Tony Renda
Anthony John Renda (born January 24, 1991) is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox. Before his professional career, he attended the University of California, Berkeley, and played college baseball for the California Golden Bears.
| Tony Renda | |
|---|---|
| Infielder | |
| Born: January 24, 1991 Santa Rosa, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 2, 2016, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 5, 2018, for the Boston Red Sox | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .183 |
| Home runs | 0 |
| Runs batted in | 3 |
| Teams | |
Early life edit
Renda attended Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California, where he played for the school's baseball team. In three seasons on the varsity team, Renda recorded 139 hits, breaking former Major League Baseball player Gregg Jeffries' school record.[1] He was named a High School All-American.[2]
College career edit
He began his collegiate career as a third baseman, but transitioned into a second baseman.[3] In 2011, Renda won the Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year Award.[4]
Professional career edit
Drafts and minor leagues edit
The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Renda in the 42nd round of the 2009 MLB draft.[2] Renda did not sign, as he followed through on his commitment to enroll at the University of California, Berkeley, to play college baseball for the California Golden Bears baseball team. After Renda's junior year at California, the Washington Nationals selected Renda in the second round of the 2012 MLB draft. Renda signed with the Nationals, receiving a $500,000 signing bonus.[2][5]
Renda made his professional debut with the Auburn Doubledays of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League in 2012. He played 71 games for Auburn. In 2013, Renda played for the Hagerstown Suns of the Class A South Atlantic League, where he had a .294 batting average, 99 runs scored, 51 runs batted in, and 30 stolen bases in 135 games.[6] His 43 doubles with Hagerstown were the second-most in all of Minor League Baseball.[7] After the season, he won the inaugural Bob Boone Award for his "professionalism, leadership, loyalty, passion, selflessness, durability, makeup, intangibles and tremendous work ethic."[6] In 2014, Renda played for the Potomac Nationals of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League.[3][8] After the season, the Nationals assigned Renda to the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League (AFL). He was named to the AFL's All-Star Game and Top Prospects Team.[9][10]
Renda began the 2015 season with the Harrisburg Senators of the Double-A Eastern League, where he hit .267 through 54 games.
On June 11, 2015, the Nationals traded Renda to the New York Yankees in exchange for David Carpenter.[11] The Yankees assigned Renda to the Trenton Thunder of the Eastern League.[12] Renda played 73 games for Trenton, batting .270 with two home runs and 21 RBIs.
On December 28, 2015, the Yankees traded Renda, Caleb Cotham, Eric Jagielo, and Rookie Davis to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Aroldis Chapman.[13] Renda began the 2016 season with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos of the Double-A Southern League, and received a promotion to the Louisville Bats of the Triple-A International League in June.[14] He batted .326 in Double-A, and .276 in Triple-A.
Cincinnati Reds (2016) edit
The Reds promoted Renda to the major leagues on August 2.[15] He made his major league debut that day,[1] and got his first major league hit in his first at bat off Jonathan Broxton of the St. Louis Cardinals, an infield bunt single.[16] The hit was first recorded as a sacrifice bunt and error, but was changed to a hit several days later.[17] Overall, with the 2016 Reds, Renda appeared in 32 games, batting .183 (11-for-60) with three RBIs.
Renda began the 2017 season with Triple-A Louisville, appearing in 51 games with a .260 average.
Arizona Diamondbacks edit
On July 3, 2017, the Cincinnati Reds traded Renda to the Arizona Diamondbacks for a player to be named later.[18] He was assigned to the Reno Aces of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, batting .185 (5-for-27) in eight games, spending mid-July though late September on the disabled list.[19] Renda was released prior to the 2018 season.
