Cliff Pennington (baseball)

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Cliff Pennington
Cliff Pennington on June 6, 2011.jpg
Arizona Diamondbacks – No. 4
Shortstop
Born: (1984-06-15) June 15, 1984 (age 28)
Corpus Christi, Texas
Bats: Switch Throws: Right 
MLB debut
August 12, 2008 for the Oakland Athletics
Career statistics
(through May 19, 2013)
Batting average     .246
Home runs     25
Runs batted in     171
Teams

Clifton Randoulph Pennington (born June 15, 1984) is a Major League Baseball infielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks

Contents

Career [edit]

Pennington attended Texas A&M University. He played for the Texas A&M Aggies baseball team.

Oakland Athletics [edit]

Pennington was drafted in the first round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft by the Athletics. On July 31, 2008, he was called up from the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, and made his major league debut that day going 2-4.

Following the 2009 spring training camp, he was returned to the River Cats.[1]

On July 31, 2009, Pennington was called back up by the Athletics. He hit his first major league home run on August 5, against the Texas Rangers. He finished the 2009 season with 4 home runs, 21 RBIs, and a .249 batting average. He started the 2010 season in the starting role. He finished the season with 6 home runs and 46 RBI.

Pennington started slow in the 2011 season, averaging .160 in his first 10 games. On August 1, he left during a game against the Seattle Mariners, after having trouble moving his muscles in his face and moving his eyes. Later that day, Pennington was diagnosed with Bell's palsy, which paralyzes one side of the face and prevents him from controlling his muscles. although Bell's palsy can last for days, weeks, or months, he was listed as day-to-day and only missed two games.[2]

Near the end of the 2012 season, Pennington had started playing second base after the Athletics acquired Stephen Drew from the Arizona Diamondbacks to play every day shortstop, also due to the demotion of second baseman Jemile Weeks. Pennington went to the post season for the first time in his career as the Athletics won the AL West in 2012. They were eliminated in the ALDS by the Detroit Tigers in five games.

Arizona Diamondbacks [edit]

On October 20, 2012, Pennington was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in which the Diamondbacks acquired Pennington, Heath Bell and cash considerations, Oakland receiving Chris Young and $500K from Arizona, and the Marlins receiving minor-league infielder Yordy Cabrera from Oakland.[3] Pennington and the Diamondbacks agreed to a two-year contract worth $5 million on January 23, 2013. The contract was finalized on January 30.[4]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Oakland's Young Studs Make Roster SI.com, April 4, 2009
  2. ^ Kunnath, Avinash (August 1, 2011). "Oakland Athletics Injury Report: Cliff Pennington Diagnosed With Bell's Palsy". SB Nation. Retrieved January 30,2013. 
  3. ^ Gilbert, Stev (October 20, 2012). "D-backs make deals for Bell and Pennington". MLB.com. Retrieved January 30, 2013. 
  4. ^ "Diamondbacks finalize $5M, 2-year deal with SS Pennington". TSN.ca. January 30, 2013. Retrieved January 30,2013. 

External links [edit]