Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bell shows his tattoos, in honor of his grandfather Bob Bell, who was famous for his alter-ego, Bozo the Clown. (Gary Landers/The Enquirer)

Athletes have all kinds of role models. Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bell's is a clown, and he doesn't care who knows it.

Bell, who pitched in the Reds farm system last year and is in spring training with the major league team this spring, is the grandson of Bozo the Clown, and he sports a tattoo of his grandfather's heavily made-up face on his left arm.

"He did it for 25 years straight - if I could play baseball for 25 years, that'd be incredible," Bell told The Cincinnati Enquirer. "It'd take him three-and-a-half hours to put his makeup on every day. He'd be up at 3:30 in the morning putting on his makeup and he did it for the kids, and that's all he did it for."

Trevor Bell #62 of the Cincinnati Reds poses during picture day on February 20, 2014 at Goodyear Park in Goodyear, Ariz. (Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)

On his arm Bell also has a tattoo of a pair of clown shoes, near the words "The shoes will never be filled."

Although as many as 200 actors played the role of Bozo since its creation in the 1940s, Bell's grandfather Bob Bell might be the most famous version. He appeared on Chicago's "Bozo's Circus" TV show, starting in 1960, which was broadcast nationally through WGN-TV.

Trevor Bell, 27, hasn't done too bad for himself either. He's a former major league pitcher for the California Angels, making a bid to return to the big leagues with the Reds.