Eddie Solomon Jr. (February 9, 1951 – January 12, 1986), nicknamed "Buddy J," was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who appeared in 191 games for six teams between 1973 and 1982. Born in

Perry, Georgia Perry is a city in Houston and Peach counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the county seat of Houston County. The population was 13,839 at the 2010 census, up from 9,602 at the 2000 census. As of 2019 the estimated population was 17,894. I ...

, Solomon was listed as tall and . During his career, he toiled for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. Solomon went undrafted in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

and signed with the Dodgers as a free-agent amateur. After five seasons in the club's

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, he was given his first

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

trial in September . But he appeared in only eight games over two seasons as a Dodger, and was included, with

Geoff Zahn Geoffery Clayton Zahn (born December 19, 1945) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched thirteen seasons in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1985. In his career, he had a Win–loss record of 111–109, an earned run average of 3.74 ...

, in the impactful May 2, 1975, trade in which Los Angeles acquired

Burt Hooton Burt Carlton Hooton (born February 7, 1950), nicknamed "Happy", is an American former right-handed starting pitcher and former coach in Major League Baseball. He won 151 games over a 15-year career, mostly with the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dod ...

from the Cubs. His Chicago stay was also brief, with only six MLB games pitched in before he was dealt to the Cardinals' organization. The season saw Solomon's first extended tenure in the majors, when he appeared in 26 games for the Cards, 24 of them in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

. But when began, Solomon found himself back in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

. He was traded for the third time in three seasons when St. Louis shipped him to the Braves on May 24. After he spent more time in Triple-A, the Braves recalled him in July, and gave Solomon his first opportunity as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

; appearing in 18 games, 16 as a starter, he compiled a 6–6 won–lost record for a team that would lose 101 games. Although saw Solomon back in the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

, he returned to Atlanta's starting rotation in , setting career bests in games started (30),

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

(186),

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s (4) and

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s (96). Still, he struggled in the won–lost column, going 7–14 and finishing fifth in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

in games lost. Nevertheless, his performance attracted the attention of the defending World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates, who acquired Solomon late in

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in . The transaction set up Solomon's two most successful seasons in the majors. Working as a "swing man" who shifted between starting and relieving, he won 15 games and lost nine during 1980 and , with four complete games, one save, and a composite

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

of 2.93 in 227 inning pitched. However, brought misfortune: Solomon was ineffective in 11 appearances with the Pirates through June 2, then traded to the White Sox on June 14. Solomon worked out of the ChiSox bullpen for six games, and won his only decision, but he was handed his unconditional release on July 2. He retired from minor league baseball after the 1983 season. As a big leaguer, Solomon posted a 36–42 career won–lost mark with a 4.00 earned run average in 191 games, almost evenly split between starts (96) and relief appearances (95). He posted eight career complete games (with no

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

) and four saves. In 718 innings pitched he gave up 764

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

and 247

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

, with 337 strikeouts. Slightly more than two years after his final pro season, Solomon died in a one-car accident in

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

, on January 12, 1986, at age 34.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solomon, Eddie 1951 births 1986 deaths African-American baseball players Albuquerque Dukes players Appleton Foxes players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Columbus Clippers players Daytona Beach Dodgers players El Paso Dodgers players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Ogden Dodgers players People from Perry, Georgia Pittsburgh Pirates players Richmond Braves players Road incident deaths in Georgia (U.S. state) St. Louis Cardinals players Tulsa Drillers players Wichita Aeros players 20th-century African-American sportspeople