MLB umpire Wally Bell dies

(SportsNetwork.com) - Veteran MLB umpire Wally Bell died Monday after suffering a heart attack.

Bell, 48, passed away in his hometown on Youngstown, Ohio after suffering a massive heart attack, according to multiple media reports.

"I am deeply saddened and shocked at the loss of Umpire Wally Bell," MLB executive vice president of baseball operations Joe Torre said. "Umpiring was his life, and he touched so many people within the game of baseball. Aside from being an accomplished, All-Star-caliber umpire, Wally was a loving dad to his two teenage children. I extend my deepest condolences to them, his girlfriend Renee, the rest of his family and his admirers across Major League Baseball."

Bell, who had just worked the NLDS series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates, had quintuple bypass surgery in 1999.