Bell Happy to Play Where He’s Needed : White Sox: Trade from Cubs caught him by surprise. But he accepts whatever role he’s given.

George Bell has been known to balk at doing things in a way other than the way he has in mind.

When he left Toronto after nine years to sign as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs before the 1991 season, it was largely because he didn’t want to be a designated hitter--and because of the strains that arose from his insistence.

So when Bell was sent to the White Sox from the Cubs 10 days ago--traded for the first time in his career--more than a few people watched closely, wondering how Bell would respond.

The answer has been calmly, thoughtfully and with a touch of humor, when he tells the story of trying to explain to his children how he could be traded from Chicago to. . . . Chicago.

“They said, ‘Are they paying you more money, Pappy?’ ” Bell said. “Then they asked why they didn’t trade me back to Toronto. They like Toronto. I told them, ‘Toronto wasn’t a good place for your Dad.’ ”

Bell, 32, had a productive season in his only year in the National League, batting .285 with 25 home runs and 86 runs batted in. Even though he is pleased to be with a contending club, he is unsettled to find himself so suddenly back in the American League, where he was the MVP in 1987. In that season, Bell hit .308 with 47 home runs and 134 RBIs.

“I’m like a fish out of water, still,” he said. “It’s like when a pitcher is going to pitch a game and he’s concentrating and then in the first inning he makes a couple of mistakes, walks two guys and gives up a home run. It ruins his whole game plan.

“I’ve got my mind all set up for opening day in Philadelphia. Then all of a sudden they call you in the office and tell you you’re being traded.”

An interesting aspect of the trade that sent outfielder Sammy Sosa and pitcher Ken Patterson and an undisclosed amount of cash to the Cubs is that the White Sox had Bell in mind as protection in the lineup behind clean-up hitter Frank Thomas--and as the club’s designated hitter.

White Sox Manager Gene Lamont and Ron Schueler, senior vice president for major league operations, didn’t let much time go by without discussing it with Bell.

“I talked to George about it when he came and told him what we had in mind,” Lamont said. “He’ll DH and play left field. It’s not going to be split down the middle, there’s no certain number in mind.”

Schueler, too, took the approach that it would be best to reach an early understanding.

“We sat down right away and explained it,” Schueler said. “He accepted it.”

Bell says a big difference from his situation in Toronto is that he discussed what position he would play in contract negotiations with the Blue Jays.

“I said, ‘If you want me to play DH, you’re going to have to pay me more.’ ”

They didn’t, he says, but he ended up in the lineup at designated hitter anyway.

“It came out I was playing everyday DH,” he said. “I got pretty upset.”

This time--though he isn’t pleased with Cub General Manager Larry Himes for not telling him he was being considered for a trade--Bell says he accepts his role.

“I got traded over to a team I never negotiated with,” he said. “Whatever they need me to do, I’ll go perform.”

The other difference is that he is 32, approaching a more appropriate age for a DH.

“In Toronto when they tried to make me a DH, I was 28 years old,” he said.

He played the outfield with the Cubs, but made 10 errors, more than any other major league outfielder.

And though he found the Cubs to be “real good teammates,” the team didn’t emerge as the contender some expected.

“We needed a leadoff hitter, a center fielder, a third baseman,” he said. “This year they need a leadoff hitter, a third baseman. Here, we’ve got a third baseman, a shortstop, a second baseman, a first baseman, a left fielder, a center fielder, a right fielder. They have four or five players, Ryne Sandberg, Mark Grace, Andre Dawson, Shawon Dunston and myself.”

The White Sox, particularly with the addition of Bell, have a potent lineup.

“If we could get a quality RBI guy and not disrupt too much, that’s what we wanted to do,” Lamont said.

It was an opportunity Schueler liked. And to anyone who wonders about the talk that Bell can be a divisive clubhouse influence, he says the White Sox wouldn’t put up with such a personality, not in a room whose tone is set by Ozzie Guillen, a gregarious leader.

Bell, in an affable way, disputes his reputation as difficult to get along with. As for his new surroundings, he says the adjustment will take a bit of time. He didn’t plan it, but it’s done.

“That’s the way life is,” he said. “I’m happy to be here.”