RetroSimba

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.

Cloninger was acquired by the Cardinals from the Reds for second baseman Julian Javier on March 24, 1972.

A right-hander, Cloninger pitched well for the Reds in 1971, posting a 3.33 ERA in 20 relief appearances and a 3.88 ERA overall, but he didn’t fit into their plans in 1972.

The Reds showcased Cloninger, 31, in a spring training start against the Cardinals on March 23, 1972, and he delivered, yielding one hit in six innings. The next day, the Cardinals, seeking relief help, made the deal for him.

Reliable starter

The trade reunited Cloninger with his friend, Cardinals third baseman Joe Torre. They were teammates with the Braves from 1961-68 and Torre was Cloninger’s catcher during the pitcher’s heyday. Torre caught more of Cloninger’s games, 141, than any other catcher.

Cloninger signed with the Braves as an amateur free agent in May 1958 and, when he made his major-league debut with them at age 20 on June 15, 1961, in a start against the Giants at Candlestick Park, Torre was his catcher. Boxscore

A month later, on July 13, 1961, at St. Louis, Cloninger faced the Cardinals for the first time and catcher Tim McCarver, 19, hit his first big-league home run against him. Boxscore

The next year, on Sept. 5, 1962, Cloninger pitched his first major-league shutout in a 1-0 Braves victory over the Cardinals at St. Louis. Bill White, with a single and double, had two of the Cardinals’ five hits against Cloninger. Boxscore

On Aug. 11, 1963, at Milwaukee, Cloninger pitched another gem against the Cardinals, striking out 11 in a four-hitter won by the Braves, 9-1. Boxscore

From 1964-66, Cloninger was a productive, durable ace for the Braves. He was 19-14 with 242.2 innings pitched in 1964, 24-11 in 279 innings in 1965 and 14-11 in 257.2 innings in 1966. Cloninger was 3-0 against the Cardinals in 1965.

Cloninger also could hit. On July 3, 1966, he produced nine RBI, with two grand slams and a run-scoring single, in a game against the Giants at Candlestick Park. He hit the first grand slam against Bob Priddy and the second against Ray Sadecki, the former Cardinal, and pitched a complete game in a 17-3 Braves victory. Boxscore

In June 1968, the Braves traded Cloninger to the Reds and, though he no longer was an ace, he contributed, earning nine wins for the pennant-winning 1970 Reds. Cloninger also started and lost Game 3 of the 1970 World Series against the Orioles. Boxscore

Taking a chance

The 1972 Cardinals looked at another former Reds starter, Jim Maloney, in spring training, but didn’t like what they saw, released him and acquired Cloninger.

“Even though I like Cloninger personally and admire his perseverance, I can’t get excited over the addition of a struggling pitching veteran who has been beset by arm, eye and back troubles,” Bob Broeg wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Reds manager Sparky Anderson said if the Cardinals “pitch him enough so that he can keep his control, he’ll deliver for them.”

“He still throws hard and his attitude is the best,” Anderson added.

Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst said Cloninger told him he was “ready to start, to relieve or hit fungoes” to help.

“I’ve never talked to a ballplayer yet who played for the Cardinals organization who didn’t think it was fantastic,” Cloninger said to the Dayton Journal Herald.

In his first spring training appearance for the Cardinals, Cloninger yielded two hits in five innings against the Mets and ensured himself a spot on the Opening Day pitching staff.

The Cardinals opened the 1972 season with seven relievers: right-handers Moe Drabowsky, Dennis Higgins, Al Santorini and Cloninger, and left-handers Joe Grzenda, Don Shaw and Lance Clemons.

Gopher balls

Cloninger had a good outing on May 24, 1972, against the Pirates, pitching 3.2 scoreless relief innings, but five days later he took a big step backwards.

On May 29, 1972, the Cardinals carried a 6-3 lead into the ninth inning against the Mets at St. Louis and Schoendienst called on Cloninger to be the closer. After Jerry Grote singled and Bud Harrelson walked, Ken Bowell, batting with one out, hit a three-run home run, tying the score at 6-6. Tommie Agee followed with a single before Schoendienst lifted Cloninger. Agee eventually scored from third on a passed ball by Ted Simmons, the Mets won, 7-6, and Cloninger took the loss.

The home run was the first of the season for Boswell, who entered the game batting .177. Boxscore

Cloninger unveiled a knuckleball and experienced some good outings, including a three-inning scoreless stint against the Braves on July 11, 1972, at St. Louis.

His Cardinals career, however, came to a sudden close with one bad pitch.

On July 22, 1972, against the Braves at Atlanta, Cloninger entered in the 10th inning with the score tied at 7-7. His first pitch to the first batter, Dusty Baker, was belted for a walkoff home run and an 8-7 Braves victory.

Before going to the plate, Baker told teammate Oscar Brown, “I think I’ll take a pitch and see what he’s got.” Brown replied, “No, man, go up there swinging,” and Baker did.

Denny McLain, who pitched a scoreless top of the 10th, got his first National League win and the loss went to Cloninger. Boxscore

Four days later, on July 26, the Cardinals released Cloninger, who was 0-2 with a 5.19 ERA in 17 relief appearances. On Aug. 1, Cloninger signed with the Braves, who sent him to their minor-league club at Richmond, Va., where he became a teammate of second baseman Tony La Russa.

Cloninger was 1-1 in seven appearances for Richmond, ending his playing days. He had a 113-97 record in 12 big-league seasons.

Twenty years later, in 1992, Cloninger was hired to be a coach on the staff of Yankees manager Buck Showalter. In 1996, Showalter departed and Cloninger’s old friend, Torre, became Yankees manager. Cloninger was a coach for five pennant-winning teams and four World Series championship clubs with the Yankees under Torre.