Boston Red Sox (2018) edit
On April 30, 2018, Renda signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox. He was assigned to the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs where he hit .371 in 26 games; he was promoted to the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox in mid-July.[19] Renda was called up to Boston on August 4, after Ian Kinsler was placed on the 10-day disabled list and Dustin Pedroia was moved to the 60-day disabled list, opening a spot on the 40-man roster for Renda.[20] In an August 5 game against the rival New York Yankees, Renda pinch ran and scored the winning run in a 5–4 Red Sox comeback, driven in on a single by Andrew Benintendi in the 10th inning.[21] Renda was optioned back to Triple-A on August 8, without making another appearance.[20] Renda was outrighted to the minors on November 1, removing him from the 40-man roster; he elected free agency on November 2. Renda is a member of the 2018 World Champion Red Sox.
On November 29, 2018, Renda re-signed to a minor league deal with the Red Sox.[22] He started the 2019 season with Triple-A Pawtucket, batting .200 (4-for-20) in five games.[19] He was placed on the injured list in mid-April with a right shoulder strain, and missed the rest of the season.[19] He became a free agent after the 2019 season.
Personal life edit
Renda was born in Santa Rosa, California, and grew up in Hillsborough, California.[23][24][6] His mother, Larree, began a career at Safeway, Inc. as a bagger, and worked her way up into an executive position. His father, Frank, a construction worker, died at age 56, when Renda was 19.[3][7]
References edit
- ^ a b "Serra's all-time hit king Tony Renda debuts with Cincinnati". San Mateo Daily Journal. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- ^ a b c "Tony Renda's drive rooted in his upbringing". INSIDENOVA.COM. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
- ^ a b c "Nationals minor league notes: Tony Renda stays on track". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
- ^ "Cal second baseman Tony Renda is Pac-10 Baseball Player of Year". San Jose Mercury News. May 31, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
- ^ "Nationals agree with second-rounder Tony Renda, others as draft wraps up". The Washington Times. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
- ^ a b c Kerr, Byron. "One to watch: Second base prospect Tony Renda". MASNsports. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
- ^ a b "Work ethic pushing Renda toward big leagues". San jose Mercury News. July 10, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
- ^ "Taylor Jordan, Billy Burns, Tony Renda earn Nationals minor league awards". The Washington Times. September 13, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
- ^ Wagner, James (October 27, 2014). "Tony Renda picked for Arizona Fall League all-star game". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
- ^ Kerr, Byron (December 10, 2014). "Tony Renda named to the AFL Top Prospects Team". MASNsports. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
- ^ "Yankees acquire minor league INF Tony Renda from Washington". YES Network. June 11, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
- ^ "Thunder's Tony Renda trying to cure case of the yips". The Trentonian. June 18, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- ^ "Aroldis Chapman traded to Yankees". MLB.com. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- ^ "Changes greet Wahoos lineup as second half begins". Pensacola News Journal. June 22, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- ^ "Reds call up OF Schebler to fill Jay Bruce's spot". The News & Observer. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- ^ Renda makes MLB debut. MLB.com. August 2, 2016.
- ^ Von Benko, George (August 5, 2016). "Renda credited with first MLB hit after review". MLB.com.
- ^ Adams, Steve (July 3, 2017). "Minor MLB Transactions: 7/3/17". MLB Trade Rumors.
- ^ a b c d "Tony Renda Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
- ^ a b . MLB.com. August 2018. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
- ^ "Yankees vs. Red Sox - Box Score". ESPN. August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
- ^ Cotillo, Chris (November 30, 2018). "Boston Red Sox re-sign Tony Renda to minor-league deal, per source". MassLive.com. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
- ^ "Tony Renda Bio". Cal Athletics.
- ^ Dowd, Katie (April 5, 2011). "Scar Tissue: Tony Renda's late father taught him to be tough. He's learned that lesson well". The Daily Californian.
Further reading edit
- Cotillo, Chris (August 5, 2018). "New Boston Red Sox second baseman Tony Renda went to same high school as Tom Brady, roots for Patriots". MassLive.com. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
External links edit
- Career statistics and player information from ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Tony Renda on Twitter