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

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through for the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves,

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 ...

and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Playing career

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

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 and a 4.07 ERA in 1,767

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. He enjoyed his best year for the 1965 Braves, with career highs in

wins WINS may refer to: *WINS (AM), an all-news radio station in New York City *WINS-FM, a radio station in New York City *World Institute for Nuclear Security *Windows Internet Name Service *WINS (solution stack), a set of software subsystems *Wireles ...

(24), strikeouts (211), ERA (3.29),

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s (16), innings (279) and games started (40). Regarded as a tough fireball pitcher, Cloninger also was a dangerous power hitter. He compiled a career batting average of .192, with 67 RBIs and 11 home runs, including five in the 1966 season. On July 3, 1966, in the Braves' 17–3 win over the Giants at Candlestick Park 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, and remains the only pitcher, to hit two grand slams in the same game. Cloninger used a bat of teammate Denis Menke'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 and Woody Woodward by the Reds from the Atlanta Braves for Milt Pappas, Bob Johnson and Ted Davidson on June 11, 1968.

Coaching career

After retiring, Cloninger served as a bullpen coach for the New York Yankees (1992–2001), where he was a member of five American League champions and four World Series champion teams. In 2002, he became the

pitching 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 decisio ...

for the Boston Red Sox, but was forced to step down in early 2003 when he underwent successful treatment for bladder cancer 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. 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 Brook Alexander Fordyce (born May 7, 1970) is an American former Major League Baseball catcher with the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays between 1995 and 2004. He batted and threw ...

in a headlock.

Death

Cloninger died on July 24, 2018, in Denver, North Carolina 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