Tony Solaita

Tolia "Tony" Solaita (January 15, 1947 – February 10, 1990) was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball. He played for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, California Angels, Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos between 1968 and 1979. He also played four seasons in Japan for the Nippon-Ham Fighters from 1980 to 1983.

Tony Solaita
First baseman
Born: (1947-01-15)January 15, 1947
Nu'uuli, American Samoa
Died: February 10, 1990(1990-02-10) (aged 43)
Tafuna, American Samoa
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
Professional debut
MLB: September 16, 1968, for the New York Yankees
NPB: April 5, 1980, for the Nippon-Ham Fighters
Last appearance
MLB: September 30, 1979, for the Toronto Blue Jays
NPB: October 20, 1983, for the Nippon-Ham Fighters
MLB statistics
Batting average.255
Home runs50
Runs batted in203
NPB statistics
Batting average.268
Home runs155
Runs batted in371
Teams

As of 2019, Solaita is still the only Major League Baseball player to have hailed from American Samoa.[1] Mike Fetters, Benny Agbayani, Chris Aguila, Matt Tuiasosopo, Wes Littleton, and Sean Manaea are American-born major-leaguers of partial Samoan descent.[2]

Solaita was a prolific home run hitter in the minor leagues, hitting 49 regular-season home runs in 1968 for High Point-Thomasville, but was mostly relegated to a backup or platoon position during his Major League playing days. He was selected by the Royals from the Charleston Charlies in the Rule 5 draft on December 3, 1973.[3] In 1975, while playing for the Royals, he hit 16 home runs in 231 at-bats, second to only Dave Kingman in home run to at-bat ratio.

After becoming a free agent following the 1979 season, Solaita opted for a four-year contract in the Japanese League, where he was designated hitter for the Nippon-Ham Fighters and averaged nearly 40 home runs a year. Solaita retired after the 1983 season. As of 2023, Solaita holds the Fighters' franchise single season home run record, hitting 45 in his first season with the club, 1980.

In 525 games over seven seasons, Solaita posted a .255 batting average (336-for-1316) with 164 runs, 50 home runs, 203 RBI and 214 bases on balls. Defensively, he recorded a .993 fielding percentage as a first baseman.

He was murdered in Tafuna, American Samoa on February 10, 1990. He was shot in a dispute over a land transaction.[4]

References
  1. "The Baseball Cube". Baseball Players born in Samoa. Retrieved 7 July 2008.
  2. "Benny Agbayani at the SABR BioProject".
  3. Durso, Joseph. "4 Trades Made at Meetings," The New York Times, Tuesday, December 4, 1973. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  4. "Tony Solaita at the SABR BioProject".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.