Tonny Cohen

Tonny Michel Cohen

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 185 lb.

• Born October 14, 1965 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland Netherlands

Tonny Cohen pitched in the US and in the Netherlands - both times for teams called the Pirates.

Cohen was with the Dutch national team in the 1984 Amateur World Series, 1985 European Championship (which they won) and 1986 Amateur World Series. In the 1986 Series, he was the youngest player on the team despite having some international experience.

Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cohen debuted with the Macon Pirates in 1987, going 5-8 with a 3.82 ERA. His 96 strikeouts were second on the club behind Mike York. In 1988, Cohen went 8-10 with a 4.02 ERA for the Augusta Pirates, walking 39 in 138 2/3 innings only while striking out 125.

Returning to the Netherlands, Cohen played for the Amsterdam Pirates. He was at the center of a controversy in 1992 when Dutch team manager Jan Dick Leurs added him to the national team at a time when players with professional experience were not permitted.

Cohen's name is given incorrectly in numerous sources: the 1989 Baseball Guide, Pat Doyle's Database and the Baseball Cube all list him as "Tommy", perhaps thinking Tonny was a typo.

Sources

• 1988 Baseball Almanac
• 1989 Baseball Guide
• 1988 Pittsburgh Press clippings
• The Big Book of Jewish Baseball by Peter Horvitz and Joachim Horvitz
• The unofficial Pirates e-mail list
• Honkbalsite.com
• Defunct IBAF site
• List of European Championship medalists