Anthony John Pierzynski (/pɪərˈzɪnski/; born December 30, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player and current television sports presenter.

[1] A two-time All-Star player and a Silver Slugger Award winner, Pierzynski was a member of the 2005 World Series winning White Sox team.

Pierzynski graduated from high school in 1994 and signed a letter of intent to play baseball at the University of Tennessee.

[4] He was also selected by the Minnesota Twins in the third round (71st overall) of the 1994 Major League Baseball draft and chose to sign with the ballclub on June 9.

[6] He began his minor league career with the Gulf Coast League Twins and spent the next four years playing for the minor-league Elizabethton Twins, Fort Wayne Wizards, Fort Myers Miracle, New Britain Rock Cats, and Salt Lake Buzz.

After four years in the Twins organization, Pierzynski was called up to the major league team, and made his debut on September 9, 1998, against the Anaheim Angels at the age of 21.

[12] Pierzynski was signed as a free agent to a one-year, $2.25 million contract by the Chicago White Sox on January 6, 2005.

[13] When he signed with the White Sox, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a story claiming that the catcher had kneed Giants trainer Stan Conte in the groin during a spring training game in 2004.

"[15] Pierzynski would hit 18 home runs, a new career high,[9] with his most memorable home run of the regular season coming on June 18, 2005, against the Los Angeles Dodgers (with both teams wearing their 1959 throwback jerseys to commemorate their meeting in the 1959 World Series) in the bottom of the ninth to walk-off a 5–3 win.

[17][18] The White Sox would go wire-to-wire in Pierzynski's first season with the team, winning the AL Central on September 29, 2005, over the Detroit Tigers.

He would add a second home run in the bottom of the eighth off Bronson Arroyo to help lead the White Sox to a 14–2 win.

Down 0–1 in the series and with the game tied at 1–1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Pierzynski famously struck out on a low ball in the dirt from Kelvim Escobar.

Angels catcher Josh Paul and manager Mike Scioscia argued with Eddings but the call stood, and Pierzynski was replaced by Pablo Ozuna, who promptly stole second base.

[23] The White Sox would then sweep the Houston Astros to win their first championship in 88 years, as Pierzynski won the World Series the only time in his career.

[25] In 2006, Pierzynski continued his errorless streak, ending with 962 consecutive chances and breaking the AL record of 950 set by Yogi Berra in 1959.

A bench-clearing brawl ensued, and Pierzynski, Barrett, White Sox outfielder Brian Anderson and Cubs first baseman John Mabry were ejected.

[37] In 2012, Pierzynski homered in five consecutive games, tying the franchise record and becoming the sixth player to achieve this feat.

[9] On December 3, 2013, Pierzynski agreed to a one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox, pending the completion of a physical examination.

[44] A sports column in a Boston newspaper cited disgruntled anonymous Red Sox teammates who disliked Pierzynski, blaming him for the team's overall woes.

[49] Former Boston teammate John Lackey soon arrived via trade, and Pierzynski caught him for the 19th time in 22 starts in 2014 when he debuted for the Cardinals on August 3.

However, Bethancourt struggled defensively and was eventually sent down to Gwinnett in the hope that he would improve, forcing Pierzynski into a starting role.

[55] On July 18, 2015, in a game against the Chicago Cubs, Pierzynski broke up Jon Lester's no-hit bid in the eighth inning of the Braves' 4–0 loss.

Accompanied by White Sox strength trainer Dale Torborg, Pierzynski presented TNA wrestlers A.J.

Pierzynski then made his professional wrestling managerial debut at TNA Turning Point 2005 on December 11, 2005, accompanying Torborg, Sabin and Dutt to ringside for their match against the Diamonds in the Rough.

On October 10, 2006, Pierzynski appeared on ESPN2's Cold Pizza, wearing the X-Division Championship belt,[clarification needed] and challenged WWE Champion John Cena, who was also a guest that morning, to a Title vs.