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It was exactly 45 years ago today that Boston Red Sox star RF Tony Conigliaro was struck in the face by a pitch thrown by Jack Hamilton. Forty-five years equals the length of Conigliaro's life, who died an early death in 1990. It is very possible that the eye injury Tony C suffered led to not only his shortened baseball career, but his short life as well. He was hit on his cheekbone, fracturing it, dislocating his jaw and it caused severe damage to his left retina. After several comeback attempts, his vision had gotten to a point where he had such difficulty seeing that he had to retire. He later suffered a heart attack in 1982 that put him in a vegetative state until his death.
Many have written about the start of Conigliaro's career, which included a .290 AVG and 24 HRs in 1964 at age 19. He had amassed 104 HRs to this point in 1967 at age 22. Sure, most say he would have accomplished much more. Some have even said he would have approached 500 or 600 HRs for his career. He did get off to an outstanding start and the hit by pitch ended his 1967 season. He also missed the 1968 season but rebounded in 1969 to hit 20 HRs in 141 games, winning the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award. His best season followed in 1970, when he hit .266, 36, 116 in 146 games.
Conigliaro was traded immediately after the 1970 season to the California Angels. Sadly, he could not stay on the field, playing in just 74 games, hitting just .222, 4, 15 for the Angels that season. He sat out the 1972, 1973 and 1974 seasons due to injury and made a brief comeback attempt for the Red Sox in 1975.
It leaves fans in Boston, as well as the rest of the country, what could have been with Tony C. If he had not been hit on this date in 1967, would the Red Sox have had a better chance of winning the 1967 World Series against the Cardinals? If he was a healthy fixture in the Red Sox lineup, are the Red Sox pennant contenders in 1968-1974? And if Conigliaro was in the middle of the Red Sox in 1975, would the Cincinnati Reds had a chance in the World Series? Unfortunately none of these questions can be answered. But one thing is for sure, he was on a pace only seen by sluggers Ralph Kiner, Mark McGwire and Albert Pujols. It would have been great to see where his start could have taken him.
Conigliaro was traded immediately after the 1970 season to the California Angels. Sadly, he could not stay on the field, playing in just 74 games, hitting just .222, 4, 15 for the Angels that season. He sat out the 1972, 1973 and 1974 seasons due to injury and made a brief comeback attempt for the Red Sox in 1975.
It leaves fans in Boston, as well as the rest of the country, what could have been with Tony C. If he had not been hit on this date in 1967, would the Red Sox have had a better chance of winning the 1967 World Series against the Cardinals? If he was a healthy fixture in the Red Sox lineup, are the Red Sox pennant contenders in 1968-1974? And if Conigliaro was in the middle of the Red Sox in 1975, would the Cincinnati Reds had a chance in the World Series? Unfortunately none of these questions can be answered. But one thing is for sure, he was on a pace only seen by sluggers Ralph Kiner, Mark McGwire and Albert Pujols. It would have been great to see where his start could have taken him.
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