In his early years, Bell was a starter, going 49-47 in his first four years in the Majors. Soon, he was made into a reliever helping the Indians by picking up over 10 saves in 1962 and 1966. Bell picked up a 2.95 ERA in the 1963 season in 58 appearances (51 out of the bullpen). He went 8-5 that year, a solid year with an Indians team that finished under .500 (79-83). Bell was a fastball pitcher early in his career and then developed a good slider and curveball. In his career, he went 121-117 with a 3.68 ERA in 519 games (233 starts). He struck out 1378 in 2015 innings pitched.