C.L. Penigar

Charles Lee Penigar

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 5", Weight 180 lb.
• High School Ontario (CA) High School

• Born July 31, 1963

BR minors page

Biographical Information

C.L. Penigar played 10 seasons in the minors, stealing 320 bases, and reaching AAA. Four years, he led his league in some department.

Phillies chain

The Philadelphia Phillies made Penigar the 46th pick of the 1981 amateur draft, taking him in the second round out of high school. He struggled in his pro debut for the Helena Phillies, hitting .212/.323/.303 with 52 strikeouts in 165 at-bats. In 1982, he had some wild numbers for the Spartanburg Traders. He hit .259/.382/.360 with 95 runs, 7 triples, 65 steals (in 82 tries), 92 walks, 142 strikeouts, 15 outfield assists and 21 outfield errors. He led the South Atlantic League in strikeouts, was tied for 5th in triples (with Lenny Dykstra and Rafael Rivas), was 4th in steals (18 behind pacesetter Bernie Tatis), was second in times caught stealing (one behind Tatis), ranked 4th in walks (trailing Matt Winters, Dykstra and Pat Hodge), led in errors in the outfield (five more than anyone else) and was 5th in outfield assists. On December 14, 1982, Penigar was traded by the Philadelphia Phillies with Mike Krukow and Mark Davis to the San Francisco Giants for Al Holland and Joe Morgan; he was the only one of the group who would not have a lengthy major league career.

Giants chain

With the 1983 Fresno Giants, C.L. fell to .257/.356/.328 with 136 strikeouts, 76 runs and 41 steals in 60 tries. He led the California League in strikeouts (18 more than Steve Stanicek), was 6th in steals (over 100 behind leader Donell Nixon) and tied for third in times caught stealing (5 behind Nixon). He split 1984 between Fresno (.270/.366/.327 in 36 G) and the Shreveport Captains (.277/.360/.380 in 72 G), pilfering 37 bases while being gunned down running 17 times. With Shreveport for all of 1985, he struggled at .224/.291/.263 and stole 20 bases, second on his team behind Robby Thompson.

Penigar then spent a year as a pitcher for the 1985 Clinton Giants, going 4-5 with a 4.48 ERA and walking 47 in 72 1/3 IP. He would only pitch four more games in his minor league career. He hit well for Clinton, going 5 for 8 with a double and two walks.

Angels and White Sox

The California Angels then picked up Penigar and he would spent two years in their system. He hit .231/.340/.283 with 20 steals for the 1987 Palm Springs Angels, tying for second on the club in steals. He hit .269/.338/.339 for the 1988 Midland Angels, stealing 47 bases but being gunned down running 27 times. He also made 9 errors in the outfield, tied for second in the Texas League with Dan Grunhard behind Lee Stevens. He was third in the TL in stolen bases but first in times caught stealing.

He then wound down his career with two seasons in the Chicago White Sox organization. In 1989, he hit .246/.356/.302 for the Birmingham Barons, with 74 walks, 64 steals in 86 attempts and 77 runs. He led the Southern League in both steals and times caught, while Birmingham won the title by shattering the SL record with 264 steals. After Penigar, the leaders were Rich Amaral (57), Cornelio Garcia (35) and Aubrey Waggoner (25). He finally made it to AAA in 1990 with the Vancouver Canadians and hit .211/.312/.370. He fielded .912 and his 9 errors tied for 5th among 1990 Pacific Coast League outfielders despite playing just 56 games there.

Sources

• 1982-1985, 1989 and 1991 Baseball Guides
• 1986-1987 Baseball America Statistics Reports
• 1988 and 1990 Baseball Almanacs