Anthony Michael Cogan (born December 21, 1976) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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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 ...

. He played part of one season 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), ...

in 2001 for the Kansas City Royals. Cogan, who has been listed as 6' 2", bats and throws

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

Baseball career

High school & college

Cogan, who is Jewish, attended Highland Park High School, which he graduated in 1995. Summer of his junior and senior years in high school he played for the Norwood Blues. Cogan attended Stanford University, where he was a star pitcher. In 1996, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Chatham A's The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He received an Honorable Mention for the All-Pac-10 Southern Division team in his sophomore year (1997). He holds the record for career appearances by a Stanford pitcher, with 107 (all but one were in relief), and the single season record of 36. He was 18–7 in his college career, and his 15 saves is tied for the 5th-highest total in Stanford history. He was selected as Stanford's Most Inspirational Player in 1999.

Professional ball

Cogan was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 12th round of the 1999 amateur draft. He moved from Single A to Triple A in 1999–2001. In 1999 he was a

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Basebal ...

All-Star, as he finished the season with a 1.36 ERA in 39.2 innings. In 2000, he was 9–7 with a 2.85 ERA playing for several minor league Royals affiliates. After two years in the minor leagues, Cogan was called up to the Kansas City Royals on April 2, 2001. He pitched in 39 games in relief for the team that year, and had a 5.84 ERA. He was then sent to Omaha of the Pacific Coast League, where he was 1–1, with 2 saves and a 2.79 ERA. He pitched in Double A ball for the

Wichita Wranglers The Wichita Wranglers were a minor league baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team, which played in the Texas League, was the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres from 1987 to 1994 and the Kansas City Royals ...

in the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

in 2002, going 4–6 with a 3.47 ERA, in 17 games (starting 16). Kansas City released Cogan on September 7. Cogan was signed by 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 ...

for the 2003 season and played with the AAA

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

. He had season-ending shoulder surgery in mid-April and was released on June 13. In 2005 and 2006 Cogan pitched in for the

Sioux Falls Canaries The Sioux Falls Canaries are a professional baseball team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. The Canaries are members of the North Division of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major L ...

. In 2006, he went 7–5 with a 3.02 ERA. Cogan became a free agent after the 2006 season. In 2007, he pitched for the

Gary SouthShore RailCats The Gary SouthShore RailCats are a professional baseball team based in Gary, Indiana, in the United States. The RailCats are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The Rai ...

of the Northern League. Cogan, the Railcats closer, led the Northern League in saves with 25, setting a new RailCats single-season club record. The 25 saves tied for the third-highest total in the history of the Northern League, and was the most for any N.L. pitcher since 2004. He also pitched in the Northern League All-Star Game, and made a team-leading 46 appearances out of the bullpen, with a 2.77 ERA. Opposing batters went 6 for 42 (.143) against him with men on base and two outs. In 2008 the Northern League named Cogan pitcher of the week for May 26 – June 1. He went 2–0 with a 0.63 earned run average over 14.1 innings, striking out 14 hitters to bring his season total to a league high 25. Cogan announced his retirement on February 20, 2010.RailCats pitcher Tony Cogan announces retirement
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References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cogan, Tony 1976 births Living people Baseball players from Chicago Charleston AlleyCats players Chatham Anglers players Gary SouthShore RailCats players Jewish American baseball players Jewish Major League Baseball players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball pitchers Omaha Golden Spikes players Sioux Falls Canaries players Spokane Indians players Stanford Cardinal baseball players Wichita Wranglers players Wilmington Blue Rocks players 21st-century American Jews