Anthony Edward Campana (born May 30, 1986) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

center fielder. 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), ...

(MLB) for the Chicago Cubs,

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 ...

and

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 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 h ...

Career

Chicago Cubs

Campana attended the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

, where he 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 p ...

for the

Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. Though they will move to the Big 12 Conference (XII) the teams are currently a part of the American Athletic Conference (The American), which from 1979 ...

. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 13th round of the

2008 MLB Draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

. Campana made his professional debut with the rookie-level

AZL Cubs The Arizona Complex League Cubs are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays it home games at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. The team is composed mainly of player ...

, and also played for the Low-A

Boise Hawks The Boise Hawks are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. Home games are played at Memorial Stadium in Garden City, Idaho, a small city surroun ...

, accumulating a .267/.340/.267 batting line. In 2009, Campana split the season between the Single-A

Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Peor ...

and the High-A

Daytona Cubs Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it. Daytona may also refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as ...

, posting a cumulative .284/.336/.315 batting line with 30 RBI. The following year, Campana played for the Double-A

Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off ...

, slashing .319/.378/.384 with 39 RBI in 131 games. He began the 2011 season with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. Campana was added to the Cubs active roster on May 17, 2011 and made his MLB debut the same day. He made his debut in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

versus the

Reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863 * USSR (or, to a lesser extent, China) during th ...

. On May 30, 2011, Campana stole second and third base, becoming the first Cub since

Alfonso Soriano Alfonso Guilleard Soriano (born January 7, 1976) is a Dominican former professional baseball left fielder and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals, and Chicago C ...

in 2008 to accomplish the feat. He ended up stealing four total bases in the contest. On August 5, 2011, Campana hit an

inside-the-park home run In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a play where a batter hits a home run without hitting the ball out of the field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-park home run", or "in-the-park homer". Discussion To score ...

, his first professional home run, off the Reds'

Mike Leake Michael Raymond Leake (born November 12, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, and Arizona Diamo ...

in the first inning. He finished his rookie season hitting .259/.303/.301 with 1 home run and 6 RBI in 95 games. On August 5, 2012, Campana was optioned to Triple-A Iowa. On November 2012, Campana started to play for the

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

in the Venezuelan league LVBP. He was recalled on September 1 and finished the season batting .264/.308/.299 in 89 games. Campana was designated for assignment by the Cubs on February 10, 2013.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On February 18, 2013, Campana was traded to the

for right-handed pitchers Jesus Castillo and Erick Leal. He spent the 2013 season up and down between the Triple-A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...

and Arizona, hitting .261/.370/.304 in 29 major league games. In an 18-inning game on August 24, 2013 against the Philadelphia Phillies, Campana walked five times, one walk shy of the Major League record. Teammate Cliff Pennington 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. Campana began the 2014 season with Arizona, again going up and down between Reno, and recorded a .150/.164/.200 slash line in 26 games.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

On July 5, 2014, Campana was traded along with

Joe Thatcher Joseph Andrew Thatcher (born October 4, 1981) is an American college baseball coach and former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim an ...

to the

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 h ...

in exchange for prospects

Zach Borenstein Zachary Borenstein (born July 23, 1990) is an American professional left-handed-hitting baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. Borenstein attended Buffalo Grove High School in Illinois, where he was a ''Chicago Tribune'' and ''Chicag ...

and

Joey Krehbiel Joseph Roland Krehbiel ( ; born December 20, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays. Career Los Ange ...

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark o ...

before later being called up to the big league club, where he went 5-for-15 in 18 games. On October 27, Campana was outrighted off of the 40-man roster and elected free agency 5 days later.

Chicago White Sox

On November 28, 2014, Campana signed a minor league contract 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 ...

organization. However, on March 4, 2015 the White Sox released Campana after he suffered a torn ACL during training.

Washington Nationals

On August 11, 2015, Campana signed a minor league deal with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

organization which ran through the 2016 season. After hitting .225/.301/.342 in 43 games with the Triple-A

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, Campana was released by the Nationals organization on June 27, 2016.

Chicago White Sox (second stint)

On July 4, 2016, Campana signed a minor league contract to return to the

organization. He finished the season with the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

, where he hit .205/.241/.217 in 29 contests. On November 7, he elected free agency.

Sioux City Explorers

On April 20, 2017, Campana signed with the Sioux City Explorers of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. Campana played in 96 games for Sioux City in 2017, slashing .301/.357/.342 with 1 home run and 23 RBI.

Rieleros de Aguascalientes

On February 7, 2018, Campana signed with the

Rieleros de Aguascalientes The Rieleros de Aguascalientes (English: Aguascalientes Railroaders) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Aguascalientes, Mexico. History Baseball arrived in Aguascalientes in hand with the railroad at the beginning o ...

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five t ...

. In 112 games for Aguascalientes in 2018, Campana notched 136 hits with 1 home run and 30 RBI. In 62 games for the team in 2019, Campana logged a .298/.346/.436 slash line with 2 home runs and 26 RBI.

Sultanes de Monterrey

On June 25, 2019, Campana was traded to the Sultanes de Monterrey of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He finished the year with Monterrey, batting .344/.383/.423 in 54 games. Campana did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Mexican League season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Bravos de León

On February 2, 2021, Campana was traded to the

Bravos de León The Bravos de León (English: León Braves) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in León, Guanajuato, Mexico. History Cachorros de León (1979–80) Mexican League baseball in León began in 1979 when the Alijador ...

of the

. He hit .255 in 11 games before being released by León on June 7, 2021.

Leones de Yucatán

On June 17, 2021, Campana signed with the

Leones de Yucatán The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The team play its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in , , , ...

of the

. He was released by Yucatán on June 25, 2021 after going 3-for-23 in 6 games. The following day, Campana released a statement via Twitter announcing his retirement from baseball and thanking his family, friends and coaches.

Personal life

Campana was diagnosed with

Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of hematological malignancy, blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include lymphadenopathy, enlarged lymph nodes, fever ...

as a child. He underwent 10 years of treatment, and today is in remission.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campana, Tony 1986 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American people of Italian descent Arizona League Cubs players Arizona Diamondbacks players Boise Hawks players Bravos de León players Charlotte Knights players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Bearcats baseball players Daytona Cubs players Iowa Cubs players Leones de Yucatán players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball center fielders Mexican League baseball center fielders Naranjeros de Hermosillo players People from Kettering, Ohio Peoria Chiefs players Reno Aces players Rieleros de Aguascalientes players Salt Lake Bees players Sioux City Explorers players Sultanes de Monterrey players Syracuse Chiefs players Tennessee Smokies players UNC Asheville Bulldogs baseball players University of Cincinnati alumni University of North Carolina at Asheville alumni