Right fielder Hank Aaron forced him at second, and then the hit parade started: left fielder Rico Carty singled to right and catcher Joe Torre launched a home run to deep center field, and it was 3-0. The Braves were visiting the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park on that Sunday afternoon. To complete the infield sweep, Ozzie Virgil entered the game in the seventh inning, replacing third baseman Jim Ray Hart. Tony Lee Cloninger was born on Aug. 13, 1940, in Cherryville, N.C., to Carl and Edna Cloninger. The right-hander moved to the Reds during the 1968 season and was traded to the Cardinals during 1972 spring training. In this July 3, 1966, file photo, Atlanta Braves right-hander Tony Cloninger hoists an armload of … (The Giants’ fielding carousel continued in the top of the fourth. Cloninger’s two slams marked the first time the Atlanta Braves had two bases-loaded home runs in a game.4. 555 N. Central Ave. #416 The two teams had the Alou brothers in the leadoff spots: Felipe Alou for the Braves and Jesus Alou for the Giants. Born: Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Baseball Turns its Lonely Eyes to You,” http://seamheads.com/2012/09/16/where-have-you-gone-tony-cloninger-baseball-turns-its-lonely-eyes-to-you/.    vs. SFG 4.0 IP, 6 H, 2 SO, 2 BB, 6 ER, L, Last Game: Atlanta Crackers broadcaster Ernie Harwell famously had such a reputation in the 1940s that he was traded to a major-league team for a catcher. Find out more. Shortstop Jim Davenport was lifted. Tony Lee Cloninger is on Facebook. from the SABR BioProject, More Tony Cloninger Pages at Baseball Reference, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Wednesday, May 19, 8:12AM. “July 3, 1966Atlanta Braves at San Francisco Giants Play by Play and Box Score,” http://baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN196607030.shtml. The 1966 baseball season was the first for the Braves in Atlanta. in Denver, NC, Buried: Some defensive statistics Copyright © Baseball Info Solutions, 2010-2021. Cloninger was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1958. Cloninger was acquired by the Cardinals from the Reds for second baseman Julian Javier on March 24, 1972. In the waning days of Warren Spahn ’s great career, the Milwaukee Braves looked to Cloninger to step into the role of staff ace – and he responded accordingly, pacing the team in … The Braves were not finished. San Francisco first baseman Willie McCovey had struck out to lead off the bottom of the second inning. “…And Two of Them for Cloninger: Hurler’s Hitting Feat Helps Braves Rout Giants by 17-3,” New York Times, July 4, 1966, 18. “Two Grand Slams in One Game,” http://baseball-almanac.com/feats/feats11.shtml. us, Died: July 24, 2018 Born in Revere, Massachusetts, he was a 1962 graduate of St. Mary's High School in Lynn, Massachusetts. A power pitcher, Cloninger compiled a career 113–97 record with 1,120 … Subscribe to our Free Newsletter, This Month in Sports ReferenceFind out when we add a feature or make a change. And Don Landrum came in to play center field in the fifth, replacing Willie Mays.). Both had come with two outs and both were set up by Menke’s walks to load the bases. August 13, 1940 Tony Cloninger, who pitched in the National League from 1961-1972, died a couple of weeks ago.I started following baseball when the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966, and one of my favorite baseball memories is the game on July 3 of that year when Cloninger hit two grand slams against the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park. Don Mason was sent in to play second base and second sacker Hal Lanier moved to shortstop. Join SABR's Future 50 Campaign in 2021 and help support the future of baseball research. Copyright © 2000-2021 Sports Reference LLC. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Phoenix, AZ 85004 Woodward popped out to short, giving the Braves two outs with two on. Many thanks to him. Before Cloninger took the mound in the bottom of the first, his team had taken a seven-run lead. If you have quibbles with the choice, I hear ya. Fifty-one years ago today, Atlanta Braves pitcher Tony Cloninger hit two grand slams in the same game, a 17-3 win over the San Francisco Giants. Tony Cloninger Atlanta Braves Braves pitcher Tony Cloninger was the first hurler to belt grand slams, doing so in the first and fourth innings on July 3, 1966. Cloninger hit his first major-league home run in 1965, his fifth season in the majors. 1 “…And Two of Them for Cloninger: Hurler’s Hitting Feat Helps Braves Rout Giants by 17-3,” New York Times, July 4, 1966, 18. 3 “Where Have You Gone Tony Cloninger? The final score was Atlanta 17, San Francisco 3. The Braves were visiting the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park on that Sunday afternoon. San Francisco put three runners across the plate in the game, with solo tallies in the fourth, fifth, and eighth innings. Cloninger’s name can be associated with grand-slam games. Atlanta added two more runs in the ninth, on two doubles, a single, and a sacrifice fly. Do you have a sports website? Denver United Methodist Church Cemetery, Denver, NC, High School: Rock Springs HS (Denver, NC), Debut: The Braves sent 52 batters to face Giants pitching. