Clint Balgera

Clinton J. Balgera

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 194 lb.

• School Grand Rapids Community College

• Born August 5, 1975 in Perth, Western Australia Australia

BR Minors page

Clint Balgera has been a longtime player in both Australia and Italy.

Clint played junior college ball in the USA, winning MVP honors at the 1996 NJCAA Division II World Series to help his Grand Rapids club take the title. He debuted in the Australian Baseball League in 1998-1999, hitting .283/.409/.584 for the Perth Heat though he fielded just .828 as a utility infielder. He finished 4th in the ABL in slugging and tied Paul Gorman for 4th with 22 walks. He won Rookie of the Year honors.

He hit .289/.377/.378 for the Western Australia Heelers in the 1999-2000 International Baseball League of Australia. He then spent his lone summer in the USA as a pro, going just 6 for 36 with 6 walks and a double as a OF-1B for the Catskill Cougars. In the 2002 Claxton Shield, he was 7 for 24 with six walks and five runs in seven games as Western Australia's DH.

Balgera came to Italy for the first time in 2002 and batted .313/.439/.493 with 43 walks and 40 runs in 54 games as an outfielder for Parma. He was 8th in the Serie A1 in OBP and was 4th in walks behind Claudio Liverziani, Seth La Fera and Chuck Carr. He went 6 for 22 with 7 walks, 2 doubles, 4 runs and 5 RBI in six games in the 2003 Claxton Shield.

Clint hit .300/.369/.392 for Rimini in 2003 then was 7 for 22 with three doubles and two walks in the 2004 Claxton Shield for the Heelers. Back with Parma that summer, his batting line read .296/.388/.392 and he coaxed 29 walks in 54 games. He fell to .259/.369/.295 with nothing further than a double for the 2005 Rimini club but still drew 29 walks, tying Cole Liniak for 10th in Serie A1.

With Western Australia in 2006 after missing a year, Balgera went 6 for 18 with 9 walks and 6 runs in six games. Continuing to bounce between Parma and Rimini, he was back with the former club for '06 and hit .270/.354/.328. He did not play in 2007. In the 2008 Claxton Shield, Balgera starred, batting .450/.549/.650 with 11 RBI in 12 games. He led in average, was second to Tim Kennelly with 10 walks, led in OBP and was 4th in RBI to help Western Australia go worst-to-first. He won MVP honors.

Back with Rimini in 2008, Balgera had a batting line of .255/.343/.331. Despite his excellent work in the 2008 Claxton Shield, he did not play in '09; nor did he appear in Italy that year. He returned to Italy in 2010.