Tony Brizzolara

Anthony John Brizzolara (born January 14, 1957) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Atlanta Braves.

Brizzolara graduated from Beloit Memorial High School in Beloit, Wisconsin, and played ball at University of Texas at Austin before being drafted by the Braves in the second round of the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft. After going 17-12 with a 2.74 earned run average in their farm system, the Braves brought Brizzolara up to the majors in May 1979. He remained in the starting rotation for the rest of the season, going 6-9 with a 5.28 ERA.

Brizzolara spent from 1980 to 1983 with the Richmond Braves. In July 1983, he received his second call to the majors. Though he was a starter back in 1979 and for most of his minor league career, he was used strictly in relief by manager Joe Torre during his time with Atlanta.

Once more, he opened the 1984 season at Richmond, and went 7-7 with a 3.23 ERA as a starting pitcher. He came up to Atlanta in August, and went 1-2 with a 5.28 through the end of the season. After going 10-12 with a 3.27 ERA for Richmond in 1985, he signed as a minor league free agent with the Chicago White Sox. He spent one season with their triple A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons, going 6-6 with a 5.40 ERA.

References

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Retrosheet
• Venezuelan Professional Baseball League