THE 1966 BRAVES: #40 Tony Cloninger

#40 TONY CLONINGER
Right-handed pitcher

What came before: Hailing from what would wind up being one the nation's softball hotbed, Cloninger accepted a $100,000 signing bonus and left Denver, N.C., to join the Braves in 1958. He looked to be a fast-rising phenom, as he won six games before his 18tth birthday. Wildness was an ongoing concern with the younger Cloninger, it nearly conquered him at Cedar Rapids in 1959 when he went 0-9, 9.59 in 10 ugly starts, walking 49 in 46 innings. He was bumped down to one of the lowest levels of the minors and pitched his way back with far better control.
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He got the call to the majors in 1961 and he responded with a 7-2 performance. He went 8-3 in 1962 despite what was termed “shoulder trouble,” 9-11 in 1963, followed by a strong 19-14 before crossing into all-star territory. He went 24-11, 3.29, in 1965, his win total second only to league-leader Sandy Koufax. He ended the year on a 14-3 run. There would never be any question who the Atlanta Braves'
Opening Day starter would be.

That 1966 season: It was a legendary loss, one that physically might have affected Cloninger down the road. He worked all 13 innings in a 3-2 loss to the Pirates before a sold-out Atlanta Stadium. But his shoulder wasn't right; he failed to make it past seven innings for over a month. He briefly rallied with four complete-game wins in June, but he ended the year with only 14 wins and a growing problem.
But his career high point came on July 3 in San Francisco. Using one of Denis Menke's bats, he hit grand slam homers in the first and fourth innings, adding an RBI single in the eighth for a nine RBIs day. That followed by 18 days a two-homer, five-RBI day against the Mets.
Balky shoulder or not, he worked 248 innings in 1966, following a 279-inning output in 1965. Both seasons, he led the NL in walks.

What happened next: A rapid decline soon became apparent. He managed only 79 innings and a 4-9 record in 1967. He had made only one start for the Braves in 1968 when he was shipped to Cincinnati with Clay Carroll and Woody Woodward for Milt Pappas, Ted Davidson and Bob Johnson – possibly the worst deal of the Paul Richards era. He went on to pitch for the Reds in the 1970 World Series, but by 1972, he'd moved on to the Cardinals, where he ended his career.
Cloninger, who gained a considerable amount of weight following his playing days, also played slowpitch softball at the highest competitive level, playing for Howard's Furniture beginning in 1973 and was part of what was considered the greatest slowpitch team even, the 1977 club. Cloninger hit 90 home runs while play extensively in 1975. Dudley Sports 1981 and the professional softball league.

He served as pitching coach for the Albany Yankees in 1998, then enjoyed a decade as the big club's bullpen coach (1992-01). The rival Red Sox snatched him up to be their pitching coach in 2002-03, but had to leave the playing field while he battled (successfully) bladder cancer. The Red Sox brought him back as a player development consultant.
Cloninger's sons, Darin and Michael, were drafted and each spent two seasons in the minor leagues.