EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: CLAY BELLINGER

We've done this type of thing in the past when it comes to Opening Day.  We celebrate the day, but we celebrate all the Yankees here.

Bleeding Yankee Blue prides itself on being different, and have been since we began back in 2010.  We've had inspirational Yankee videos, straight talk about our team and what to expect and even interviews with new Yankees or veterans of the club.  We are blessed to have great contacts and terrific people surrounding us.  Last year we interviewed Garrett and Cassie Jones in what was a pretty popular Opening Day interview, celebration, whatever. (Read EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: GARRETT & CASSIE JONES.)  Cassie and BYB are still in touch for updates on Garrett.  It's a nice give and take.  Today though, we have another great treat.  An interview with former New York Yankee Clay Bellinger!

What feels like many months ago now, when I met my other half I learned a lot about him listening to many of his stories about when he used to be an EMT.  At the end of one of his stories he tells me about how he was helping transport a victim of an accident and mentions that his friend and former Yankee was one of the firefighters that responded on scene, named Clay Bellinger. He asked me if I knew who he was and I gave him the "DUH of course I do" answer but didn't believe him. Instead, I answered with "Sure, and I used to date Derek Jeter." Well it turns out he wasn't just telling a lie to try and impress me and he did spend a lot of time with Clay.

Fans remember Clay as a utility player for the Yankees from 1999 through 2001. I remember him as the guy who looked like a super hero in the 2000 World Series and the guy that ruined my dad's hope for the Mets to win the World Series that year. Now he is a leader outside of the baseball world for a whole other reason.

These days, Clay is working in my community as a firefighter for the town of Gilbert. Back in December, my boyfriend managed to arrange for me not only to meet Clay but to take a tour of the firehouse that all of these guys spend all of their time together and how close knit these guys are with one another. While I was there I asked Clay if he would take some time to talk to us and share some of his experiences with us at Bleeding Yankee Blue, and he agreed. I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did.

BYB: Everyone remembers their first hit, can you tell me who your first hit was off of and what do you remember about it?

Clay Bellinger: My first hit came off of Heathcliff Slocumb when he was playing with the Baltimore Orioles. There is a lot I remember from the game. Scott Brosius was supposed to play in that game but he couldn't because he twisted his ankle so I filled in for him. I remember Roll Call and hearing the bleacher creatures say everyone's name. It was a Wednesday night game on ESPN and I didn't get a hit until my fourth at bat and I was pretty nervous.

BYB: Who was the most difficult pitcher you had to face and why?

Clay Bellinger: I didn't get a ton of at bats since I didn't play consistently but Pedro Martinez was pretty tough. I remember I got one hit off of him, but hits never came easy. Pedro had such a nasty fastball, change-up and curveball.

BYB: Which stadium was your favorite to play in and why?

Clay Bellinger:     That would be Yankee stadium. I grew up 3 hours from there and I remember going to a game there once when I was young. I was a hometown kid it was probably the most historic place for me to play in. I remember how well they took care of the stadium. The grass and the field were impressive. It was such a great place to go and hang out at before and after the games. You can't forget the fans either. They were passionate. There are not too many other places like it.

BYB: What was it like to play with Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera?

Clay Bellinger:    When I made the team in 99 everyone on the team was a big name person. They all treated me great. Everyone was awesome and they didn't treat me like I was a rookie. They were all class acts. They played the game well and were respectful so they were great to be around.

BYB: Yankee fans remember the Subway World Series back in 2000. You replaced David Justice in the game and robbed Todd Zeile of a home run. Walk us through that moment. What do you remember?

Clay Bellinger:     I  approached it like every other game. I didn't even know what inning it was but I remember replacing David Justice. As a kid you grow up dreaming about making a play in the World Series. I always wanted any ball hit my way. As soon as Zeile hit it I knew it was going to be close. I was just hoping I had enough room and I was going to be able to get back fast enough and catch it. After I caught it I made a good throw going into second to keep the runner off. It’s always cool when you don’t play a lot and get to make an important play. It was a pretty good play. I know the Mets weren't too happy about it. 

