Tony Solaita
| Tony Solaita | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First baseman | |||
| Born: January 15, 1947 Nu'uuli, American Samoa |
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| Died: Error: Need valid death date (first date): year, month, day Tafuna, American Samoa |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 16, 1968, for the New York Yankees | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 30, 1979, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .255 | ||
| Home runs | 50 | ||
| Runs batted in | 203 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Tolia "Tony" Solaita (January 15, 1947 – February 10, 1990) was a Major League Baseball player 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.
As of 2015, Solaita is the only Major League Baseball player to have hailed from American Samoa.[1] Pitcher Mike Fetters[2] and outfielder Benny Agbayani[3] are Hawaiian-born players of half-Samoan ancestry, while outfielder Chris Aguila is also partially Samoan[4] and was born in California.
Solaita had been a prolific home run hitter in the minor leagues, hitting 49 home runs in 1968 for High Point-Thomasville, but was mostly relegated to a backup position during his Major League playing days. 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.
He was murdered in Tafuna, American Samoa on February 10, 1990. He was shot in a dispute over a land transaction.[5]
References
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- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs
- The Deadball Era
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- Pages with reference errors
- Age error
- Pages using baseballstats with unknown parameters
- 1947 births
- 1990 deaths
- New York Yankees players
- Kansas City Royals players
- California Angels players
- Toronto Blue Jays players
- Montreal Expos players
- Syracuse Chiefs players
- Fort Lauderdale Yankees players
- Charleston Charlies players
- Binghamton Triplets players
- Gulf Coast Yankees players
- Greensboro Yankees players
- West Haven Yankees players
- High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms players
- Tucson Toros players
- Columbus White Sox players
- Major League Baseball first basemen
- Major League Baseball designated hitters
- Murdered baseball players
- Major League Baseball players from American Samoa
- Expatriate baseball players in Japan
- Nippon Ham Fighters players
- American Samoan murder victims
- People murdered in American Samoa
- Deaths by firearm in American Samoa
