Clay C. Christiansen (born June 28, 1958) is a retired

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played during one season at the major league level for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. He was drafted by the Yankees in the 15th round of the 1980 amateur draft. Christiansen played his first professional season with their Class-A (Short Season)

Oneonta Yankees Oneonta may refer to several places: Communities *Oneonta, New York, A small city and inspiration for some of the other "Oneontas" *Oneonta (town), New York, a town that surrounds the City of Oneonta *Oneonta, Alabama, Blount County * Oneonta, Ke ...

in 1980, and his last with the Houston Astros' Triple-A

Tucson Toros The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in ...

in 1988. Christiansen graduated from Columbus Unified High School in Columbus, Kansas, in 1976. In addition to being an American Legion baseball standout, he was the quarterback of the football team, played basketball and participated in track and field. In his senior year he set a new school record for discus throwing. After high school, Clay Christiansen attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, where he was a member of the Jayhawks baseball team prior to embarking on his professional career.

Life after baseball

Christiansen is married to local Kansas City sportscaster Karen Kornacki. He currently works for

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in Olathe, Kansas as an install driver for the vending department.

References

1958 births Living people New York Yankees players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Wichita, Kansas Nashville Sounds players Kansas Jayhawks baseball players Albany-Colonie Yankees players Columbus Clippers players Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Oneonta Yankees players Portland Beavers players Toledo Mud Hens players Tucson Toros players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1950s-stub