FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Minnesota Twins bench coach Mike Bell, the younger brother of Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell, died Friday of kidney cancer. He was 46.
At the request of Bell's family to take the field in his honor, the Twins said their exhibition game against Atlanta would be played as scheduled.
Mike Bell had surgery Jan. 28 to remove a growth that was discovered earlier that month. He'd taken a leave from the team to focus on his health. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said at the start of spring training that his top assistant in the dugout was "very, very optimistic" about his recovery.