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Wikipedia notes that Johnson died on November 12 from Parkinson’s disease. Sadecki pitched the rest of the way and faced 33 batters in 6? On the mound, he pitched a complete game, scattering seven hits while giving up three earned runs. Javascript is required for the selection of a player. Career: 113-97, 4.07 ERA, 1120 SO, P, Braves/Reds/... 1961-1972, t:R, born in NC 1940, died 2018 In that stretch, Cloninger went 113-97 with a 4.07 ERA over 1,767 2/3 innings across 352 outings, including 247 starts. Tony Cloninger pitched a dozen years in the majors, most notably for the Milwaukee Braves. A modest crowd of 27,002 was there. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball.    vs. ATL 0.0 IP, 1 H, 0 SO, 0 BB, 1 ER, L, Rookie Status: Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. Wise’s pair came in a game in which he pitched a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds, on June 23, 1971.6 As of 2015, Newcombe, Cloninger, and Wise are the only three NL pitchers to have hit two home runs in a game twice in a single season. For those not familiar with this hard throwing right hander, he pitched for the Braves in both Atlanta and Milwaukee and with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds over a twelve year span. Warren Spahn SABR biography by Jim Kaplan; Willard Hershberger SABR biography by Charles Faber Tony Cloninger Books. Playing career. Baseball Turns its Lonely Eyes to You,” http://seamheads.com/2012/09/16/where-have-you-gone-tony-cloninger-baseball-turns-its-lonely-eyes-to-you/. Check back frequently to see if books do appear as we update this service daily. If you can help us improve this game story, contact us. He also played for the Reds (1968-71) and Cardinals (1972). After 13 seasons, the Milwaukee Braves “struck the Wigwam” and headed south to Atlanta for the ’66 season. (Age 31-344d) AP photo. To open the game, first baseman Felipe Alou popped out to second, and then center fielder Mack Jones singled. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Giants pitcher Sadecki homered to start the fifth and Haller homered to lead off the eighth. in Lincoln County, NC Exceeded rookie limits during 1961 season, View Player Bio Anthony Richard Conigliaro (January 7, 1945 – February 24, 1990), nicknamed "Tony C" and "Conig", was a Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played for the Boston Red Sox (1964–1967, 1969–1970, 1975) and California Angels (1971). (Age 20-306d, After the sensational day with the bat, Tony observed, “Funny thing, nobody asked me about my pitching!”3, Tony Cloninger became just the fifth batter to have hit two grand slams in a game, joining the New York Yankees’ Tony Lazzeri (May 24, 1936), the Boston Red Sox’ Jim Tabor (July 4, 1939) and Rudy York (July 27, 1946), and the Baltimore Orioles’ Jim Gentile (May 9, 1961). On July 3, 1966, he became the first major-league pitcher to hit two grand slams in a game. Atlanta had won two of the first three games of the series, but the Braves were in eighth place in the 10-team league entering the contest, 15 games back of first-place San Francisco. DENVER, N.C. -- Former major league pitcher Tony Cloninger, perhaps best known for hitting two grand slams in a game, has died. His new single-game record of nine RBI still stood as of 2015. In the fourth, Willie Mays walked, moved to second on a Cloninger wild pitch, and scored after back-to-back singles by Hart and left fielder Len Gabrielson. Baseball Almanac is sorry to advise you, but there are currently no Tony Cloninger books currently listed on Amazon.com. Tony Cloninger, a prominent National League starting pitcher in the 1960s, was given an opportunity by the Cardinals to extend his major-league career as a reliever in the 1970s, but it didn't work out. Mr. Tony Lee Cloninger, Sr., age 77, of Denver, passed away on Tuesday, July 24, 2018. BOSTON -- Major League Baseball mourns the loss of Tony Cloninger, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 77. We present them here for purely educational purposes. “The Ballplayers – Tony Cloninger,” http://baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Tony_Cloninger_1940&page=chronology. There have been eight occurrences of this rare event since, for a total of thirteen. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1961 through 1972 for the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals. 9,469th in MLB history) Tony had come to bat three times in the first four innings and had hit two grand slams, driving in eight runs. innings. Alou grounded to short, making two of the three outs in the inning. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. 