- Tony Cloninger
Tony Lee Cloninger (born
August 13 ,1940 inCherryville, North Carolina ) is a formerMajor League Baseball starting pitcher who played for the Milwaukee andAtlanta Braves (1961-68),Cincinnati Reds (1968-71) andSt. Louis Cardinals (1972). He batted and threw right-handed.A fireball pitcher, Cloninger compiled a career 113-97 record with 1120
strikeout s and a 4.07earned run average in 1767.2innings 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) andgames started (40).Regarded as a tough fireball pitcher, Cloninger was a dangerous hitter as well. He compiled a career .192
batting average with 67runs batted in and 11home run s, including five in 1966. OnJuly 3 , 1966, in a Braves 17-3 victory against the Giants atCandlestick Park , Cloninger helped himself with the bat when he hit two grand slams and drove in nine runs. He became the first player in theNational League and the first pitcher ever to hit two slams in the same game, also setting 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.
ee also
*
Batters with two grand slams in the same baseball game
*baseball record holders External links
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/C/Cloninger_Tony.stm Baseball Library profile]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/clonito01.shtml Baseball Reference statistics]
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