Ron Villone Named New Pitching Coach as Tom Pratt Battles Cancer
Published on March 21, 2012 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release
PEORIA, IL - The Chicago Cubs and Peoria Chiefs announced on Tuesday that Ron Villone, a veteran of 15 Major League seasons will take over as the Chiefs pitching coach for the 2012 season. Villone replaces Tom Pratt who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer and has begun chemotherapy in Arizona. Fans can follow his progress at www.facebook.com/WeWillFightThis. This will be the first coaching position for Villone who appeared in 717 MLB games between 1995 and 2009.
"First of all, our thoughts and prayers are with Tom Pratt and his family at this time," said Chiefs President Rocky Vonachen. "Tom is an important part of the Chiefs and Cubs family and we hope for a speedy recovery and encourage all our fans to keep him in their thoughts as he begins his battle against cancer. We also welcome Ron to the Chiefs organization and look forward to working with him during the 2012 season."
During his 15-year MLB career, Villone posed a 61-65 record with a 4.73 ERA and eight saves while pitching for 12 different franchises, which is tied for the MLB record for teams played for, alongside Matt Stairs, Mike Morgan and Octavio Dotel. Originally a first round pick (14th overall) of the Seattle Mariners in 1992 out of the University of Massachusetts. The Englewood, NJ native made his Major League debut with the Mariners on April 28, 1995 and two months later was traded to the San Diego Padres in a deal that sent Andy Benes to Seattle. At the trade deadline in 1996 he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in a deal that sent Greg Vaughn to the Padres. Villone made 50 appearances for the Brewers in 1997 going 1-0 with a 3.42 ERA. He was traded again in December of 1997, this time to the Cleveland Indians as Marquis Grissom headed to Milwaukee.
Villone signed with the Cincinnati Reds for the 1999 season and entered the starting rotation for the first time in his Major League career. Over the next two seasons, Villone made 45 starts in 64 appearance and posted a combined 19-17 record. In 1999 the lefty threw a career-high 142 2/3 innings and struck out a 97. In 2000 he won a career-high 10 games and again threw more than 140 innings. Villone struck out a career-high 113 batters while splitting the 2001 season between the Colorado Rockies and the Houston Astros. After making 36 starts with the Astros, Mariners and Pittsburgh Pirates between 2002 and 2004, Villone went back to the bullpen exclusively. He made a career-high 79 appearances in 2005, 52 with Seattle and 27 with the Florida Marlins. Villone pitched 70 times with the New York Yankees in 2006 going 3-3 with a 5.04 ERA and appeared in 37 more games for the Yankees in 2007. He signed on with the St. Louis Cardinals for the 2008 season and was 1-2 with a 4.68 ERA and one save in 74 games. The lefty finished his MLB career with the Washington Nationals in 2009 going 5-6 with a 4.25 ERA in 63 games. He appeared in 41 games for the Syracuse Chiefs, the Nationals Triple-A affiliate in 2010 going 2-5 with a 6.59 ERA and was released by the Nationals at the end of the 2011 Spring Training schedule.
Villone, 42, currently resides in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey with his wife Brooke and their three children. He also played tight end at UMass and was named to the 1990 All-Yankee Conference Team. Before he made it to the Majors, Villone pitched for Team USA in 1992 and was named the Atlantic-10 Left Handed Pitcher of the Year in 1991 and a third-team All-American for UMass in 1992.
Pratt was the Chiefs pitching coach in 2005 and had worked with the Daytona Cubs pitching staff the last three seasons, helping the team to capture the 2011 Florida State League Championship. The 61-year-old has worked in the Cubs organization for 13 years beginning as the pitching coach in Eugene in 1999. He has coached at the high school, college or Minor League levels since 1976 after pitching with Kansas City and California from 1969-1973. A graduate of Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University, Pratt lives in Prescott, Arizona with his wife Peggy.
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