Tony Cloninger
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Tony Lee Cloninger (born August 13, 1940 in Cherryville, North Carolina) is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher who played for the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves (1961-68), Cincinnati Reds (1968-71) and St. Louis Cardinals (1972). He batted and threw right-handed.
A fireball pitcher, Cloninger compiled a career 113-97 record with 1120 strikeouts and a 4.07 earned run average in 1767.2 innings pitched. He enjoyed his best year for the 1965 Braves with career highs in wins (24), strikeouts (211), ERA (3.29), complete games (16), innings (279) and games started (40).
Regarded as a tough fireball pitcher, Cloninger was a dangerous hitter as well. He compiled a career .192 batting average with 67 runs batted in and 11 home runs, including five in 1966. On July 3, 1966, in a Braves 17-3 victory against the Giants at Candlestick Park, Cloninger helped himself with the bat when he hit two grand slams and drove in nine runs. He became the first player in the National League and the first pitcher ever to hit two slams in the same game, setting also a major league record for pitchers with his nine RBI.
Cloninger finished his career pitching with Cincinnati and St. Louis. After retiring, he served as a pitching coach for the Yankees and Red Sox.
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[edit] Trivia
- On the same day that Cloninger had his record-setting two grand slam game, the wife of Cloninger's teammate, Felipe Alou, gave birth to a son who became a great hitter himself: Moisés Alou.
- Late in the game, the #8 hitter for the Braves came to bat with two men on base. He struck out, to the boos of the hometown Giants fans. Conceivably, if the #8 hitter had reached base without driving in a run, Cloninger would have had a chance for a third grand slam.
