Tony Graffanino was born in New York, on Long Island, and grew up in East Islip. He graduated from high school in 1990 and was drafted by the Atlanta Braves. Tony made it to the big leagues with the Braves in 1996. He played in parts of 13 Major League seasons, 11 full seasons, with Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City, Boston, Milwaukee, and Cleveland. 2009 was his last season. Tony has been involved with UPI outreaches and Bible studies since his Atlanta days, and he and his family took their first UPI trip to Mexico with Brian Hommel in November of 2009.
Tony came on staff with UPI full time on July 1st of 2011 and moved his family to Arizona. He currently resides on the northwest side of Phoenix, in Peoria, and leads Bible studies for current and former players in the Peoria, Glendale, and Scottsdale areas. Tony also does UPI international trips in Italy, Germany, Mexico, and soon to the Dominican Republic. He assists Brian Hommel in ministering to the tremendous amount of players, current and former, who call Phoenix home, or to those who have Spring Training, Extended Spring, Summer League, Instructional League, and or Fall League in Phoenix.
Tony is married to Nicole (1995) and they have to sons, A.J. (1997) and Nick (1999).
Contact Tony tgraff@upi.org. |
