He will never go down as a great Reds pitcher and he was never on a World Series championship team, but Tony Cloninger will always be remembered as a power pitcher, a power hitter, and as a guy who always wanted to take the ball and pitch.
Cloninger pitched for the Reds briefly -— from 1968 to 1972 -— and was a hurler on the Big Red Machine. He played in the National League playoff sweep of Pittsburgh in 1970, pitching in Game 3. He also pitched in the 1970 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles.
Tony passed away recently at the age of 77.