When Bell Steps on Field, Star Quality Rings True

A red SUV pulled into the parking lot at Stengel Field in Glendale. Sitting in the passenger seat with the window down and the car radio blasting was Trevor Bell, his wavy blond hair blowing backward as he sang along with a rock tune.

Bell looks like a twin for actor Chad Michael Murray of “Dawson’s Creek” fame, but there were no screaming female fans to greet him as he walked toward the baseball clubhouse carrying a can of RockStar energy drink.

Bell is only a 15-year-old freshman at Crescenta Valley High, but his star qualities are obvious each time he steps onto the field.

“He’ll be one of the best guys in the country, with a chance to be somebody’s first-round draft choice,” Coach Phil Torres said.

Baseball America magazine put the pressure on Bell months ago, before he played in his first high school game, by labeling him the top 14-year-old in the nation.

“I thought that was kind of hard to believe,” he said. “You have to think of every 14-year-old in the country and I was No. 1? It was definitely something cool said about me.”

Bell has lived up to expectations. As a right-handed pitcher, he’s 8-1 with a 0.70 earned-run average. He has walked only five batters in 501/3 innings, striking out 66. As a center fielder, he’s batting .364 with five home runs and 23 runs batted in.

Three times this season, Torres has removed Bell from games after the fifth inning while he was working on a no-hitter just to let other pitchers get in some work.

“He’s been dominant as a pitcher,” Torres said. “He throws strikes and he has a live arm. He’s ahead 0-1 constantly.”

Not that Bell has done everything right. He started the season as a third baseman, but the speed of the high school game resulted in several errors, causing Torres to move him to center field, a position he never played before. He has adjusted so well that center field could be his position for years.

And there have been the usual freshman mistakes, like forgetting his batting helmet, causing assistant David Mendoza to pour a can of soda in the helmet to make sure Bell doesn’t forget it again.

Torres never lets Bell think he’s something special, not with all the chores he requires Bell to do, from vacuuming the clubhouse to washing the bases to cleaning the dugout.

Bell smiles and does whatever Torres asks.

“I love vacuuming,” Bell said. “I’m the kind of person who likes everything neat. My room is neat, my locker is neat.”

And what’s the key to being good at vacuuming?

“Go over it twice,” he said.

Bell is 6 feet 1 and 180 pounds, with good speed, a terrific arm and an endless love for baseball.

From the time he was 4 and begging his mother, Barbara, to sign him up for T-ball, Bell has wanted to do nothing else. He cried and cried until his mother gave in and signed him up, even though he wasn’t old enough to play.

“It was that bad, real bad,” Barbara said.

By age 6, Bell proclaimed, “Mom, baseball is my destiny.”

That brought laughs from two older brothers and other family members, but Bell has followed his dream.

“It’s all I want to do,” he said. “It’s a natural liking. I was born with it.”

Through the years, he has faced many stressful situations from experiences in Little League and travel competitions, always receiving advice and support from his parents.

“From the time I can remember as a kid, they’ve taught me things to do, things not to do, ways to be successful, ways not to be successful,” he said. “What you put in is what you get back. You put in a lot of good and you get a lot of good back. That’s the main lesson they told me. I’m looking for good karma and so far, everything is looking good.”

Crescenta Valley (22-3) shared the Pacific League championship with Arcadia. The Falcons are one of the favorites to win the Southern Section Division II championship. Bell’s contributions will be crucial. He and UC Irvine-bound pitcher Kris Krise give Crescenta Valley an effective pitching duo in a division loaded with top pitchers.

After the playoffs, a busy summer of baseball will kick in, with Bell also finding time for his newest hobby, surfing.

Autograph seekers have already come forward. In 1999, as a 12-year-old, he hit a game-winning home run in Cooperstown, N.Y., and the boy who retrieved the ball wanted him to sign it. And this year, his health teacher wanted an autograph.

Bell won’t ever develop a big head, not with Torres around. Last summer, Bell took off his cleats before a game had been completed, thinking he was finished for the day. Torres quietly reminded him the next time he does that he’ll be running 10 laps.

Such is life for a talented freshman training to become a major leaguer

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.