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Tony Lee Cloninger
Milwaukee Braves
Pitcher
Born: August 13, 1940, Lincoln County, NC
Signed: Signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent, May 23, 1958
Major League Teams: Milwaukee Braves 1961-1965; Atlanta Braves 1966-1968; Cincinnati Reds 1968-1971; St. Louis Cardinals 1972
Died: July 24, 2018, Denver, NC (age 77)
Tony Cloninger pitched in 12 big league seasons as one of the top strikeout pitchers of his day, and would go on to serve as a long-time pitching coach for the Yankees (1992-2001) and Red Sox (2002-2003). Cloninger won 19 games in 1964, but his career year came in 1965 when he went 24-11 with a 3.29 ERA and 211 strikeouts in 279 innings pitched. Effectively wild, he also led the league in wild pitches in 1965 and 1966 and his career tally of 119 wild pitches is currently 68th on the all-time list. A surprisingly solid batter, Cloninger clubbed two grand slams on July 3, 1966, driving in nine runs in total, and to date he is the only pitcher to hit two grand slams in the same game. After 7 1/2 seasons with the Braves, he was dealt to the Reds where he helped that team advance to the World Series in 1970. Cloninger was the losing pitcher in Game 3 and the Orioles would ultimately win the series in five games. He retired as a player following the 1972 season with a lifetime record of 113-97 in 352 games, with a 4.07 ERA and 1,120 strikeouts.
Cloninger returned to baseball in 1988 as a minor league pitching coach for the Yankees and he'd join the Yankees' major league coaching staff in 1992. Under managers Buck Showalter and Joe Torre (#200), he was a member of five American League pennant winners and four World Series championship teams. After two seasons as a coach with the Red Sox, Cloninger was named a player development consultant in 2004 for the team, serving in that role for 15 years.
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #397
You'll be seeing this particular passage on my 1965 Topps blog for quite some time as we added a whopping 97 cards to our set during the December Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show. If I'm ambitious and compose posts for five cards a week, I should be completely caught up by the end of May. If I'm not as ambitious, I might still be going through this stack by the time we hit July. Either way, I'll enjoy the process and I'm looking forward to taking my time. I've posted a complete summary of this fantastic show over at The Phillies Room.
The Card / Braves Team Set
The back of the card mentions Cloninger's team-leading 19 wins in 1964, and Denny Lemaster (#441) finished second on the team with 17 wins. Cloninger's one-hitter against the Pirates came on April 29, 1964 in front of 4,337 fans in Milwaukee's County Stadium. The no-hitter lasted 6 2/3 innings, until Willie Stargell (#377) lined a single to right field.
1965 Season
As mentioned above, this was Cloninger's career year and he was the ace of the Braves pitching staff for a team that finished in fifth place. Cloninger made 38 starts, pitching 16 complete games and one shutout. He also led the league with 119 walks and 22 wild pitches.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #63
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1962-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1988 ProCards #1353
69 - Cloninger non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/28/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #397
You'll be seeing this particular passage on my 1965 Topps blog for quite some time as we added a whopping 97 cards to our set during the December Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show. If I'm ambitious and compose posts for five cards a week, I should be completely caught up by the end of May. If I'm not as ambitious, I might still be going through this stack by the time we hit July. Either way, I'll enjoy the process and I'm looking forward to taking my time. I've posted a complete summary of this fantastic show over at The Phillies Room.
Looking to kill some time while we were waiting for our number to be called for Doug's autograph from Jim Thome, I found a bargain bin of 1965 Topps cards at Uncle Dick's and I texted Doug that I'd be standing at the table where the dealers were wearing neon green shirts. This Cloninger card was one of 15 from that first batch of purchases, totaling $40, and it was a little less than $3 after the dealer discount. After getting the Thome autograph, and grabbing a slice of pizza from the "food court" upstairs, I'd settle in at Uncle Dick's for my second and biggest haul of the show.
The Card / Braves Team Set
The back of the card mentions Cloninger's team-leading 19 wins in 1964, and Denny Lemaster (#441) finished second on the team with 17 wins. Cloninger's one-hitter against the Pirates came on April 29, 1964 in front of 4,337 fans in Milwaukee's County Stadium. The no-hitter lasted 6 2/3 innings, until Willie Stargell (#377) lined a single to right field.
1965 Season
As mentioned above, this was Cloninger's career year and he was the ace of the Braves pitching staff for a team that finished in fifth place. Cloninger made 38 starts, pitching 16 complete games and one shutout. He also led the league with 119 walks and 22 wild pitches.
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First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #63
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1962-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1988 ProCards #1353
69 - Cloninger non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/28/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
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