Tony Cloninger

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1961-1972)

Tony Cloninger was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1972 for 4 teams, including the Milwaukee Braves, a span of 12 seasons. Across 352 career appearances, he went 113-97 with a 4.07 ERA and 1,120 strikeouts. He also batted .192 with 11 home runs.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 113–97
ERA 4.07
WHIP 1.38
SO 1,120
Pitcher PIV -19343.2
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 210 lb
Born
8/13/1940 in Lincoln County, NC, USA
Died
7/24/2018 in Denver, NC, USA
MLB Debut
1961-06-15
Last Game
1972-07-22

Full name: Tony Lee Cloninger

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Career Pitching Statistics

Tony Cloninger — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
113 97 352 247 63 13 6 1767.2 1,643 799 180 798 1,120 4.07 -19343.2

Career ERA 4.07 vs. league average 3.54 across their career seasons — 14.8% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Tony Cloninger Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1961 ML1 NL 7 2 19 10 3 0 0 84.0 84 49 33 51 5.25 4.03 (-30%) -2150.0
1962 ML1 NL 8 3 24 15 4 1 0 111.0 113 53 46 69 4.30 3.96 (-9%) 397.0
1963 ML1 NL 9 11 41 18 4 2 1 145.1 131 61 63 100 3.78 3.46 (-9%) -1839.6
1964 ML1 NL 19 14 38 34 15 3 2 242.2 206 96 82 163 3.56 3.58 (+1%) 1253.2
1965 ML1 NL 24 11 40 38 16 1 1 279.0 247 102 119 211 3.29 3.50 (+6%) 1847.1
1966 ATL NL 14 11 39 38 11 1 1 257.2 253 118 116 178 4.12 3.52 (-17%) -3452.5
1967 ATL NL 4 7 16 16 1 0 0 76.2 85 44 31 55 5.17 3.30 (-56%) -2334.9
1968 ATL NL 1 3 8 1 0 0 0 19.0 15 9 11 7 4.26 2.98 (-43%) -191.5
1968 CIN NL 4 3 17 17 2 2 0 91.1 81 41 48 65 4.04 2.98 (-35%) -1487.0
1969 CIN NL 11 17 35 34 6 2 0 189.2 184 106 103 103 5.03 3.61 (-39%) -5514.0
1970 CIN NL 9 7 30 18 0 0 1 148.0 136 63 78 56 3.83 3.89 (+1%) -1984.4
1971 CIN NL 3 6 28 8 1 1 0 97.1 79 42 49 51 3.88 3.47 (-12%) -2848.9
1972 SLN NL 0 2 17 0 0 0 0 26.0 29 15 19 11 5.19 3.26 (-59%) -1037.8
Career · 13 seasons 113 97 352 247 63 13 6 1,767.2 1,643 799 798 1,120 4.07 — -19,343

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Tony Cloninger — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
366 621 65 119 16 2 11 67 2 9 161 .192 .205 .277 .482 -1,562

Career AVG .192 vs. league average .248 across their career seasons — 22.9% below league average.

Career OBP .205 vs. league average .315 across their career seasons — 34.9% below league average.

Career SLG .277 vs. league average .372 across their career seasons — 25.4% below league average.

Career OPS .482 vs. league average .686 across their career seasons — 29.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Tony Cloninger Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1961 ML1 NL 19 30 4 5 0 0 0 4 0 1 6 .167 — — — — 0.0
1962 ML1 NL 24 39 1 4 1 0 0 3 0 0 9 .103 — — — — 0.0
1963 ML1 NL 41 37 2 5 0 0 0 1 0 1 8 .135 — — — — 0.0
1964 ML1 NL 38 87 9 21 0 0 0 7 0 0 20 .241 .250 (-4%) .312 (-23%) .377 (-36%) .690 (-30%) -395.3
1965 ML1 NL 41 105 12 17 3 2 1 8 0 0 25 .162 .245 (-34%) .310 (-49%) .371 (-31%) .682 (-39%) -677.4
1966 ATL NL 47 111 12 26 5 0 5 23 1 2 22 .234 .248 (-6%) .309 (-16%) .376 (+10%) .685 (-2%) -56.6
1967 ATL NL 16 25 1 5 1 0 0 4 0 1 10 .200 — — — — 0.0
1968 ATL NL 8 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
1968 CIN NL 21 34 6 7 2 0 2 8 0 1 5 .206 — — — — 0.0
1969 CIN NL 36 72 10 12 1 0 1 5 1 3 26 .167 .248 (-33%) .320 (-38%) .369 (-40%) .689 (-39%) -432.9
1970 CIN NL 30 47 7 10 2 0 2 3 0 0 16 .213 — — — — 0.0
1971 CIN NL 28 27 1 7 1 0 0 1 0 0 10 .259 — — — — 0.0
1972 SLN NL 17 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 366 621 65 119 16 2 11 67 2 9 161 .192 — — — — -1,562

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Tony Cloninger — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Tony Cloninger — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1970 NLCS CIN 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1970 WS CIN 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Tony Cloninger — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 3 2 0 12.1 17 8 9 5 5.84