BYB: You have a son named Cody who plays baseball in the Dodgers organization, how is he doing?

Clay Bellinger:    He’s doing awesome. He had a good year last year. He changed his swing up to hit more home runs and he just had a phenomenal year for a 19 year old. He got invited to big league camp this year. He’s been meeting all of the big league guys and they all talk to him. He is excited so I am excited for him. He has the talent and the drive. I see all of the changes he is making and that is exciting for me. He went from no home runs to 30 home runs and 103 RBI so he’s doing well and this is going to be an exciting year for him. We are very proud of him.

BYB: You work now as a firefighter in Gilbert, Arizona. What is that like and are there any similarities to the baseball world?

Clay Bellinger:    September will be year number 10 for me. It’s just a phenomenal job there is a lot of reward to it. There are some days where we don’t do anything. Some days we have 10 calls to respond to. You go to work never knowing what is going to happen. It is a tiny clubhouse. Some stations have 8-10 guys in there and we have 4. You hang with guys for 24 hours and they become your second family. They rely on you to get things done. It’s very rewarding. To be a player and a firefighter in the same lifetime is amazing because I get to do two things that many kids dream of.


BYB:  Are there any similarities between life in a major league clubhouse and a fire station?

Clay Bellinger:  There are a lot actually. In the clubhouse you hang with 24 guys, but here is it 4. Just like during the regular season you eat and workout with them. These guys are my family basically. I have been at this station for 7 years now with the same engineers. People come and go just like on a baseball team but we are here for the same goal. It was not a hard transition for me because it's still working with a team of people and I love what I do.

I would like to thank Clay for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk with us. Also a big thank you to the rest of his team for letting me tour their station and hang out. I not only thank you for all of the memories that you gave me during your time as a Yankee but I can't say thank you enough for everything you do to help keep people in my community safe. Kids say baseball players are heroes, but Clay and his team are involved in heroic acts all of the time and that should not go unnoticed. 

I also can't forget to give a big THANK YOU to my boyfriend for making all of this happen. Oh and by the way, I told Clay about my "I dated Derek Jeter" comment that I opened this story with and he laughed. 

 
   
--Jeana Bellezza, 
BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ 
 

OPENING DAY MESSAGE: LEADERSHIP PRESENCE CANNOT BE UNDERVALUED

The more I have been around good leadership, the more I realize how important it is to have good leadership in order to be successful.  Just the mere presence of a good leader can turn around a culture from toxic to collaborative.  So as we begin the 2016 season, make no mistake, leadership presence cannot be undervalued.

Looking at the teams who have made it to the #FinalFour, the World Series of college basketball, the one clear distinction that all four teams have in common is leadership that is intentionally threaded throughout the team.  Its presence is precisely evident on the bench.

On Villanova's bench this weekend in Texas, you see the kind-hearted, student-focused assistant athletic director, Fr. Rob Hagan, amidst a team of admiring young players who would not want to be on the court without him. "He's our rock," senior guard Ryan Arcidiacono said. "He's unbelievable. He keeps us humble. And you can turn to him in any situation. It's not about him being a priest. It's about the person. He never turns you down. And everyone here knows that. He saw this (Final Four) coming. He's what this team is about, what this university is about. More than anybody, he's part of all this,"stated an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer earlier this week.  

What is important to remember is that leaders inspire others to lead.  These young men are at the highlight of their teenage and early twenties.  These are tomorrow's leaders and they need to be engaged in more than just basketball, or winning.  They have to be engaged in wanting more for themselves and believing that you need to keep learning, keep challenging yourself to be better.

"He has an impact, on all of us," (Head Coach Jay) Wright said. "I usually use my pregame talk to reference what he talked about in his homily. The humility of this team, the spirit of this team, really comes from him. When we're out there shooting, he's shooting. He gets what athletes are about, what college students are about, about what we're trying to do. He has an incredible ability to mix his faith and religion into what we do. So it resonates with the guys."

