Bellino was a catcher for his high school, Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois. He attended Northern Illinois University and managed the men's basketball team under Head Coach Brian Hammel.[1] During his studies at the NIU College of Business, Dan was selected and attended a semester at Oxford University in England. He holds a J.D. from the University of Illinois Chicago, has an MBA from the Brennan School of Business, and has passed the Illinois bar exam.[2]
Umpiring career
Bellino has umpired Major League Baseball games since the 2008 season. He was promoted to crew chief in 2023.[3]
On May 4, 2022 at LoanDepot Park, Bellino ejected Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Madison Bumgarner from a game after the top of the first inning. Just before the ejection, Bumgarner appeared to have become frustrated after Bellino stared down the pitcher and held his hand for an abnormally long time during a foreign substance check. Bellino's conduct seemed to stem from Bellino's unhappiness with Bumgarner in the prior half-inning.[4][5] Two days later, Bellino issued a public apology and faced undisclosed discipline from MLB.[6][7] Bumgarner addressed Bellino's apology and said that it was not directed at him.[8] On August 5, 2022 at Chase Field, Bumgarner started at pitcher and Bellino was the third base umpire, marking the first game since Bellino's incident. Walking off the mound towards the home dugout following the top of the third inning, when Bellino went to check the pitcher's hand, Bumgarner took a hard left so that home plate umpire Mark Ripperger could perform it instead. “No way, I’m not putting myself in that position again, no way. I won’t do it,” Bumgarner said postgame. “He (the home plate umpire) might be a little bit uncomfortable, but I wasn’t being aggressive. I just told them, ‘If you want to check my hand, you can do it, but I’m not letting him do it, I won’t do it.'”[9]
Outside baseball
Bellino worked for the law firm of Morici, Figioli & Associates and served as an aide for federal judge Charles P. Kocoras before attending umpire school.[2] Holding both Juris Doctor (JD) and MBA degrees, Bellino's terminal law school research paper concerned the major league umpire union and 1999 umpires' strike.[10] In 2008, Dan and his father Tony acquired the RE/MAX Superior Properties office in Huntley, Illinois. Currently, he manages a suburban law firm and serves as "of counsel" for the international law firm Lowis & Gellen LLP based in Chicago, IL. Bellino also owns and manages Elite Extremity MRI of Wisconsin.[11]
Personal life
He lives in Lakewood, Illinois,[12] with his wife and their four children. Dan's oldest son is named after his brother, who died unexpectedly during Dan's childhood.[13]