In 2002 and 2003, Cloninger was a Red Sox coach for manager Grady Little.

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Two years after he established the tone for the 2006 World Series, pitching a Game 1 gem and propelling the club toward a championship, Anthony Reyes and the Cardinals were eager for a divorce.

On July 26, 2008, the Cardinals traded Reyes to the Indians for minor-league reliever Luis Perdomo and cash.

Reyes, 26, was with the Cardinals’ farm club at Memphis when the deal was made. He began the 2008 season with the Cardinals, clashed with pitching coach Dave Duncan, sprained his right elbow and got demoted to the minor leagues.

Disillusioned, Reyes was ready to be traded and the Cardinals were prepared to accommodate him.

“He needs a change of scenery,” Cardinals outfielder Skip Schumaker said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Said Reyes: “When you get overlooked and you feel you’re pitching well, you want to go to a place that’s a better fit.”

Hot prospect

Reyes pitched at the University of Southern California and was selected by the Cardinals in the 15th round of the 2003 amateur draft. In 2004, Reyes pitched for two clubs in the Cardinals’ system and had an overall record of 9-2 with 140 strikeouts in 111 innings.

Before the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Reyes was named the top pitching prospect in the Cardinals’ organization by Baseball America magazine.

He made his major-league debut on Aug. 9, 2005, in a start against the Brewers at Milwaukee and got the win, yielding two runs in 6.1 innings of a 5-2 Cardinals victory. Boxscore On June 22, 2006, Reyes pitched a one-hitter for the Cardinals against the White Sox, but lost, 1-0, on a Jim Thome home run. Boxscore

Though he was 5-8 with a 5.06 ERA in 17 starts for the 2006 Cardinals, Reyes was the Game 1 starter in the World Series because veterans Chris Carpenter, Jeff Suppan and Jeff Weaver were unavailable after pitching in a seven-game National League Championship Series against the Mets.

Matched against Tigers ace Justin Verlander in Detroit, the odds didn’t favor Reyes, but he delivered a masterpiece, limiting the Tigers to two runs in eight innings and earning the win in a 7-2 St. Louis victory. Reyes retired 17 consecutive Tigers batters. Boxscore The Cardinals went on to win four times in five games and clinch their first World Series title in 24 years.

Steps backward

After the postseason, the Cardinals allowed Suppan, Weaver and another starter, Jason Marquis, to leave as free agents, figuring Reyes would help fill the void, but Reyes lost his first 10 regular-season decisions with the 2007 Cardinals and finished the season at 2-14 with a 6.04 ERA.

The Cardinals and Phillies discussed a trade of Reyes for outfielder Michael Bourne, but the proposed deal unraveled, the Post-Dispatch reported.

Reyes was prone to using high fastballs to entice batters to swing and miss. Duncan wanted him to pitch to contact rather than try for strikeouts. Reyes didn’t embrace the concept and “became a point of frustration” for Duncan, the Post-Dispatch reported.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said reports of a disconnect between Duncan and Reyes were “nonsense” and caused a distraction. “I regret the fact people mentioned he was not a Dave Duncan style of pitcher,” La Russa told the Post-Dispatch.

The Cardinals moved Reyes to a reliever role in 2008 and he was 2-1 with a save and a 4.91 ERA before spraining his right elbow. After a stint on the disabled list, Reyes was sent by the Cardinals to their Class AAA farm club at Memphis.

“Reyes came to represent the risks of holding on to a young player too long,” the Post-Dispatch reported. “Aware of Duncan’s frustrations with Reyes, some within the organization advocated trading the pitcher after his celebrated win in the first game of the 2006 World Series.”

Fresh start

After the Indians acquired Reyes from the Cardinals, they sent him to their Class AAA affiliate at Buffalo. Working with pitching coach Scott Radinsky, a former Cardinals reliever, Reyes was 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA in two starts for Buffalo before getting called up to the Indians.

Reyes made his Indians debut in a start on Aug. 8, 2008, against the Blue Jays at Toronto and got a win, yielding a run in 6.1 innings of a 5-2 Cleveland victory. Boxscore

“He had a good heartbeat, made pitches when he needed to and was very efficient,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said to the Akron Beacon Journal.

Reyes used the media attention his win attracted to express his frustrations with Duncan and the Cardinals.

“When I’d get sent down in St. Louis, no one ever told me what I was supposed to work on,” Reyes said to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “It wasn’t like it was anything mean, but I was going crazy trying to figure out if I did something wrong. Did I step on someone’s toes?”

In comments to the Beacon Journal, Reyes said, “I felt like I didn’t fit in over there. They didn’t like anything I was doing. It made for some long years.”

After Reyes earned a win in a start at Cleveland against the Royals on Aug, 19, he told the Beacon Journal, “I think I’m getting there. I got in a lot of bad habits the last couple of years, so coming here gives me a chance to get rid of them.”

Elbowed out

Reyes continued pitching well for the 2008 Indians, but on Sept. 5 he was pulled from a start at Kansas City because of elbow pain. Sidelined for the remainder of the season, Reyes was 2-1 with a 1.83 ERA in six starts for the 2008 Indians.

In 2009, Reyes made eight starts for the Indians and was 1-1 with a 6.57 ERA before his right elbow gave out. On June 12, 2009, Reyes underwent reconstructive elbow surgery and never again pitched in the major leagues.

Reyes pitched in the Indians’ farm system in 2010 and 2011. At 30, his final professional season was in 2012 when he pitched for the Padres’ Class AAA Tucson club managed by former Cardinals catcher Terry Kennedy.

In 67 big-league games, Reyes was 13-26 with a 5.12 ERA.

Reyes became a firefighter for the Los Angeles County Fire Department in California in 2017, following in the footsteps of his father, also a firefighter.

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