I know we have a number of veterans on our team this year.  My hope is that they focus themselves on the belief that leadership comes from within and leadership comes from example, from being around good leaders who can show newbies the way.  This leadership flows from every ounce of a person; from the decision to take care of your body, to the decision to dress and carry yourself a certain way to sportsmanship, resilience and the constant battle to improve.  

Does this all mean that leadership is better than ability?  Yes, it does.  Leaders empower, they model best practices and they move mediocre to excellent.  Good leaders motivate good players to be great players.  2016 is going to be a flux year.  A year where we see where we are, set goals and grow. With the right kind of leadership from management to veteran players, we have the potential to win it all. Now let's go out there and do this!

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Senior Staff Writer
BYB Hot Stove Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof







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REMEMBER CARLOS CORPORAN? HE'S GONE

Well, that was fast, but in the end, once Gary Sanchez was sent down to the minors, and Austin Romine pretty much locked up the backup role... there was no place for new comer Carlos Corporan in the Yankees roster, and just like that... he was traded.

According to the Yankees, and NJ.com, "...the Yankees announced Saturday afternoon that they traded catcher Carlos Corporan to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for cash...The biggest loss for the Yankees, it appears, is Corporan's clubhouse persona. He played somewhat of a mentorship role to Sanchez the past six weeks and he is one of the most outgoing players you'll find. "

(In Photo: Gary Sanchez)
And so that's about it.  Carlos was, from what I hear a great teammate in the clubhouse and it was a fun spring with him around.  This also pretty much confirms to me that the Yankees will probably bring up Sanchez at some point this season.  If Romine stutters, maybe we get a glimpse of Sanchez.  Whatever the case, Carlos is gone, on to Tampa Bay in their minor league system. 

Good luck to him.



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CHAMPIONS OVERCOME ADVERSITY

 

The ‘tres amigos’ in the Yankee bullpen of Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances had quickly dwindled down to un solo amigo...kind of. With Aroldis Chapman definitely to miss time while suspended and Andrew Miller now with a bone chip in his wrist, the crazy 1-2-3 punch has turned into just one. Yes, Miller has been cleared to pitch, but will the Yankees be that stupid? 

But one thing good teams, and in particular champions do, is overcome adversity. Even more, they are the BEST at overcoming adversity.

 

 

Let me first give you my glass half full points. Both Chapman and Miller will be back, this is true, and yes, the season hasn’t officially started yet and we still have All-Star Dellin Betances. So it’s better this happened now than in September, that's the bottom line.

 

The big negatives are obvious though as losing two of the three biggest pieces of the bullpen are going to be hard to replace. Nobody can argue that. It could be argued that Chapman and Miller are not only the two best relievers on the Yankees, but also the two best lefty relievers in all of baseball. But what good teams do is find the next man.

 

 

I’m a firm believer that the best way to become a star is to take advantage of your opportunities. Chasen Shreve, who had a great five months in 2015 before struggling in September, will now be the 'go to' lefty. The young man has had a great spring and should be able to hold down the fort well enough for the next six weeks or so.

 

(In photo: Luis Cessa)

As for the rest of the bullpen, Bryan Mitchell had been phenomenal and would be relied upon more so by manager Joie Girardi before the foot injury. But we move on... Off-season acquisition Luis Cessa now seems to have a path to the Opening Day roster as do Johnny Barbato and Kirby Yates.  I expect these guys to shine together.

 

The unfortunate circumstances also put more pressure on the starting rotation  though. It appeared the starters had to get through just the sixth inning on most days before turning the game over to bullpen, but now with the lack of depth and experience, the starters must dig down deep and be efficient in order to minimize the amount of innings the bullpen will be required to throw.

 

 

The depth that Brian Cashman has added and developed over the past two off-season’s is now more important than ever. Depth is huge and that point is clear before the first meaningful game has even been played.

 

With the bullpen using less experienced and unproven arms, it’s yet to be seen who will step up. Naturally there will be a couple guys who under perform and hopefully for the sake of the team, there will be one or two guys who take this opportunity in stride and force Girardi and GM Brian Cashman to keep them on the roster for the course of the season.

 

 

Plus the offense will have to win games on its own. That’s inevitable.

