Wood vs. Wood #273

Last time it was a 6-0 shutout for 1962. Will 1987 get on the board here?

Gary Bell does a follow-through for the photographer. Yankee Stadium dominates the background, while Bell's #39 dominates the foreground. Bell pitched 12 years in the major leagues, 10 of them for Cleveland, and was an All-Star three times. He was primarily a starter but was also used regularly in the bullpen. Overall in 519 games (233 starts) he went 121-117 with 50 saves and a 3.68 ERA. After his playing career he returned to his native San Antonio where he started a company called Gary Bell Athletic Supply. The company is still in business day, though the 88-year-old Bell is no longer directly involved in the company's operations.

Gene Nelson poses at spring training. He so rarely is seen with a beard on his cards that I find it hard to link him mentally to the same guy who pitched for Oakland all those years. Nelson came up with the Yankees in '81, was traded to Seattle in '82, the White Sox in '84, and the A's in '86. With his first three teams Nelson was sometimes a starter, sometimes a reliever. When he joined the A's Tony Larussa put him in a set-up role where he thrived, helping the team win three straight pennants. He won two games in the 1988 ALCS against Boston, and had his best season in 1990 when he went 3-3 with 5 saves and a 1.57 ERA, pitching 6.2 scoreless innings in the postseason. However his ERA ballooned to 6.84 the next season and he was out of baseball two years later. Overall in 493 games (68 starts) he went 53-64 with 28 saves and a 4.13 ERA. Nelson is now retired and lives in Florida, where he races homing pigeons.