Playoff Pitching by Year

Tony Cloninger — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1970 NLCS CIN 0 0 1 1 0 5.0 7 2 4 1 3.60
1970 WS CIN 0 1 2 1 0 7.1 10 6 5 4 7.36

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (718 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Tony Cloninger — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1732873253836.185
Away1933343366331.198

Pitching — Home / Away

Tony Cloninger — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home165869.18463963615664.10
Away187898.17974044375544.05

Last 10 Games — Batting

Tony Cloninger — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1972-07-22 STLATLL 000000000
1972-07-18 STLHOUL 000000000
1972-07-15 STLCINL 000000000
1972-07-11 STLATLL 000000000
1972-07-04 STLCINL 000000000
1972-06-27 STLWSNL 100000001
1972-06-18 STLSFGL 000000000
1972-06-01 STLCHCL 000000000
1972-05-29 STLNYNL 000000000
1972-05-27 STLNYNL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Tony Cloninger — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1972-07-22 STLATL L 0.0111001
1972-07-18 STLHOU — 0.0111000
1972-07-15 STLCIN — 2.2622310
1972-07-11 STLATL — 3.0000220
1972-07-04 STLCIN — 1.0100110
1972-06-27 STLWSN — 3.2542330
1972-06-18 STLSFG — 1.0100010
1972-06-01 STLCHC — 2.0100100
1972-05-29 STLNYN L 0.1344101
1972-05-27 STLNYN — 0.2100010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Tony Cloninger — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 352 247 114 279 26 20

Season-by-Season Fielding

Tony Cloninger — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1961 ML1 P 19 10 11 16 0 0
1962 ML1 P 24 15 10 18 1 3
1963 ML1 P 41 18 8 17 1 0
1964 ML1 P 38 34 14 41 2 1
1965 ML1 P 40 38 15 41 6 2
1966 ATL P 39 38 14 43 8 1
1967 ATL P 16 16 3 11 0 1
1968 ATL P 8 1 1 4 0 0
1968 CIN P 17 17 11 11 1 0
1969 CIN P 35 34 9 23 3 3
1970 CIN P 30 18 13 31 2 5
1971 CIN P 28 8 4 16 2 3
1972 SLN P 17 0 1 7 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Tony Cloninger Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 352

Award Voting History

Tony Cloninger — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1965 Most Valuable Player NL 28th 4.0 280 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Tony Cloninger (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Wilson Alvarez
    102-92, 3.96 ERA
  2. 94
    Steve Stone
    107-93, 3.97 ERA
  3. 92
    Kirk McCaskill
    106-108, 4.12 ERA
  4. 92
    Jim Bibby
    111-101, 3.76 ERA
  5. 92
    Ken Hill
    117-109, 4.06 ERA
  6. 90
    Milt Wilcox
    119-113, 4.07 ERA

Tony Cloninger: the record in brief

Tony Cloninger's major league career runs from a debut on June 15, 1961 to a final game on July 22, 1972. The season rows list, in order, the Milwaukee Braves (1961 through 1965), the Atlanta Braves (1966 through 1968), the Cincinnati Reds (1968 to 1971), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1972). Cloninger played primarily as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on August 13, 1940, in Lincoln County, NC, USA and a listed size of 6'0" and 210 pounds. Cloninger died on July 24, 2018, in Denver, NC, USA. The given name on file is Tony Lee Cloninger.

Cloninger's career pitching line is 113 wins, 97 losses and a 4.07 ERA over 352 appearances. Also on Cloninger's record: 1,120 strikeouts, 63 complete games, and 13 shutouts. The league ERA over Cloninger's seasons was 3.54, so the 4.07 figure ran 14.8% worse than average. Cloninger won 24 games in 1965, the most of any season listed.

Frequently Asked Questions about Tony Cloninger

What years did Tony Cloninger play?
Tony Cloninger played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1972.
Was Tony Cloninger a pitcher?
Yes. Tony Cloninger pitched in the major leagues, recording 113 wins and 1120 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Tony Cloninger hit?
Tony Cloninger hit 11 career home runs with 119 hits.
What teams did Tony Cloninger play for?
Tony Cloninger played for 3 teams: the Atlanta Braves (1961–1968), the Cincinnati Reds (1968–1971), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1972).
What were Tony Cloninger's career stats?
In 352 games, Tony Cloninger went 113-97 with a 4.07 ERA, 1,120 strikeouts, 1,767.2 innings pitched, and 6 saves. At the plate he had 119 hits and 11 home runs.
What position did Tony Cloninger play?
Tony Cloninger played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Tony Cloninger and how much did he weigh?
Tony Cloninger was listed at 6 feet and 210 pounds.
What was Tony Cloninger's career ERA?
Tony Cloninger finished with a 4.07 career ERA, going 113-97 with 1,120 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Tony Cloninger have?
Tony Cloninger recorded 1,120 career strikeouts.
Is Tony Cloninger in the Hall of Fame?
No. Tony Cloninger has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.