Bertell was born in Oak Park, Illinois. The Cubs signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Iowa State University in 1957. He made his major league debut with the Cubs in the second game of a doubleheader on September 22, 1960. Though he went hitless, Bertell knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly in his first at-bat. He recorded his first major league hit three days later, singling off Bob Grim of the St. Louis Cardinals. He went 2-for-15 in his first season, knocking in two runs in five games.\n', '

Bertell found himself in a platoon role with the Cubs in 1961, seeing the majority of the playing time (92 games) behind the plate for the hapless Cubs. He hit his first major league home run on July 6 off Pittsburgh\'s Vinegar Bend Mizell, and, overall, had a decent season at the plate for a catcher. Bertell hit .273 with two home runs and 33 RBI. However, his playing time decreased the next season as the Cubs again stumbled to a ninth-place finish in the National League. In 77 games, he posted a career-best batting average of .302 with two home runs and 18 RBIs, and despite playing in fewer than half the team\'s games, Bertell still played more innings at catcher than anyone else on the 1962 team.\n', '

The 1963 season found the Cubs rebounding and posting a winning record for the first time since 1946. Bertell also saw his playing time increase, his third straight season as the club\'s starting catcher. He led National League catchers in 1963 with a 60.8% baserunners caught stealing percentage, the twelfth highest single-season total in Major League history. Unfortunately, he could not maintain his previous season\'s batting prowess, dipping to .233 with 2 home runs and 14 RBI. In 1964, Bertell had career best totals of doubles (11), triples (3), home runs (4) and RBIs (35), and had a batting average of .238. He also led National League catchers in throwing out baserunners with 34.\n', '

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