Clifton Randolph Pennington (born June 15, 1984) is an American former

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), ...

(MLB)

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

who played for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

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 ...

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 ha ...

, and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

between 2008 and 2018, and who is currently the baseball recruiting coordinator for the

Dallas Baptist Patriots The Dallas Baptist Patriots are the 15 athletic teams that represent the Dallas Baptist University, located in Dallas, Texas, in NCAA intercollegiate sports. All of the varsity Patriot athletic teams compete at the Division II level with the exce ...

Amateur career

A native of

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "'' Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patrici ...

, Pennington 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 pl ...

for the

Texas A&M Aggies baseball The Texas A&M Aggie baseball team represents Texas A&M University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The Aggies have competed in the Southeastern Conference since 2013. The Aggies play home games at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park. The team is ...

team under head coach Mark Johnson from 2003 to 2005. In 2004, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

, and was named to the league's

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in 2020.

Professional career

Oakland Athletics

Pennington was drafted in the first round of the

2005 Major League Baseball Draft The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best ...

by the Athletics. On August 12, , he was called up from the Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 yea ...

, and made his Major League debut that day against the Tampa Bay Rays going 0-for-3 in a 2-1 win for the Athletics. Pennington would end his 2008 season with a .280 batting average. Following the 2009

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

camp, he was returned to the River Cats. On July 31, 2009, Pennington was called back up by the Athletics. He hit his first major league home run on August 5, against the Texas Rangers. He finished the 2009 season with 4 home runs, 21 RBIs, and a .249 batting average. He started the 2010 season in the starting role. He finished the season with 6 home runs and 46 RBI. Pennington started slow in the 2011 season, averaging .160 in his first 10 games. On August 1, he left during a game against the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

, after having trouble moving his muscles in his face and moving his eyes. Later that day, Pennington was diagnosed with

Bell's palsy Bell's palsy is a type of facial paralysis that results in a temporary inability to control the facial muscles on the affected side of the face. In most cases, the weakness is temporary and significantly improves over weeks. Symptoms can vary fr ...

, which paralyzes one side of the face and prevents him from controlling his muscles. Although Bell's palsy can last for days, weeks, or months, he was listed as day-to-day and only missed two games. Near the end of the 2012 season, Pennington had started playing second base after the Athletics acquired

Stephen Drew Stephen Oris Drew (born March 16, 1983) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Washington Na ...

from the

to play every day shortstop, also due to the demotion of second baseman

Jemile Weeks Jemile Nykiwa Weeks ( ; born January 26, 1987) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and San Diego P ...

. Pennington went to the post season for the first time in his career as the Athletics won the AL West in 2012. They were eliminated in the

ALDS In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ea ...

by the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

in five games.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On October 20, 2012, Pennington was traded to the

with

Heath Bell Heath Justin Bell (born September 29, 1977) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. As a closer with the San Diego Padres from 2009 to 2011, Bell was a three-time All-Star and twice won the Rolaids Relief Man Award. He was ...

and cash considerations. Oakland received Chris Young and $500K from Arizona, and the Marlins received minor-league infielder Yordy Cabrera from Oakland. Pennington and the Diamondbacks agreed to a two-year contract worth $5 million on January 23, 2013. The contract was finalized on January 30. On April 13, 2013, Pennington was

ejected Ejection or Eject may refer to: * Ejection (sports), the act of officially removing someone from a game * Eject (''Transformers''), a fictional character from ''The Transformers'' television series * "Eject" (song), 1993 rap rock single by Sense ...

for the first time in his MLB career for arguing a correctly ruled strike three call made by

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

Jim Reynolds James Norris Reynolds IV (born December 22, 1968) is a former American Major League Baseball umpire. He joined the major league staff in and was promoted to crew chief for the 2020 season. Reynolds wore uniform number 77. He retired following t ...

. In an 18 inning game on 24–25 August 2013 at the Philadelphia Phillies, Pennington walked five times, one shy of the Major League record. Teammate

Tony Campana Anthony Edward Campana (born May 30, 1986) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Career Chicago Cubs C ...

also walked five times. The teams drew a combined 28 bases on balls, a National League record. The Diamondbacks' 18 walks tied the National League mark. The game lasted seven hours and six minutes, the longest in franchise history for both clubs. Pennington signed a one-year, $3.275 million deal in January 2014 and avoided arbitration.

Toronto Blue Jays

On August 8, 2015, Pennington was traded to the

along with cash considerations for minor league shortstop Dawel Lugo. He batted .160 with 2 home runs and 11 RBI in 33 games played for the Blue Jays in 2015. In game 4 of the

2015 American League Championship Series The 2015 American League Championship Series (ALCS) was a best-of-seven playoff contested between the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals for the American League (AL) pennant and the right to play in the 2015 World Series. The series is the ...

, with two out in the ninth, Pennington became the first position player in Major League Baseball history to pitch in a postseason game, giving up two hits but recording the final out in a 14–2 loss to the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

Los Angeles Angels

On November 17, 2015, Pennington signed a two-year contract with the

Cincinnati Reds

On February 15, 2018, Pennington signed a minor league deal with the

. Pennington earned a spot on the Reds' Opening Day roster. On May 18, 2018, he asked for and was granted his release from the organization.

Texas Rangers

On May 19, 2018, Pennington signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers. He elected free agency on November 2, 2018.

Oakland Athletics (Second Stint)

On February 15, 2019, Pennington signed a minor league contract with the

that included an invite to Spring Training. Pennigton was one of 28 Athletics selected to go to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

to play two regular season games against the

. Pennington was released on March 30, 2019.

New York Yankees

On April 5, 2019, Pennington signed a minor league contract with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. He was released on June 4, 2019.

Coaching career

On July 17 2019, he was hired as a student assistant coach by his alma mater,

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. Following the 2021 season, Pennington joined the coaching staff of the

as recruiting coordinator.

References

External links

Pennington's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennington, Cliff 1984 births Living people Baseball players from Texas Sportspeople from Corpus Christi, Texas American expatriate baseball players in Canada Oakland Athletics players Arizona Diamondbacks players Toronto Blue Jays players Los Angeles Angels players Cincinnati Reds players Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Texas A&M Aggies baseball players Kane County Cougars players Stockton Ports players Arizona League Athletics players Midland RockHounds players Phoenix Desert Dogs players Sacramento River Cats players Arizona League Diamondbacks players Reno Aces players Louisville Bats players Round Rock Express players Falmouth Commodores players Texas A&M Aggies baseball coaches Dallas Baptist Patriots baseball coaches