It wasn’t easy to meet Josh Bell last weekend during the Philadelphia series. Not because he avoids the media. On the contrary, he is a very committed and likeable man.

It was difficult to catch up with him because he had worked so hard. Every time I spoke to him, he was either on his way to catch early ground balls, taking early batting practice, on his way to a hitters’ meeting, or tending to his big body in the trainers’ room.

Until the All-Star break, Bell was not having a great season with the Miami Marlins. With a batting average of just .228, nine home runs and 39 RBIs through July 14, this was not how Bell envisioned his 2024 season.

After all, he had a solid second half with the Marlins last year after the trade deadline, hitting .270 with 11 home runs and an OPS of .818, helping Miami to a surprise Wild Card berth. Although they lost to the Phillies in the Wild Card series, Bell went 4-8 with two doubles in the two games.

So it was certainly frustrating for Bell to be in a slump for most of the first half. As the Marlins prepared for the All-Star break, manager Skip Schumaker told his players, “Nobody’s coming in during the break, I want you to relax.”

Bell, however, had other plans. “Skip, I have to get in, I NEED this.”

Just before the All-Star break, he called his father, Earnest Bell, and asked him to come over during the break and help him work on his swing. His father’s influence was felt throughout his youth.

“The last time he coached my team, I was eight or nine (years old). After that, he basically just coached me personally and let someone else run the team. He was there for basically every one of my hitting lessons. We had a lesson once a week and then practiced five or six days a week in the garage to try to get everything right.”

So they got to work. “My dad and I worked out, we boxed, pushed sleds, I just went back to basics and did some exercises that I did in high school. That’s how I got out of the slump I was in.”

That’s an understatement. In his final 10 games with the Marlins after the break, he hit .342 with five home runs and 10 RBIs. He had five consecutive multiple hits during that stretch.

Amazingly, however, Bell was placed on waivers by the Marlins and eventually traded to the Diamondbacks just minutes before the MLB transfer deadline on July 30.

Gold Glove first baseman Christian Walker had just suffered a strained oblique abdominal muscle and was diagnosed as being out for at least three weeks. Suddenly the D-backs needed a first baseman and they struck.

Bell made an immediate impact, hitting two home runs in his first game with the team on August 2 at Pittsburgh, leading to a thrilling 9-8 victory for the D-backs. In 10 games with Arizona, he has five multi-hit games, including a double, a triple and four home runs. His batting average is .286, his OPS is .991 and he has seven RBIs.

Bell was not only a hitter with the bat. He also played excellent defense, made all the plays and got the hardest ball at first base. That wasn’t always the case, as he didn’t have the best reputation as a defender or positive stats.

That hasn’t stopped him from working hard. Bell is seen making early grounders every day. Still, he has openly acknowledged his defensive deficiencies.

“It definitely hasn’t been all sunshine and roses at the position, but I think if I put in the work, it will show in the game. After this talk, I’m going to go right out there and work with Tony (infield coach Perezchica). He’s taught me a lot over the last week, and I’m definitely looking forward to moving on and going into the offseason with some of the things I’ve learned so far.”

Shortly after our conversation, he was actually on the field working with Perezchica, along with Geraldo Perdomo and Kevin Newman. Afterward, Perezchica gave glowing reports.

“I think he likes the work he’s getting. You have to give him credit for being a worker. A lot of guys are banged up this time of year. I’m sure he is and everyone else is too. But he comes here and gets the work. He’s just working on the fundamentals of the infield. Glove presentation, changeup, speed, just the little things that put him in a better position to make plays.”

Perezchica pointed to a defensive play by Bell on Kevin Newman’s jump shot during Saturday night’s game as an example of the results he gets thanks to his work.

“It’s a really exciting team for me. We’ve played really well on both sides of the ball. It seems like our core players are outstanding. The offense has performed when it’s needed to. It’s definitely been an entertaining run so far and hopefully we can keep it up.”

The opportunity to be back in the thick of the championship hunt is something Bell especially appreciates. The D-backs drew over 46,000 fans to their game against the Phillies on Saturday.

“I look up at that stadium and I thought, ‘Buddy, I haven’t been in a home atmosphere since I was with the Padres two years ago. It was electric, this is the stuff dreams are made of.'”

It’s unknown how long Walker will be out, and when he eventually returns, he will resume his role as a starter. Bell could play as a DH against left-handed pitchers at that point and will be a crucial switch-hitting weapon off the bench during the crucial stretch in September and potentially the postseason.

For now, however, he fits perfectly into the D-backs’ locker room and organization, where work ethic and team spirit are just as important as performance.