Angels sign first pick Bell

ANAHEIM -- The Angels knew they wanted Trevor Bell; they just couldn't decide whether they wanted him on the mound or in the outfield.

Finally, in March, they decided his greatest potential was taking full advantage of his cannon arm. And as a pitcher it was that scouting director Eddie Bane announced Bell's signing Saturday night at Angel Stadium.

"We liked him better as a hitter coming into this season," Bane said. "He got better rapidly, legitimately [throwing] up to 97 mph."

Bell, 18, was 8-3 with a 1.13 ERA in 16 games for Crescenta Valley High (Calif.) this year. He also batted .367 with eight homers as an outfielder. In 2004, Bell was 4-4 with a 1.48 ERA and batted .465 to make the All-CIF Southern Section First Team.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder -- who grew up an Angels fan -- was at Angel Stadium on Saturday night, both to watch the game and face the inevitable barrage of questions from the media about a couple of relations and one occupation, none of which have anything to do with baseball.

That's because Bell's grandfather, Bob Bell, was Bozo the Clown, the wildly popular WGN-Chicago children's television show host, and his grandson happened to be born on the same day (Oct. 12, 1986) Angel Donnie Moore allowed Dave Henderson's go-ahead home run in Game 5 of the ALCS. On top of that, Bob Bell's media-savvy son with the million-dollar smile has appeared in a variety of TV commercials over the years.

"Trevor won't tell you this, but he did an Old Navy commercial over Christmas," Bane said, "and he came back with a new car."

Bell, who served as what he called "the Hot Wheels kid" when he was approximately 8 years old, just shrugged it off.

"I'm a baseball player," he said. "[Acting] is just a way to make a little extra cash."

Bell had preliminary talks about playing college baseball with San Diego State, Arizona State and Southern California, but the right-hander said he always planned to enter pro ball immediately. Perhaps befitting his jack-of-all-trades role for Crescenta Valley, Bell doesn't care how the Angels choose to use him.

"Any way I can help the Angels win," he said. "Doesn't matter if I'm a starter, closer or a setup man. I'm there."

Bell will report to the Rookie League Mesa Angels on Monday and will begin pitching shortly thereafter. The Angels are just glad that Bell will be able to pitch this season, given how Jered Weaver's lengthy holdout cost him the 2004 Minor League season. About six weeks after this year's draft, though, Bell and the Angels were able to reach an agreement.

"We went into his house right after the draft and told him this part wasn't going to be fun," Bane said. "It's not nice to be drafted and then told 'no' sometimes."

Bane believes Bell has a Major League arm, and he made a point Saturday of repeatedly mentioning his "aggressiveness," "poise" and "makeup." The Angels' head scout even went so far as to compare Bell's delivery to that of Eric Gagne, whom Bane scouted and signed while in the Dodgers organization.

If Bell lives up to that comparison, everyone would be quite pleased, but he models his game after a couple other Cy Young Award winners -- Roger Clemens (for his "intensity") and Barry Zito (for his "smarts").

Bell seemed very happy to be wearing a red Angels polo shirt Saturday night. He'll be a lot happier, though, if he's still wearing Angels gear in five or 10 years.

"My ultimate goal is to make it here and have a successful career," he said. "To play more than three years and see what happens."