If you watched Major League Baseball in the 1980s, you are familiar with George Bell. This Dominican outfielder with the name of an American factory worker was a standout player for the Toronto Blue Jays in the decade of excess. Although not bound for Cooperstown, Bell finished in the top eight or better of American League MVP voting four times, including winning the award in 1987.
With Opening Day upon us, let’s put the spotlight on George Bell for another reason. In 1988, he became the first MLB player to hit three home runs on Opening Day. Let’s hop in the time machine with Doc Brown and revisit that special moment in baseball history.
The 1987 AL MVP’s Origin Story
Not quite in the same league as Hall of Famers Ferguson Jenkins and Ryne Sandberg, but George Bell started off in the Philadelphia Phillies’ system as an amateur free agent signing before going on to a successful career in the bigs. Only 19, he had a banner season in 1979 with the Phils’ Single-A affiliate: 22 homers, 102 RBI, a .305 batting average, and an .895 OPS. Prior to the 1981 season, the Jays snagged Bell in the Rule 5 draft. Toronto ended up getting a reliable outfielder for the rest of the decade.
Breakout
In 1984, George Bell had a breakout year with 26 homers, 87 RBI, a .292 batting average, and 177 hits. The power numbers continued to rise, topping out in his AL MVP season of 1987. That year, Bell went for 47 bombs, drove in 134, collected 369 total bases, and had an OPS of .957. This outfielder’s development coincided with Toronto’s climb from AL East doormat to perennial contender. After starting their existence with six consecutive losing years from 1977 to 1982, the team had at least a winning record from 1983 to 1993 and did much better than that a few times.
George Bell’s Big Opening Day
On Opening Day in 1988, the Blue Jays were on the road facing the Kansas City Royals. Two-time AL Cy Young winner Bret Saberhagen was on the mound. That didn’t seem to bother George Bell at all. He homered off the Royals’ ace in the second, fourth, and eighth innings. The Jays won the game 5-3, and Bell went on to blast 24 homers that season.
#10 : On 04/04/1988, George Bell hit 3 HRs on Opening day for the @Bluejays. He is coming off a MVP Season & is the 1st Blue Jay ever to win the MVP. He was a Rule 5 pick in 1980 is considered one of the best #Bluejays of all time. @CDNBaseballHOF #lightsupletsgo pic.twitter.com/LkkcgajUZC
— Blue Jays Avenue Podcast (@BJAvePod) March 19, 2026
It’s kind of remarkable that a three-homer game on Opening Day never happened in MLB history prior to 1988, yet there have been three other instances since then. However, the OG of three home runs on Opening Day is still George Bell.
Main Photo Credit: © Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images
