Tony Solaita
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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 from 1968 to 1979. He also played for a minor league team in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.
The only baseball player to ever hail from American Samoa, Solaita had been a prodigious 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 just 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 produced impressive home run numbers, averaging nearly 40 home runs a year. Solaita retired after the 1983 season.
Tragically he was murdered in Tafuna, American Samoa on February 10, 1990.[1]
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Categories: New York Yankees players | Pittsburgh Pirates players | Kansas City Royals players | California Angels players | Toronto Blue Jays players | Montreal Expos players | Major league first basemen | Major league designated hitters | Samoan baseball players | Non-Japanese baseball players in Japan | Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters players | 1947 births | 1990 deaths
