Pat Kelly (infielder)

Patrick Franklin Kelly (born October 14, 1967) is a former Major League Baseball infielder who played in the major leagues for nine seasons, seven of them with the New York Yankees.

Pat Kelly
Second baseman
Born: (1967-10-14) October 14, 1967
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 20, 1991, for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
June 5, 1999, for the Toronto Blue Jays
MLB statistics
Batting average.249
Home runs36
Run batted in217
Teams

Formative years and family

Kelly was born on October 14, 1967, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended Catasauqua High School.[1]

In 1994, Kelly married Rebecca Pontifex of Adelaide, Australia, who worked in public relations.[1] His son, Jack, had relationship with Maddie Ziegler from 2017 to 2018, has gained a significant following on social media sites.[2]

Baseball career

Kelly was drafted by the New York Yankees in the ninth round of the 1988 amateur draft, but did not make his playing debut at the major league level until May 20, 1991, at the age of twenty-three.

In 1995, with the Yankees battling for the AL Wild Card, Kelly hit a crucial two-run home run in the ninth inning against the Blue Jays in Toronto to cap a Yankee rally from a 3–0 deficit in the third to last game of the season. Due to Kelly's go-ahead home run, the Yankees won the game 4–3 and were able to qualify for the playoffs two days later.

Kelly played seven seasons with the Yankees (1991–1997), spent 1998 with St. Louis Cardinals, and spent the first part of the 1999 season with the Toronto Blue Jays.

He played his final MLB game on June 5, 1999, retiring on March 22, 2000.[3]

Kelly batted and threw right-handed. His career Major League totals were .249 batting average, 36 home runs, and 495 hits in 681 games. Kelly moved to Australia in 2001 and scouted for American baseball teams there.

In 2009, he became an assistant coach with the Australia national baseball team.[4]

At the same time, he became the general manager for the Adelaide Bite in the Australian Baseball League team.

References
  1. Bradford, Tina. "Yankee Pat Kelly, Bride Celebrate in Bethlehem", The Morning Call, November 20, 1994, accessed December 31, 2017
  2. Iannella, Antimo (22 August 2018). "Dance Moms star Maddie Ziegler splits with Adelaide boyfriend Jack Kelly". The Advertiser. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  3. "Transactions". The New York Times. 2000-03-23. Retrieved 2011-04-10.
  4. Lefton, Brad. "In Australia, Two Ex-Yankees Build Future for Baseball", The New York Times, March 7, 2009, accessed December 31, 2017
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