoffman signed with the Milwaukee Brewers and Heath was promoted to closer.
He was named to the National League All-Star team in 2009 and 2010, making an appearance in both games. He led the NL in saves in 2009, and was named the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year in both 2009 and 2010.
