Tony Conigliaro - How Good Was He?

DirtyHarry

I watched Tony C play ....super player and baseball image. He was an awsome talent as he broke into the league...and a ray of hope for the Sox....complimenting Yaz and crew. Had he not been subject to the horrific "beaning" episode....how great a player would he have ended up being? HOF material?

dgbaseball

As far as baseball talent, one of the biggest things people point to is his age - only 19 his first season. Look at his first 4-5 years in Boston, he really hit the ground running (I think the youngest guy ever at the time to reach 100 HR?) I honestly think with his power and age, 600+ HR was not an unreasonable expectation at the time - as reasonable as that can be after only a few years, of course. His average wasn't that great though, and he did strike out a lot.

Ultimately, especially in Boston, I think he would've gone down in history regarded as a great player. HOF material? Sure, if he kept up the HR production and got up over 500 and more. There's no reason to suspect otherwise, although it obviously didn't happen, so who knows. He could've stalled and gone the way Darryl Evans and Dave Kingman.

Obviously, his general popularity in Boston was greatly increased due to

- his heritage
- local boy
- good looks (or so the ladies thought)

At minimum I think the Sox should've at least retired his number after his career ended.

iamthegreatcornholio

His '65 Topps card is really tough.

JoeBanzai

It's hard to say, as I remember he did come back and hit for good power the year after the terrible beaning. He actually had his most home runs in a year in 1970, three years later. Did the beaning do him in, or was he just a shooting star, the brightest sometimes burn out the fastest.

Take a look at another Tony's numbers....Tony Oliva of the Minnesota Twins. He started right out of the gate dominating in hits, batting average, and doubles with good home run power, but not as much as Conigliaro. His career was cut short because of injuries, but not like a single sensational event that is remembered by everyone who has seen it.

It's sad to see any player with loads of potential not get a chance to perform because of injuries or just a sudden drop in productivity. Fidrich comes to mind and certainly Mattingly and Rice. Durability or maybe just luck, has a lot to do with getting into the HOF.

JoeBanzai

coinkat

I thought he played with the California Angels briefly in the 1972-74 time frame...

He had alot of pontential and could have made it to the Hall

coinkat

TTT for those that remember Tony C

denwd1

the beaning did him in

jad22

I don't think he was ever the same after the injury. Too bad because he was so young. Would have been a really good player.

My feelings about the yankees are well known but I did always enjoy watching Don Mattingly play. Best first basemen I ever saw, heard stories about how he couldn't get out of bed during high school cause his back was so bad.

Gemmy10

Tony C. was great when he played and might have been a Hall of Famer some day. It was terrible what happened to him.

Bosox1976

Tony C.'s comeback in 1975 precluded Jim Ed Rice from starting for the Red Sox in 1975 (until the comeback fizzled). The games missed probably cost Rice a better shot at beating Freddy Lynn for ROY (along with the games Rice lost at the end of season after he was HBP and broke his hand). 7 game WS may have turned out better for the BoSox with Rice in the lineup too.

Tony C. was a bright shining star early on though - as everyone else said - not the same after the beaning. Those years were not the easiest years to hit a lot of home runs either, although the AL didn't have as many great pitchers as the NL.