Originally signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1978, Bell was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1980 Rule 5 draft. Bell was discovered in the Dominican Republic by Blue Jays scout Epy Guerrero. His first season as a regular was in , when he first teamed with fellow outfielders Lloyd Moseby and Jesse Barfield. That outfield, along with solid starting pitching, led the Blue Jays to their first-ever American League East division title in . Bell caught a fly ball, off the bat of Ron Hassey, for the final out in the 5–1 victory over the New York Yankees on October 5, clinching the division title for the Blue Jays. Despite Bell's .321 average in the ALCS, they lost the series to the Kansas City Royals. His best season came in , although the Blue Jays fell two games short of the Detroit Tigers in the division race. Bell finished with a .308 batting average, .352 on-base percentage, .608 slugging percentage, 111 runs, 47 home runs and a league-leading 134 runs batted in. He was awarded the American League MVP award that year.