All in the family: Cody Bellinger wins All-Star MVP as his dad, former big leaguer Clay, looks on

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cody Bellinger had a night for the ages.

His young daughters sat next to him and his father watched from the back of the room as he spoke about winning the All-Star Game's Most Valuable Player award.

“Just being able to hang out and watching him win an award, it’s pretty cool," former Yankee Clay Bellinger said after his son's two-run single in the first inning off Cristopher Sánchez started the American League to a 4-0 win on Tuesday night.

Cody re-signed with the Yankees last winter for a $162.5 million, five-year deal and he has been a key part of the offense. He was hitting .280 through mid-June before a slump dropped his average to .254 heading into the All-Star break. Bellinger hasn't homered in a month.

“Baseball is the craziest game in the world. It really is. Sometimes it’s unexplainable," he said. “Going into the break, I actually was feeling pretty good. I felt like I was on the right track.”

Clay Bellinger was an outfielder and infielder for the Yankees from 1999 to 2001, winning a pair of World Series titles, then finished his big league career with the Anaheim Angels in 2002.

Cody was 5 when his dad won his second World Series title. Clay never imagined the player Cody would turn into.

“I knew he was good, but not this good,” Clay said.

Cody became the fourth Yankees player to win the All-Star Game MVP after Derek Jeter (2000), Mariano Rivera (2013) and Giancarlo Stanton (2022).

“Wearing this jersey — I feel proud wearing it," he said. “It comes with a lot.”

Bellinger, who turned 31 on Monday, was a fourth-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013 and made the All-Star team in 2017, when he was voted NL Rookie of the Year. He hit 47 homers in 2019 and was voted the NL MVP after making his second All-Star team.

“I was, like, `Oh, I’ll be here every year,'" he said. “It took a long time to get back. It’s such a competitive league.”

He followed with three straight subpar seasons, missing time in 2021 because of calf, hamstring and rib injuries. He was cut after the 2022 season and signed a $17.5 million, one-year deal with the Cubs.

Bellinger hit a career-high .307 with 29 homers and 97 RBIs, became a free agent again and signed an $80 million, three-year contract with the Cubs. After a subpar, injury-slowed season, he was dealt to the Yankees.

He tested the free-agent market, then decided to stay in pinstripes.

“He loves it there,” Clay said. “He loves the teammates, loves the city, loves playing in Yankee Stadium. So, it was kind of a no-brainer.”

Daughters Caiden and Cy accompanied Cody onto the field along with his wife, Chase, for photos after he received his award from Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt.

“You always hope for your kids to do well, whether or not it’s playing baseball or doing whatever they like to do,” Clay said. “He’s been pretty good at it for quite a long time.”

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New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger poses with the MVP trophy after the MLB baseball All-Star Game between the American League and National League, Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger poses with the MVP trophy after the MLB baseball All-Star Game between the American League and National League, Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger, right, Chase Carter Bellinger and their kids pose with the MVP trophy after the MLB baseball All-Star Game between the American League and National League, Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger, right, Chase Carter Bellinger and their kids pose with the MVP trophy after the MLB baseball All-Star Game between the American League and National League, Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger kisses Chase Carter Bellinger after he won the MVP trophy after the MLB baseball All-Star Game between the American League and National League, Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

PARIS (AP) — France’s National Assembly is set to give final approval Wednesday to a bill allowing adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication, the culmination of years of debate over end-of-life care.

The lower house of parliament is widely expected to approve the measure after backing it in three previous readings, completing parliament’s work on the legislation announced by French President Emmanuel Macron over three years ago.

The proposed measure primarily provides for medically assisted suicide, by allowing patients to receive and self-administer lethal medication under strict conditions. Only people whose physical condition prevents them from doing so would be allowed to receive assistance from a doctor or a nurse.

The Senate, the upper house where conservatives hold a majority, rejected the bill. Under France’s legislative process, however, the National Assembly has the final say when the two houses of parliament disagree.

Senate President Gérard Larcher has said he will refer the bill, once adopted, to the Constitutional Council, which will have up to a month to determine whether it complies with the Constitution. The law would only enter into force once that review has been completed.

Patients seeking to end their lives would have to be at least 18 years old and either French citizens or legal residents of France.

A doctor would first have to consult a team of health care professionals and then confirm that the patient has a serious and incurable illness that is life-threatening. The patient must be in an advanced or terminal stage, experiencing pain that cannot be relieved or is unbearable, and seeking lethal medication of their own free will.

Lawmakers specified that psychological suffering alone would not qualify a person for medically assisted dying.

People with severe psychiatric disorders or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s would not be eligible.

Patients would initiate the request, to be reviewed by health professionals within 15 days, and then confirm it after a period of reflection lasting at least two days.

If approved, they could take the lethal medication at the time and in the place of their choice, including at home or in a health care facility, in the presence of their loved ones if they wish.

On the chosen date, the doctor or nurse would have to verify that the person still wishes to proceed and remain nearby to intervene if complications arise.

France’s national health insurance system would cover all associated costs.

A 2023 report found that most French people are in favor of legalizing end-of-life options, and opinion polls have shown support increasing over the past two decades.

The Association for the Right to Die With Dignity said the law would allow people “to choose to end unbearable suffering, freely and with full awareness.” Its president, Jonathan Denis, said in a statement that “a law that creates a new right never forces anyone to exercise it. It does, however, ensure that every person … can remain at the heart of medical decisions that concern them and have their wishes respected.”

Opponents argue the measure could put pressure on older people and those living with illness or disabilities.

In an open letter to Macron, the anti-euthanasia group Alliance Vita said “every effort must be made to ensure that people who are suffering have immediate access to palliative care and support. Presenting death as a desirable solution can never be an acceptable response to suffering and is contrary to human dignity.”

In the past years, many French people have traveled to neighboring countries where medically assisted suicide or euthanasia is legal.

Medically assisted suicide generally involves a patient voluntarily taking lethal medication prescribed by a doctor. Euthanasia involves a doctor or other health care professional administering a lethal injection at the patient’s request.

Euthanasia is legal under certain conditions in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Canada, Colombia, Australia and New Zealand. Some of those countries also allow assisted suicide, which is legal in Switzerland, Austria and several U.S. states.

FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his speech on the end-of-life options, April 3, 2023, at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, Pool, File)

FILE - The National Assembly is seen, Jan. 13, 2026, in Paris. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva, File)