 

How the Yankees perform as the season begins will have a lot to do with the ability of some of these young men to step up and overcome their own adversity. Whether it be the nerves of pitching in front of nearly 50,000 fans at Yankee Stadium, or just simply facing the best hitters on the planet, each individual on a team needs to be better than the opponent more often than not.

 

 

It’s not necessarily easy, but just like every other team, the Yankees will have to overcome adversity. 

 

The Champion come October will be the team that overcomes adversity the best.

 

 

 --Dan Lucia
BYB Senior Writer
Twitter: @DManLucia




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SABATHIA TAPPED 5TH STARTER... SHORT LEASH FOLLOWS

We all knew it was coming and I'm glad the big lug got what he should get... a spot in the starting rotation.  The Yankees announced yesterday that CC Sabathia will get the rotation spot and Ivan Nova would be the long man.

NJ.com writes: "CC Sabathia won the fifth spot in the team's rotation. Cool.

But for how long?

Manager Joe Girardi said putting a number on it isn't fair, but that doesn't mean he won't be monitored more closely than the other four starters.

'But we're going to watch,' Girardi said.

General manager Brian Cashman was a bit informative, if still not precise.

'I can't say how long a leash it is,' Cashman said. 'Listen, when you're in the fifth spot you have to, I think any fifth starter in the game has a shorter leash. Hopefully that was the right call and hopefully he'll do well and pitch well for us.'"

 And there's the thing that everyone understands, including CC Sabathia who is a 1000% certified gamer when it comes to the New York Yankees and even in his days back in Cleveland. If you don't perform... you don't play.  The stakes are too high. CC knows this... there will be pressure, but the starting rotation is where he belongs... right now.

If he doesn't do what's needed, the fallback is Nova and that's not a bad thing.  CC just has to do his best out there... in April.  The timing for experiments is right.

Hat tip to CC.  Go get'em big guy!

 

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TROUT'S A FERRARI. SANDOVAL'S A PINTO.

Pretty dumb line coming from Pablo Sandoval's agent in reference to him being recently benched in replace of Travis Shaw at third for the Red Sox this season.  I have to say, I don't like the Red Sox... but I LOVE what the Sox did here.

Pablo Sandoval is fat, not nimble, and is clearly being paid what he shouldn't be.  The Red Sox made a bad deal signing Sandoval for the amount of money they did... much like the Yankees did with Jacoby Ellsbury.

And whats more, the Sox are doing the right thing, finding the player that best fits the spot to help their team win in 2016.  Sandoval can get at bats in as the DH... but at third base... forget it. He's no good.  How about his agent telling the dude to lose some weight.

Pablo's agent said this of the recent move by the Sox:

Panda, agent rick thurman of @BHSCouncil met today. Thurman: "if you want to win, why leave the ferrari in the garage?'

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) April 1, 2016

Now look, this is just another example of a team that spent way too much money on a player, and an agent suggesting they "need" to play... because, well... he's a "franchise" type player.  I have news for you...

Mike Trout is a franchise player... a Ferrari.

Kung Fu Panda is a friggin' fat Pinto. Eventually... they break down and are bad investments.

His agent didn't help his cause here.  Pretty damn hilarious.

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ZERO EVIDENCE JETER IS PART OWNER OF THE YANKS...

Right now! April Fools is a helluva thing.

Look, you know what day it is. You read what I read, but BYB readers are smart, and you know for a fact that reading a story from a Yankee blog and NO WHERE else on April Fools' Day could lead to disaster.... or... at least a falsehood. And to be honest... it's freaking dumb. My opinion.

A story has been floated today that the Yankees are in talks with Jeter to become part owner of the New York Yankees.  While the idea makes sense and many love it... we at BYB made calls today and can confirm, that that is definitely not the case... at least right now.  We DO know that Jeet has loose ties to a story discussing him being part owner for the Rays.  That story has been out there for some time. The latest comes from ESPN who writes from March 23rd:

"Two MLB sources say they have not heard anything concrete about a Jeter-Rays link, so for now this appears to be a rumor without substance. But the speculation makes sense in some ways: 

Jeter lives in Tampa, and he would be a perfect agent for change whenever the Rays reach a turning point in their ballpark situation, in the same way that Magic Johnson was the right guy to be part of the Dodgers' new ownership group in L.A. Jeter carries star power and credibility, of course, which will only grow once he is inducted into the Hall of Fame. It's easy to envision Jeter having power as a lobbyist for a team looking for a new ballpark situation."

