Tony Lee Cloninger (August 13, 1940 – July 24, 2018) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player and coach. He played in

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), ...

as a right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

from through for the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

Playing career

A power pitcher, Cloninger compiled a career 113–97 record with 1,120 strikeouts and a 4.07

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in 1,767 innings pitched. He enjoyed his best year for the 1965 Braves, with career highs in wins (24), strikeouts (211), ERA (3.29), complete games (16), innings (279) and

games started In baseball statistics, games started (denoted by GS) indicates the number of games that a pitcher has started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he throws the first pitch to the first opposing batter. If a player is li ...

(40). Regarded as a tough fireball pitcher, Cloninger also was a dangerous power hitter. He compiled a career

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .192, with 67

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

and 11

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, including five in the 1966 season. On July 3, 1966, in the Braves' 17–3 win over the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 ...

in San Francisco, Cloninger helped his team's cause with two grand slams and nine RBIs, both of which still stand as Braves franchise single-game bests. Cloninger became the first player in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

, and remains the only pitcher, to hit two grand slams in the same game. Cloninger used a bat of teammate

Denis Menke Denis John Menke (July 21, 1940 – December 1, 2020) was a professional baseball infielder and coach. He played all or parts of 13 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1974. He played for the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1962–67), Hou ...

's to hit both of those big home runs, and they stood as the only two grand slams of his major league career. Cloninger finished his career pitching with Cincinnati and St. Louis. He was acquired along with

Clay Carroll Clay Palmer Carroll (born May 2, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won three divisio ...

and

Woody Woodward William Frederick "Woody" Woodward (born September 23, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player, college baseball coach, and general manager. He played in Major League Baseball, primarily as a shortstop from 1963 to 1971 for the ...

by the Reds from the Atlanta Braves for

Milt Pappas Milton Steven Pappas (May 11, 1939 – April 19, 2016) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through . Nicknamed "Gimpy", the 17-year veteran pitched for the Baltimore Ori ...

, Bob Johnson and

Ted Davidson Thomas Eugene Davidson (October 4, 1939 – September 1, 2006) was an American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed Major League Baseball relief pitcher from 1965 to 1968 for the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves. He was called "T ...

on June 11, 1968.

Coaching career

After retiring, Cloninger served as a

bullpen coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisi ...

for the

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

(1992–2001), where he was a member of five

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

champions and four

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

champion teams. In 2002, he became the pitching coach for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

, but was forced to step down in early 2003 when he underwent successful treatment for

bladder cancer Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the tissues of the urinary bladder. Symptoms include blood in the urine, pain with urination, and low back pain. It is caused when epithelial cells that line the bladder become ma ...

that had been diagnosed in spring training. In 2004, Cloninger became a player development consultant for the Red Sox, serving for almost 15 consecutive seasons until his death. As Red Sox pitching coach, Cloninger was ejected from a game in 2002 against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

. After two batters were hit by pitches, fights broke out and benches cleared. At one point, Cloninger, age 61 at the time but not shying away from trouble, grabbed Orioles player Brook Fordyce in a headlock.

Death

Cloninger died on July 24, 2018, in

Denver, North Carolina Denver, formerly known as Dry Pond, is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Lincoln County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 2,309. Known as “Dry Pond” until 1873, it was rena ...

at the age of 77.

References

External links

Tony Cloninger
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) * : {{DEFAULTSORT:Cloninger, Tony 1940 births 2018 deaths Atlanta Braves players Baseball coaches from North Carolina Baseball players from North Carolina Boston Red Sox coaches Cincinnati Reds players Eau Claire Braves players Jacksonville Braves players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Milwaukee Braves players New York Yankees coaches People from Cherryville, North Carolina Richmond Braves players St. Louis Cardinals players

Playing career

Coaching career

Death

See also

References

External links