Yankees Outfielder Opens Up About Family Ties

New York Yankees slugger and outfielder Cody Bellinger is no stranger to the Bronx: his father, Clay Bellinger, was a member of the Pinstripes over 25 years ago and passed his legacy down to his son.

The elder Bellinger spent 10 years in the minors after being drafted in 1989 by the San Francisco Giants. According to him, he realized he'd need to excel in several positions in order to get the call up.

“I learned how to play second base and first base and all of the outfield positions. I had a teammate in the Minors who suggested that I even start playing catcher. He was absolutely right, and I listened to him," he said. "If I could be a team’s third catcher while also giving them innings at other positions, that would help my chances of getting to the Majors. I knew that for me to reach my goal, I had to do something different."

And pay off, it did. Clay would make his major league debut for the Yankees in 1999 and go on to play 181 games in Pinstripes. Some of those games included two World Series Championships, in 1999 and 2000, where Clay would be an instrumental member of the winning team. Following a short stint with the Los Angeles Angels and a couple more years in the minors, Clay retired in 2004.

After growing up around Yankee Stadium, Cody Bellinger made it his mission to replicate his father and make it to The Show. Following Little League and high school successes — including appearances in the Little League World Series — Cody was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013. He made his MLB debut in 2017 and spent six years with Los Angeles before doing two more with the Chicago Cubs.

The Yankees acquired him in December 2024 and he got to don the same uniform as Clay this past May. Though it's special for Cody to play for the team his dad was once a champion with, that's not quite enough for him.

“Ultimately, I want to help this team win it all, like my dad did,” Cody said. “That’s the real goal.”

The full story is available online and in print in Yankees Magazine.

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