That comes from Olney, and I'm even partially skeptical of that.  But I can tell you, after being on the phone with 2 individuals... one being directly IN the Yankees camp, the other an outsider with knowledge on the situation... there is NO CONNECTION to Jeter and the Yankees and "part ownership" at this time.  Calm the fuck down... pardon my french.

You've been had... and you know what? You're better than that.

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"YOU'RE UP S**T CREEK"

Supposedly without a paddle too!

Or so my boyfriend said as soon as Miller's injury broke. He was all too excited to tell me about the news but he is an Angels fan so it is hard to take anything he says seriously. He says we are screwed and the Yankees are going to finish April twelve games behind the lonely Orioles. Again, he is delusional. I am still looking at things with the attitude of the glass being half full rather than half empty. Never listen to Yankee bashing Angels fans, if you take only one thing away from this post please let it be that.

For weeks now all I have heard from him is how the Yankees will have a great bullpen but we will never see them because the Yankees are going to be down by ten runs and there will be no need to use them. They will just collect dust on the bench.

Well, now he says we will never see them because Aroldis Chapman is going to be forgotten and when he does come back he is going to suck. We won't see Andrew Miller because his wrist fracture is going to be a lot worse than what is already being reported and he's going to be out for a long time.

Suddenly he is Doogie Howser and the smartest doctor ever.

Look, I am not going to panic yet. Things could be a lot worse, and in fact I am choosing to embrace THIS article that the New York Post wrote late yesterday. The X-ray was negative and the CT scan showed a fracture, not a broken wrist. Read OK THEN... SO IT'S NOT MILLER TIME for that.

I will take that as a silver lining. Now as long as this doesn't turn into a new version of the Mark Teixeira "It's a deep bone bruise....oh wait....no it's not. We were wrong" soap opera then I will be OK. If it turns out that Miller is misdiagnosed then I reserve the right to go bat shit crazy. Until then, I still stand by the theory that my Angels loving boyfriend is still WRONG.

While we wait for Miller to see that hand specialist and determine the next step I am going to take a lesson from Miller himself and stay optimistic. This guy is a gamer, he says he is going to be ready for opening day. While I know there is a possibility that he won't be I can't help but to feed off of his energy.He is ready to get to the meaningful games just like we are and is waiting to contribute. You have to admire his spirit even as we sit and wait anxiously.

I know it feels like we have a curse hanging over us as Casey wrote about in ANOTHER BIG BLOW TO THE YANKEES STAFF but it's not time to jump ship here. Sure the Yankees may have to fight the current to get upstream, but we are certainly not up shit creek without a paddle. Who says that before the first pitch of the first game of the season? Remember, don't listen to Angels fans. They will only try to convince you that the Yankees suck and that suddenly this is 2002 again. They have psychic connections with the famous Miss Cleo. Just hit the mute button because I promise you that will be better.

Just like many of the previous seasons, the Yankees have learned to endure with injuries and we have worked through them all. The Yankees are crafty and we still have Dellin Betances and another lefty Chasen Shreve who the Yankees can turn to. So to my misguided other half.....I am sorry but this time you are swimming by yourself because none of us at BYB are going to panic just yet. 


   
--Jeana Bellezza, 
BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ 
 





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GREGORIUS & CASTRO ARE STEP BROTHERS!

 If you haven't seen this yet, do it now... then, let's talk after the clip... I'll wait:



Yup, that was Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro reenacting a scene from the movie Step Brothers featuring Will Ferrell and John C Reilly.  Here's the actual scene:



Personally, I'm waiting for them to perfect the scene when the boys go on their job interview together... "Is it Pan or Pand?"


Enjoy this... share it... whatever you gotta do. I love it.

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