Tolia "Tony" Solaita (January 15, 1947 – February 10, 1990) was an American

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

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), ...

. He played for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

and

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

between 1968 and 1979. He also played four seasons in Japan for the

Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a ...

from 1980 to 1983. As of 2019, Solaita is still the only Major League Baseball player to have hailed from American Samoa.

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Matt Tuiasosopo Matthew Petelu Tuiasosopo (born May 10, 1986) is an American former professional baseball utility player and the current manager of the Gwinnett Stripers, the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. He played in Major Leagu ...

Wes Littleton Wes Avi Littleton (born September 2, 1982) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who spent his entire three-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Texas Rangers (2006–2008). He is noted for being ...

, and

Sean Manaea Sean Anthony Manaea ( ; born February 1, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres. He played co ...

are American-born major-leaguers of partial Samoan descent. Solaita was a prolific

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

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. In 1975, while playing for the Royals, he hit 16 home runs in 231 at-bats, second to only

Dave Kingman David Arthur Kingman (born December 21, 1948), nicknamed "Kong," "King Kong," and "Sky King", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder, first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter who was a three-time MLB All-Star with 442 career hom ...

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 The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

for the

and averaged nearly 40 home runs a year. Solaita retired after the 1983 season. In 525 games over seven seasons, Solaita posted a .255

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(336-for-1316) with 164 runs, 50

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, 203 RBI and 214

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 ...

. Defensively, he recorded a .993

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

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.

References

External links

Tony Solaita
at The Deadball Era {{DEFAULTSORT:Solaita, Tony 1947 births 1990 deaths Expatriate baseball players in Canada Expatriate baseball players in Japan American Samoan murder victims Binghamton Triplets players California Angels players Charleston Charlies players Columbus White Sox players Deaths by firearm in American Samoa Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Greensboro Yankees players Gulf Coast Yankees players High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball designated hitters Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from American Samoa Male murder victims Montreal Expos players New York Yankees players Nippon Ham Fighters players Nippon Professional Baseball designated hitters People murdered in American Samoa Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Blue Jays players Tucson Toros players West Haven Yankees players People from Nu'uuli Baseball players of insular areas of the United States American Samoan sportsmen