2 “The Pitcher Who Hit Two Grand Slams,” http://platoonadvantage.com/2011-articles/the-pitcher-who-hit-two-grand-slams.html. In the eighth, Woodward doubled, moved to third on a Sadecki wild pitch, and scored on Cloninger’s single to left, making it nine RBIs for Tony on the day. Six hits, seven runs. A modest crowd of 27,002 was there. On June 9, 2003, Dave Wallace replaced Tony Cloninger as pitching coach when Cloninger left the team to receive treatment for cancer; Goose Gregson had filled in for Cloninger during April 5–23 and again May 30–June 8. Yet Tony Cloninger was much more than a great hitting pitcher. After 13 seasons in Milwaukee, the ballclub moved to establish itself in downtown Atlanta, bringing Hank Aaron, Joe Torre, and Eddie Mathews to their new home. Or write about sports? On That Midnight Train to Georgia. “RetrosheetBoxscore: Atlanta Braves 17, San Francisco Giants 3,” http://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1966/B07030SFN1966.htm. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Alou followed by reaching on an error and Jones struck out. July 24, Tony Cloninger, age 77 Though a fine pitcher for the Braves from 1961 to 1968, including winning 24 games in 1965, Cloninger’s main claim to fame as a player may have been hitting two grand slams on July 3, 1966. Tony Cloninger Complete splits including home/road, lefty/righty, clutch situations, vs. opponent, by month, by role, and many more 1962 Cloninger spent most of his big league career with the Braves, from 1961-68, and was with the club when it moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. On an 0-and-1 count, Cloninger smacked his second bases-loaded home run of the game, lining a drive over the opposite-field fence in right. He had won for the sixth time in his last seven starts,2 raising his record to 9 wins against 7 losses. A right-hander, Cloninger pitched… Cloninger had accomplished what no other National League player, and no other major-league pitcher, had ever done: he hit two grand slams in a game. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. In the fourth inning, Aaron grounded out and Carty walked. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Phone: 602.496.1460 Besides those sluggers they brought a 25-year-old pitcher named Tony Cloninger, who on July 3, 1966, became the first National League player to hit two grand slams in a game. Torre reached on an error by Hart, and Bolling singled, scoring Carty. For nine seasons beginning in 1992, Cloninger … Before the Braves came to bat, Giants manager Herman Franks brought in Dick Dietz to catch, taking McCovey’s spot in the lineup and catcher Tom Haller moved to play first base. Tony Cloninger SABR biography by David E. Skelton “Warren Spahn, Hall of Fame Pitcher, Was Seasoned by World War II,” by Dwight Jon Zimmerman, October 25, 2014, defensemedianetwork.com. Entering the game, Cloninger had had nine runs batted in for the season, and after this game, he had doubled it to 18.1 He would end the season with 23. Menke walked, again bringing up Cloninger. In all, Atlanta sent nine batters to the plate in the fourth and scored five runs on two hits, two walks, and two errors. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. July 3, 2020 Updated: July 3, 2020 4 a.m. Tony finished the 1966 season with a .234 batting average, five home runs, and a .414 slugging percentage. Cloninger worked Priddy to a full count and then sent the next offering to almost the exact same spot as Torre’s homer, clearing the 410-foot sign in center field. 6 “June 23, 1971, Philadelphia Phillies at Cincinnati Reds Play by Play and Box Score,” http://baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN197106230.shtml. Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. On July 3, 1966, Cloninger hit two grand slams and drove in a total of nine runs in a 17-3 rout of the Giants at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Five, including Cloninger, had at least three hits. The best Brave to wear #40 is Tony Cloninger. 4 “The Ballplayers – Tony Cloninger,” http://baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Tony_Cloninger_1940&page=chronology. Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. This article was written by Bob Barrier. In fact, he is best remembered for feats of strength with the bat in 1966. When the Atlanta Braves began broadcasting in April of 1966, Atlanta area listeners had a long history of baseball radio. Cloninger, who in his post-playing days career was a coach on World Series championship Yankees teams and a consultant on World Series championship Red Sox teams, died last week at 77. Tony Lee Cloninger (August 13, 1940 – July 24, 2018) was an American professional baseball player and coach. Career: 113-97, 4.07 ERA, 1120 SO, P, Braves/Reds/... 1961-1972, t:R, born in NC 1940, died 2018 All rights reserved. 