Clay Klavitter made 3 seasons, high-A: Baseball Profiles

Lightly used to that point in 1991, Clay Klavitter stepped to the plate as a pinch hitter and delivered with an RBI single, according to The San Bernardino County Sun.

The Klavitter single helped stretch the San Bernardino Spirit lead to 3-1, The Sun wrote.

"It was kind of exciting to come in like that," Klavitter told The Sun afterward. "It's kind of hard. You're sitting for so long. You've just got to be mentally ready."

That season marked Klavitter's second as a pro. He never became a regular. He saw 58 games that year and another 34 two years later in independent ball marking the extent of his career.

Klavitter's career began in 1990, taken by the Mariners in the 35th round of the draft out of Glendale Community College in California. He went to Glendale out of Deer Valley High School in Arizona.

Klavitter started with the Mariners at short-season Bellingham and in the rookie Arizona League. He got into 32 total games at catcher and in the infield. He hit .222, with one home run and eight RBI.

He moved to high-A San Bernardino for 25 games in 1991. He also returned to Bellingham for 33 games. He hit .196 on the year.

After a year away, Klavitter returned for one final season at independent Rochester. He hit .183 over 34 games to end his career.

Klavitter soon returned to the game as assistant coach at his old high school Deer Valley. He then moved on to other high schools, including serving as head coach at Cortez high school from 2001 to 2009.

He served as head coach at Thunderbird High School from 2013 to 2016. In 2017, he took over at Tri-City Christian. After a 23-5 in 2016 for Thunderbird, Klavitter praised his team.

"These guys were my first group when I got started with this program four years ago," Klavitter told Sports360AZ that April. "I knew this was a special group not just talent-wise but with the quality of kids they were. The leadership qualities and their chemistry is the difference with this group compared to teams in the past."

• San Bernardino County Sun, May 28, 1991: Spirit defeats San Jose, 4-2
• Sports360AZ, April 28, 2016: T-Bird Baseball Thriving Behind Long-Time Bond

More: The 1990 Bellingham Mariners

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 2,802
Made the Majors:1,063-37.9%
Never Made Majors:1,739-62.1%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 443
10+ Seasons in the Minors:265