Cliff Pennington, baseball player, 2008-2018

Cliff Pennington

Born: 6/15/1984 in Corpus Christi, TX, USA

MLB Debut: 2008-08-12 | Final Game: 2018-04-25

Bats: B | Throws: R | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 200 lbs

Full name: Clifton Randolph Pennington

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Biography

Cliff Pennington was a versatile infielder who played in Major League Baseball from 2008 to 2018. Born in 1984, Pennington made his debut with the Oakland Athletics, where he quickly established himself as a reliable player both offensively and defensively. Over the course of his career, he appeared in 971 games, accumulating 678 hits and 36 home runs, while driving in 242 runs. With a batting average of .242, Pennington showcased his ability to contribute to his team's offense, particularly with his speed on the basepaths, as evidenced by his 84 stolen bases. Pennington was known for his solid defensive skills, often playing shortstop and second base, which allowed him to be a valuable asset to several teams throughout his career, including stints with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Toronto Blue Jays. His playing style reflected the evolving nature of the game during the late 2000s and early 2010s, where speed and defensive versatility became increasingly prized. As a player who navigated the transition of baseball during this era, Pennington left a lasting impact on the teams he played for and remains a respected figure in the baseball community.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
971 2799 324 678 120 21 36 242 84 266 619 0.242 0.309 0.339 0.648 -5307.1

Career AVG .242 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — 5.2% below league average.

Career OBP .309 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .339 vs. league average .407 across their career seasons — 16.9% below league average.

Career OPS 0.648 vs. league average 0.730 across their career seasons — 11.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
2008 OAK AL 36 99 14 24 5 0 0 9 4 13 18 0.242 .263 (-8%) .333 (+2%) .416 (-30%) .749 (-16%) -228.7
2009 OAK AL 60 208 27 58 11 3 4 21 7 19 46 0.279 .262 (+6%) .332 (+3%) .417 (avg) .750 (+1%) 53.6
2010 OAK AL 156 508 64 127 26 8 6 46 29 50 96 0.250 .257 (-3%) .325 (-2%) .402 (-9%) .728 (-6%) -599.9
2011 OAK AL 148 515 57 136 26 2 8 58 14 42 104 0.264 .255 (+4%) .320 (-1%) .399 (-8%) .719 (-4%) -458.1
2012 OAK AL 125 418 50 90 18 2 6 28 15 35 90 0.215 .254 (-15%) .318 (-13%) .405 (-23%) .724 (-19%) -1519.7
2013 AZ NL 96 269 25 65 13 1 1 18 2 26 54 0.242 .253 (-5%) .317 (-2%) .396 (-22%) .714 (-13%) -611.5
2014 AZ NL 68 177 21 45 5 3 2 10 6 20 36 0.254 .251 (+1%) .313 (+8%) .386 (-9%) .700 (-1%) 25.6
2015 AZ NL 72 135 15 32 3 0 1 10 3 16 29 0.237 .254 (-7%) .316 (-1%) .404 (-30%) .721 (-17%) -378.6
2015 TOR AL 33 75 9 12 3 0 2 11 0 11 20 0.160 .254 (-37%) .316 (-15%) .404 (-31%) .721 (-24%) -378.6
2016 LAA AL 74 172 18 36 4 2 3 10 1 13 55 0.209 .255 (-18%) .321 (-18%) .417 (-26%) .738 (-22%) -712.2
2017 LAA AL 87 194 23 49 6 0 3 21 3 16 58 0.253 .254 (-1%) .324 (-6%) .425 (-23%) .750 (-15%) -577.0
2018 CIN NL 16 29 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 13 0.138 — — — — 0.0

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 1 0 2 1 9.00 0

Career ERA 9.00 vs. league average 4.15 across their career seasons — 116.9% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
2018 CIN NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 1 2 1 9.00 — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
9 15 1 4 0 0 0 1 4 4 0.267

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2015 ALCS TOR 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
2015 ALDS2 TOR 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
2012 ALDS2 OAK 5 14 1 4 0 0 0 1 3 4 0.286

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 1 0 0 0.3 2 0 0 0 0.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2015 ALCS TOR 0 0 1 0 0 0.3 2 0 0 0 0.00

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 3 0 2 1 0 1
2B 233 168 312 506 11 119
3B 64 36 25 80 5 5
OF 8 4 11 1 0 0
P 1 0 0 0 0 0
SS 609 544 817 1663 82 365

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
2008 OAK 2B 16 15 33 44 0 17
2008 OAK 3B 9 8 8 11 1 2
2008 OAK SS 10 6 10 16 4 5
2009 OAK SS 60 60 90 181 8 41
2010 OAK SS 156 147 218 496 25 100
2011 OAK SS 147 143 216 374 22 90
2012 OAK 2B 32 26 67 85 2 12
2012 OAK SS 93 90 150 272 9 58
2013 ARI 2B 29 19 33 64 2 14
2013 ARI 3B 2 2 0 6 1 0
2013 ARI SS 51 47 58 152 5 30
2014 ARI 2B 18 15 34 48 0 12
2014 ARI 3B 8 8 5 19 0 2
2014 ARI SS 23 20 24 54 2 13
2015 ARI 2B 11 7 10 25 1 4
2015 ARI 3B 12 1 2 6 1 0
2015 ARI OF 5 2 6 1 0 0
2015 ARI SS 24 16 17 60 4 13
2015 TOR 2B 22 18 28 56 2 10
2015 TOR 3B 6 1 0 5 0 0
2015 TOR OF 3 2 5 0 0 0
2015 TOR SS 5 0 1 1 1 1
2016 LAA 1B 3 0 2 1 0 1
2016 LAA 2B 58 33 66 98 1 27
2016 LAA 3B 1 0 1 0 0 0
2016 LAA SS 17 10 25 34 1 8
2017 LAA 2B 47 35 41 86 3 23
2017 LAA 3B 18 11 8 19 0 0
2017 LAA SS 18 4 7 21 1 5
2018 CIN 3B 8 5 1 14 2 1
2018 CIN P 1 0 0 0 0 0
2018 CIN SS 5 1 1 2 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 1
First Base 3
Second Base 233
Third Base 64
Shortstop 609
Left Field 8
Designated Hitter 4

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
2016 LAA AL $1,500,000
2015 ARI NL $3,275,000
2014 ARI NL $3,250,000
2013 ARI NL $1,750,000
2012 OAK AL $490,000
2011 OAK AL $420,000
2010 OAK AL $405,000
Total Career Earnings $11,090,000

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Texas A&M University College Station TX 2003, 2004, 2005