5 “The Pitcher Who Hit Two Grand Slams,” http://platoonadvantage.com/2011-articles/the-pitcher-who-hit-two-grand-slams.html. This was Tony Cloninger of the Atlanta Braves on July 3, 1966. Cloninger wore #40 for 8 years (1961-1968) and only once, 1965, had a better than average [READ MORE] Are you a Stathead, too? The list of pitchers who hit grand slams is embellished also by the names of great American League hurlers such as Walter Johnson, Babe Ruth, Lefty Grove, Wes Ferrell, Red Ruffing, and Early Wynn. After just 3½ innings, the score was Atlanta 13, San Francisco 0. Cronkite School at ASU Despite hitting just.192, he belted 11 home runs and drove in 67 runs, impressive numbers for a pitcher. Tony Cloninger made his Major League debut on 06-15-1961 with the Milwaukee Braves. Tony Cloninger Every game played with complete stats, links to box scores and automated row summing for 1971 Former teammate Jim Palmer reported on Twitter that Johnson, 83, died in Minnesota. Robert "Sammy" Houston/AP A 12-year Major League veteran pitcher and member of the Red Sox organization from 2002-18, Cloninger spent more than 40 years in professional baseball, including the past 14 as a player development consultant for Boston. “June 23, 1971 Philadelphia Phillies at Cincinnati Reds Play by Play and Box Score,” http://baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN197106230.shtml. June 15, 1961 He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1961 through 1972 for the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Brooklyn Dodgers’ Don Newcombe had been the only National League pitcher to hit two home runs in a game twice in one season (1955) before Cloninger accomplished the feat.5 Rick Wise has since done it as well. The National League single-game record for runs batted in by a pitcher was five, a mark tied by Tony Cloninger in a June 16, 1966, game against the New York Mets, earlier that same season. Cloninger was 20 years old when he broke into the big leagues on June 15, 1961, with the Milwaukee Braves. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. Do you have a blog? The crowd of 12,808 at Cleveland Stadium witnessed a piece of history: Northrup became just the sixth major leaguer to hit two bases-loaded home runs in a game. July 22, 1972 Lou Perini — who brought the Braves from Boston in ’53 — sold the club to the Chicago based LaSalle Corporation, led by William Bartholomay, in ‘62. He was 77. Carty homered with two outs in the top of the second, making it 8-0. Join our linker program. He struck out five, walked two, and allowed the solo home runs to Sadecki and Haller. Contact SABR, 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, http://dev.sabr.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/CloningerTony.jpg, /wp-content/uploads/2020/02/sabr_logo.png, July 3, 1966: Braves pitcher Tony Cloninger clouts two grand slams. Besides those sluggers they brought a 25-year-old pitcher named Tony Cloninger, who on July 3, 1966, became the first National League player to hit two grand slams in a game. On June 24, 1968, the Detroit Tigers routed the Cleveland Indians, led by Jim Northrup’s two grand slams, in a 14-3 victory. Tony Lee Cloninger (August 13, 1940 – July 24, 2018) was an American professional baseball player and coach. Obituary: Bob Johnson (1936-2019) RIP to Bob “Rocky” Johnson, an infielder and standout pinch-hitter who played for a decade in the majors in the 1960s. Second baseman Frank Bolling and shortstop Woody Woodward each singled, chasing Giants pitcher Joe Gibbon. Ray Sadecki became the third Giants pitcher in the top of the third after Priddy allowed a double to Woodward and walked Felipe Alou with two outs, and struck out Jones. He had a career won/loss record of 113-97. “The Pitcher Who Hit Two Grand Slams,” http://platoonadvantage.com/2011-articles/the-pitcher-who-hit-two-grand-slams.html. Tony Lee Cloninger (August 13, 1940 – July 24, 2018) was an American professional baseball player and coach.He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1961 through 1972 for the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals.. Tony Cloninger is the first and probably the last pitcher to ever hit two grand slams in a single game. On this Sunday afternoon, the pitchers would hit three home runs. Join Facebook to connect with Tony Lee Cloninger and others you may know. Hank Aaron hit his league-leading 25th home run to start the Braves’ fifth inning. Bob Priddy entered the game and walked third baseman Denis Menke to get to Cloninger, batting ninth. Jones went 3-for-6, Rico Carty was 3-for-4 with an RBI, Torre went 3-for-6 with 3 RBIs, and Woodward went 4-for-6 with two doubles. Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. HALL OF FAME PITCHERS are in RED ** Indicates 1 Shutout was a NO-HITTER (4/30/1969 CIN vs HOU 10-0) Source: Walt Wilson, Member of SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) Coordinator: Lyle Spatz, Chairman SABR's Records Committee 16 Although he didn’t give up McNally’s historic blast, Cloninger did serve up long balls to Frank Robinson and Buford, taking the loss by allowing five runs on six hits and three walks. Tony Cloninger won 113 games as a major-league pitcher over 12 seasons but is best remembered for what he did in a single game in 1966 as a batter. 1966 Atlanta Braves Broadcasters. Cloninger’s line: 5 at-bats, 2 runs scored, 3 hits, 9 runs batted in. “Where Have You Gone Tony Cloninger?