Anthony Joseph Graffanino (; born Graffagnino, June 6, 1972) is a former

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 ...

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), ...

second baseman,

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, and

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

Career

Graffanino was primarily a contact hitter (just 481

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s in 2787 big-league

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

s) who was able to get on base (career .336 OBP) – and his speed was above average, with 53

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s in 78 attempts. He excelled as a situational hitter, being capable of hitting behind the runner and dropping down a

bunt Bunt may refer to: * Bunt (community), an elite social group from Karnataka, India * Bunt (baseball), a batting technique in baseball * Bunt (sail), a part of a ship's sail * Bunt Island, island in Antarctica * The Bunt, nickname of the Bunting ...

. As a fielder, he had the ability to play every infield position and

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

. He had an above-average arm, which helped him in LF and on the left side of the infield. During Graffanino's minor league career, he spent time with Pulaski in , the

Idaho Falls Braves Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

of the Pioneer League in , the

Macon Braves Macon may refer to: Places Belgium *Macon, Belgium France *Mâcon ** Ancient Diocese of Mâcon **Mâcon, another name for the Mâconnais wine from that region United States of America * Macon, Alabama * Macon, Georgia * Macon, Illinois *Macon ...

of the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

in , the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

in and the Greenville Braves of the Southern League in . After spending three years with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

, seasons with the

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, and another with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

, Graffanino played only second base for the Kansas City Royals in , but moved around more in . Obtained by 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 eight ...

for

Chip Ambres Raymond Payne "Chip" Ambres (born December 19, 1979) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball outfielder. Florida Marlins Ambres was born in Beaumont, Texas. As a senior at West Brook Senior High School in Beaumont, Texas, Ambres was n ...

and Juan Cedeño after the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

, he started at second base following the cut of Mark Bellhorn. In 2005, Graffanino

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

.298 for the Royals and .319 with the Red Sox for a combined .309 (117-for-379), a career high. He also posted career numbers in RBI (38), runs (68), doubles (17), games (110), and hits. He made an

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

in the fifth inning of Game Two of the 2005 American League Division Series which led to three unearned runs. The runs came on a two-out, three-run home run by White Sox 2B

Tadahito Iguchi , nicknamed "Gucci", is a Japanese served professional baseball second baseman and from manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). As a member of the Chicago White Sox in 2005, Iguchi became the first Japanese-bor ...

which proved to be the game-winning hit. The Red Sox were swept in that series. Graffanino was claimed off waivers by the Royals prior to the start of the 2006 season. He hit .268 in 69 games for the Royals before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers at the All-Star Break for

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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 ...

Jorge De La Rosa Jorge Alberto de la Rosa Gonzalez (born April 5, 1981) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago ...

. In , Graffanino struggled to begin the year, but after the call up of talented prospect

Ryan Braun Ryan Joseph Braun (born November 17, 1983) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Braun also played right field and f ...

, Graffanino seemed to be invigorated and raised his sub .200 batting average to over .240 over a month's time. He slugged nine home runs in only 231 at bats that season. But on August 8, Graffanino tore his ACL, ending his season with a .238 batting average. After the 2007 World Series, he officially became a free agent. On June 24, 2008, he signed a minor league contract with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

. He hit .315 in 25 games and became a free agent at the end of the season. In February , he re-signed with the Indians. In October 2009 Graffanino became a free agent.

Personal life

, Graffanino identified as an

evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

. He remained active in the community during his career. In 2002, he coordinated and led baseball clinics for boys and girls from Mercy Home at

U.S. Cellular Field Guaranteed Rate Field is a baseball stadium located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It serves as the home stadium of the Chicago White Sox, one of the city's two Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, and is owned by the state ...

and signed autographs at the

James R. Thompson Center The James R. Thompson Center (JRTC), originally the State of Illinois Center, is a postmodern-style civic building designed by architect Helmut Jahn, located at 100 W. Randolph Street in the Loop district of Chicago. It houses offices of the Ill ...

to promote the need for organ donors. Graffanino was born Anthony Graffagnino but dropped the second "g" after numerous mispronunciations from minor league announcers. He grew up in

East Islip, New York East Islip is a hamlet and CDP in the Town of Islip, Suffolk County, New York, United States. At the time of the 2010 census, the CDP had a population of 14,475. History and overview Originally referred to as "East of Islip", the name was ac ...

. He and his wife, Nicole, have two sons, A.J. and Nicholas. A.J. was drafted by the Braves in the eighth round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.

References

External links

The Tony Graffanino Foundation
- The Tony Graffanino Foundation
Resources and links at BrewCrewBall.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graffanino, Tony 1972 births Living people Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from New York (state) Boston Red Sox players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Durham Bulls players Greenville Braves players Kansas City Royals players Macon Braves players Major League Baseball infielders Milwaukee Brewers players Omaha Royals players People from Amityville, New York People from East Islip, New York Richmond Braves players Sportspeople from Suffolk County, New York Tampa Bay Devil Rays players American evangelicals