Tony Cloninger- Nine RBI in One Game for a Pitcher-July 3rd, 1966

Recently, pitcher Micah Owings of the Arizona Diamondbacks hit a pair of home runs in the same game, truly a special accomplishment for any batters, but especially so for a hurler. However, Owings feat pales in comparison to that of Atlanta Braves' pitcher Tony Cloninger, who on July 3rd, 1966 made history at the plate, belting not one, but two grand slams out of the park and adding another run batted in to set the record for a Major League Baseball pitcher. Cloninger's nine RBI is still the standard, and he also threw a complete game against the Giants that day as he won in a 17-3 cakewalk at Candlestick Park.

The Braves had a potent offense in 1966, their first year in Atlanta, as they led the National league with 782 runs scored, but their pitching and defense was middle of the pack. They came into the July 3rd tilt 9 games under .500 but would eventually right themselves to finish in fifth in the senior circuit at 85-77. The Giants were in first place in the league when they absorbed this shellacking, at 49-30, but would lose the pennant to the Dodgers by a game and a half. 27,002 fans were on hand for the contest, with no idea of what they were about to witness.

In the top of the first, current New York Yankees manager Joe Torre hit a three run home run off of Giants' starter Joe Gibbon, his 19th of the year. Torre was by then an established run producer, and the catcher/first baseman would have his second of five one hundred RBI campaigns in 1966, finishing with 101. After Torre's blast, Gibbon allowed two more singles, and was taken out of the game after getting just two batters out. Onto the mound came Bob Priddy to pitch, and it wasn't pretty after that. Priddy, whose career had been decent as a spot starter and reliever to that point, would see it take a downward spiral in the coming seasons, as he would go 6-18 in the next two years combined. On this day he proceeded to walk the number eight hitter, Denis Menke, bringing up Cloninger with the bases loaded. Tony, who would wind up a career .192 batter, hit the ball over the fence in left center for a grand slam.

Staked to a 7-0 lead before he had to throw a pitch, Cloninger retired the Giants in order in the bottom of the frame. Tony had had his finest year in 1965, going 24-11 in the Braves last season in Milwaukee. For his career, he would win 113 and lose 97, with his worst effort being an 11-17 1971 season. In the top of the second, Rico Carty, an excellent offensive player who would win a batting title in 1970 with his .366 average, belted a home run to extend the lead to 8-0. Carty could never stay healthy, as he had bad knees, and he would become a designated hitter in the American League in his later playing days, retiring in 1979 with a .299 career batting mark, having stayed in the game just long enough to see it dip under .300.

The game was at 8-0 until the fourth, when Atlanta tacked on another run and another walk to Menke loaded the bases once more for Tony Cloninger. Ray Sadeki was pitching by now for San Francisco, a 20 game winner in 1964 who would go on to play for five more major league teams before retiring with a 135-131 lifetime record. Cloninger came to the plate and made National League history by becoming the first player ever to hit two grand slams in a game as well as the first pitcher ever to do so. His drive to right field cleared the fence and gave him a 13-0 lead.

The Giants finally broke through for a run in the bottom of the fourth as Willie Mays scored on a single. Hank Aaron clobbered his 25th of the year leading off the fifth, one of 44 he would hit in 1966. Ironically, in the home half of the fifth, Sadecki would hit a homer off Cloninger: Ray would hit 5 in his career. Now with a 14-2 cushion, Cloninger retired seven Giants in a row before allowing a seventh inning single. In the eighth, Tony came to the plate with a man on second. A wild pitched advanced the runner to third and then Cloninger promptly delivered him home with a single to left for his ninth run batted in, a record that still stands for pitchers.

Such heady stuff may have distracted Tony, as he allowed a home run to Giants catcher Tom Haller in the eighth. In the ninth, the Braves scored two more off Sadecki, who was taking one for the team, giving up 9 runs and 11 hit in his six and a third innings of work. Cloninger went the distance for his 9th win of the year against 7 losses, and then prepared to answer reporters' questions after the game as to why the fireworks had come early, as the next day was the 4th of July.