Cliff Pennington (baseball)
| Cliff Pennington | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Arizona Diamondbacks – No. 4 | |
| Shortstop/Second baseman | |
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Born: June 15, 1984 Corpus Christi, Texas | |
| Bats: Switch | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| August 12, 2008 for the Oakland Athletics | |
| Career statistics (through 2013 season) | |
| Batting average | .248 |
| Home runs | 25 |
| Runs batted in | 180 |
| Teams | |
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Clifton Randoulph Pennington (born June 15, 1984) is a Major League Baseball infielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks
Career
Pennington attended Texas A&M University. He played for the Texas A&M Aggies baseball team.
Oakland Athletics
Pennington was drafted in the first round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft by the Athletics. On July 31, 2008, he was called up from the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, and made his major league debut that day going 2-4.
Following the 2009 spring training camp, he was returned to the River Cats.[1]
On July 31, 2009, Pennington was called back up by the Athletics. He hit his first major league home run on August 5, against the Texas Rangers. He finished the 2009 season with 4 home runs, 21 RBIs, and a .249 batting average. He started the 2010 season in the starting role. He finished the season with 6 home runs and 46 RBI.
Pennington started slow in the 2011 season, averaging .160 in his first 10 games. On August 1, he left during a game against the Seattle Mariners, after having trouble moving his muscles in his face and moving his eyes. Later that day, Pennington was diagnosed with Bell's palsy, which paralyzes one side of the face and prevents him from controlling his muscles. although Bell's palsy can last for days, weeks, or months, he was listed as day-to-day and only missed two games.[2]
Near the end of the 2012 season, Pennington had started playing second base after the Athletics acquired Stephen Drew from the Arizona Diamondbacks to play every day shortstop, also due to the demotion of second baseman Jemile Weeks. Pennington went to the post season for the first time in his career as the Athletics won the AL West in 2012. They were eliminated in the ALDS by the Detroit Tigers in five games.
Arizona Diamondbacks
On October 20, 2012, Pennington was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in which the Diamondbacks acquired Pennington, Heath Bell and cash considerations, Oakland receiving Chris Young and $500K from Arizona, and the Marlins receiving minor-league infielder Yordy Cabrera from Oakland.[3] Pennington and the Diamondbacks agreed to a two-year contract worth $5 million on January 23, 2013. The contract was finalized on January 30.[4]
On April 13, 2013, Pennington was ejected for the first time in his MLB career for arguing a correctly ruled strike three call made by umpire Jim Reynolds.[5] In an 18 inning game on 24-25 August 2013 at the Philadelphia Phillies, Pennington walked five times, one shy of the Major League record. Teammate Tony Campana 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.[6][7][8]
References
- ↑ Oakland's Young Studs Make Roster SI.com, April 4, 2009
- ↑ Kunnath, Avinash (August 1, 2011). "Oakland Athletics Injury Report: Cliff Pennington Diagnosed With Bell's Palsy". SB Nation. Retrieved January 30,2013.
- ↑ Gilbert, Stev (October 20, 2012). "D-backs make deals for Bell and Pennington". MLB.com. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
- ↑ "Diamondbacks finalize $5M, 2-year deal with SS Pennington". TSN.ca. January 30, 2013. Retrieved January 30,2013.
- ↑ "MLB Ejection 008: Jim Reynolds (1; Cliff Pennington)." Close Call Sports/Umpire Ejection Fantasy League. April 13, 2013.
- ↑ "D-backs outlast Phillies in game lasting over 7 hours". espn.com. August 25, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
- ↑ "Pennington's walk-up song is Cruise by Florida Georgia Line. Sprint helps bring D-backs' marathon to end". mlb.com. August 25, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
- ↑ The 2008 Complete Baseball Record Book
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
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