Clay Bellinger

Clayton Daniel Bellinger (born November 18, 1968) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees and the Anaheim Angels, winning the World Series twice as a member of the Yankees. He was also on the 2002 Angels team that won the 2002 World Series but did not receive a championship ring since he only appeared in 2 regular season games.

His son, Cody Bellinger, is also a professional baseball player who won the 2019 National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) award and won the 2020 World Series.

Early life A native of Oneonta, New York, Bellinger played shortstop for Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.

Career Bellinger was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the second round (44th overall pick) in the 1989 draft. His first 10 seasons of professional baseball were spent in the minor leagues, six in Triple-A. Before his first call-up as a 30-year-old in 1999, he played more than 1,000 minor league games. Bellinger played for the New York Yankees in , , and . He played every position (including designated hitter) except for catcher and pitcher.

In the ninth inning of Game 2 of the 2000 World Series, Bellinger was inserted in left field in place of David Justice. Bellinger reached up with his arm fully extended to rob the Mets' Todd Zeile of a two-run home run and preserve a victory for the Yankees. The Yankees released him when he became eligible for arbitration; Bellinger then signed with the Anaheim Angels. Bellinger agreed as he hoped it would earn him a September call-up to the Orioles' roster when the Olympics were over. The Greek team went 1–6 and failed to advance to the medal round. Bellinger was one of a handful of players on the roster with Major League experience, and the only player to have won a World Series ring. He was not promoted to the Orioles' roster after the games concluded.

After baseball Bellinger was the assistant coach of the Chandler, Arizona Little League All-Stars, who advanced to the 2007 Little League World Series.

As of 2017, Bellinger has been working for several years as a firefighter in Gilbert, Arizona.

Personal life Bellinger and his wife, Jennifer, have a daughter, Ashli, and two sons: Cody, who plays for the New York Yankees and Cole, who was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2017. Clay pitched to Cody in the 2017 Home Run Derby.