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

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

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 Baseball scorekeep ...

, and

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

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 means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

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 upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

s) who was able to get on base (career .336 OBP). He excelled as a situational hitter, being capable of hitting behind the runner and dropping down a

bunt Bunt may refer to: People * Darrell Bunt (1902–1977), Royal Navy chaplain * Dick Bunt (1929–2021), American basketball player * Raymond Bunt (born 1944), Pennsylvania politician * Bunt Stephens (John L. Stephens, 1889–1951), or Uncle Bunt ...

. 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 syst ...

. 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 landlocked state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly ref ...

of the Pioneer League in , the

Macon Braves Macon may refer to: Places Belgium * Macon, Belgium, a village France * Arrondissement of Mâcon, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté ** Mâcon, a city ** Ancient Diocese of Mâcon ** Mâcon, another name for the Mâconnais wine from that region United ...

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 h ...

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 The Greenville Braves were an American minor league baseball franchise, based in Greenville, South Carolina, that served as the Class AA farm team of the Atlanta Braves between 1984 and 2004. The Braves played in Greenville Municipal Stadium f ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

, seasons with the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...

, 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

, Graffanino played only

second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...

for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

for

Chip Ambres Raymond Payne "Chip" Ambres (born December 19, 1979) is an American 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, Amb ...

and Juan Cedeño after the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases 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 division, bu ...

, he started at second base following the cut of

Mark Bellhorn Mark Christian Bellhorn (born August 23, 1974) is an American former professional baseball infielder. In his ten-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Bellhorn was best known for being the starting second baseman for the Boston Red Sox during ...

. 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 i ...

.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 Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

. He made an

error An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

in the fifth inning of Game Two of the

2005 American League Division Series The 2005 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the American League side in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2005 postseason, began on Tuesday, October 4, and ended on Monday, October 10, with the champions of the three AL ...

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 people, Japanese served professional baseball second baseman and former Manager (baseball), manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). As a member of the Chicago White Sox in 200 ...

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 The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

at the All-Star Break for

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

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

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 C ...

. 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 fielder, right ...

, 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 The 2007 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2007 season. The 103rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Colorado Rockies and the American ...

, 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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. 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 Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

. 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 Rate Field (formerly named Comiskey Park, U.S. Cellular Field and Guaranteed Rate Field) is a baseball stadium located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago White Sox, one of the city ...

and signed autographs at the

James R. Thompson Center The James R. Thompson Center (JRTC), under reconstruction as Google Center or Googleplex Chicago and originally the State of Illinois Center, is a postmodern-style building designed by architect Helmut Jahn, located at 100 W. Randolph Street in ...

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. The population was 13,931 at the time of the 2020 census. History Originally referred to as "East of Islip", the name was acquired in 1890 from the es ...

. 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 The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation pi ...

References

External links

The Tony Graffanino Foundation
- The Tony Graffanino Foundation
Resources and links at BrewCrewBall.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graffanino, Tony 1972 births Living people 21st-century evangelicals Atlanta Braves players 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 Sportspeople from Babylon, New York People from East Islip, New York Baseball players from Islip (town), New York Richmond Braves players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players American evangelicals