Douglas Cody Clark (born September 14, 1981) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

. He played for the Houston Astros of

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), ...

during the 2013 season. He is currently an advanced scout for the Kansas City Royals.

Playing career

Clark attended Fayetteville High School in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

selected Clark in the 48th round of the 2000 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, but Clark did not sign. He enrolled at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

Arkansas Razorbacks baseball The University of Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and is coached by Dave Van Horn. The program started in 1897, and is in its 100th seas ...

team in 2002 before transferring

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

to play for the

Wichita State Shockers baseball The Wichita State Shockers baseball team represents Wichita State University in the sport of baseball. The Wichita State Shockers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and in the American Athletic Confere ...

team.

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers drafted Clark in the 11th round of the 2003 MLB Draft, and he signed.

Atlanta Braves

Clark played in minor league baseball for the Rangers, then

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

, and in

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Kansas City Royals

He signed with the Kansas City Royals organization in 2007. After a disappointing 2008 season in

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

of the minor leagues, Clark considered retirement. He again considered retiring after the 2012 season.

Houston Astros

Clark signed with the Houston Astros organization before the 2013 season. The Astros promoted Clark to the major leagues for the first time on August 23, 2013, when they placed Max Stassi on the disabled list. On September 13, 2013, in a game against the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

, Clark got his first hit in the Major Leagues off of starter

Jason Vargas Jason Matthew Vargas (born February 2, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Royals, New York Mets and Ph ...

. He was outrighted off the Astros roster on October 2, 2013.

Coaching career

Clark retired after the 2013 season, and joined the Kansas City Royals as their

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coordinator for the 2014 season. During the season, he became the Royals'

bullpen catcher The bullpen catcher is a member of a baseball team's staff, often a former professional player, who catches the ball for relief pitchers warming up before entering a game and starting pitchers before games. A bullpen catcher differentiates from a ...

. After the 2016 season, he was reassigned to a scout.

Personal

Clark's father, Doug, played minor league baseball for the Oakland Athletics' organization. His wife, Jordan, was pregnant with their first child when he was first promoted to the majors.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Cody 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Fayetteville, Arkansas Baseball players from Arkansas Baseball catchers Houston Astros players Arkansas Razorbacks baseball players Wichita State Shockers baseball players Spokane Indians players Clinton LumberKings players San Diego Surf Dawgs players Rome Braves players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Omaha Royals players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Brisbane Bandits players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Corpus Christi Hooks players Kansas City Royals coaches Kansas City Royals scouts Major League Baseball bullpen catchers American expatriate baseball players in Australia