Tony Armas
Tony Armas | |
---|---|
Outfielder | |
Born: Puerto Piritu, Venezuela | July 2, 1953|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
September 6, 1976, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
Last MLB appearance | |
October 1, 1989, for the California Angels | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .252 |
Home runs | 251 |
Runs batted in | 815 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Antonio Rafael Armas Machado (born July 2, 1953) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball. He is the father of pitcher Tony Armas Jr. and the older brother of outfielder Marcos Armas.
Armas Sr. was one of the top sluggers in the American League in the early 1980s. Twice he led the American League in home runs, and topped all of Major League Baseball in runs batted in during the 1984 season. He was, however, prone to injuries that affected his career. In his major league career, Armas went to the disabled list twelve times, missing 302 games.
Career
Pittsburgh Pirates
Armas debuted with the Pittsburgh Pirates' Gulf Coast League affiliate in 1971 just shy of his eighteenth birthday. He spent six seasons in their farm system, batting .270 with 69 home runs when he received a September call-up in 1976. He appeared in four games for the Pirates, and collected two hits in six at-bats.
During spring training in 1977, Armas, Doug Bair, Dave Giusti, Rick Langford, Doc Medich and Mitchell Page were dealt to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Chris Batton, Phil Garner and Tommy Helms.[1]
Oakland A's
Armas was the opening day right fielder for the A's in 1977, though by the end of the season, he was starting in center and saw most of his action there. Armas' inability to stay healthy limited him to just 91 games in 1978 and 80 in 1979. For 1980, Armas became a full-time right fielder, and finally played a full season, batting .279 with 35 home runs and 109 runs batted in in 158 games.
In the strike shortened 1981 season, Armas tied for the league lead in home runs (22) and games played (109) to be named the American League Player of the Year by The Sporting News. In 1982 he set a pair of major league records with eleven putouts and twelve total chances in right field in a single game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Following the season he was traded, along with Jeff Newman, to the Boston Red Sox for Carney Lansford, Garry Hancock and minor leaguer Jerry King.
Boston Red Sox
In Boston, Armas became the center fielder, sharing the outfield with Jim Rice (LF) and Dwight Evans (RF). Although he was booed by fans for his low batting average (.218), he placed second in the AL with 36 home runs and seventh with 107 RBI.
Armas had a monster 1984, batting .268 and leading the AL with 43 HR, 123 RBI, 77 extra-base hits, and 339 total bases. He was named to The Sporting News and UPI postseason AL All-Star teams, was Boston's co-MVP, and placed seventh in AL MVP balloting.
From 1980 to 1985, Armas hit more homers (187) than any other AL player. His next two seasons were ruined by recurring leg injuries and Boston's acquisition of Dave Henderson. Armas was released after batting just once in the 1986 World Series. In the following years, he became a valuable role player for the Angels, and he retired after the 1989 season.
Twice he finished in the top ten in AL Most Valuable Player award balloting (4th, 1981; 7th, 1984).
California Angels
Armas was signed as a free agent by the California Angels In July 1987, and played 3 season with them (1987-1989) to finish out his Major League career. For his career, Armas tallied 251 home runs, 204 doubles, 39 triples, and 1,302 hits.
Family ties
Tony is one of 13 children, His younger brother, outfielder Marcos Armas, had a brief stint with the Athletics in the 1993 season, while his son Tony Jr. pitched from 1999 through 2008 for the Montreal Expos, Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets.
Coaching career
Armas is the current Batting coach for the Leones del Caracas a team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.
His playing career in Venezuela was a stellar one. He started playing with the Leones and later joined the Caribes de Oriente. His 97 career home runs were the Venezuelan professional baseball record, before another center fielder—Robert Pérez "the black wall" of Cardenales de Lara—set a new mark in 2007. In addition, Armas is fourth in the all-time list of RBI leaders, with 412.
In 2005, he gained induction into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum with 96% of the vote. He also was selected to the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.
See also
- List of second-generation Major League Baseball players
- List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players from Venezuela
References
- ^ "Pirates, A's Swap 9 Players; Garner and Medich Key Men". The New York Times. Associated Press. March 17, 1977. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Baseball Library
- The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia – Gary Gillette, Peter Gammons, Pete Palmer. Publisher: Sterling Publishing, 2005. Format: Paperback, 1824pp. Language: English. ISBN 1-4027-4771-3
- 1953 births
- American League All-Stars
- American League home run champions
- American League RBI champions
- Boston Red Sox players
- California Angels players
- Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
- Caribbean Series players
- Caribes de Oriente players
- Charleston Charlies players
- Edmonton Trappers players
- Gastonia Pirates players
- Gulf Coast Pirates players
- Leones del Caracas players
- Living people
- Llaneros de Portuguesa players
- Major League Baseball center fielders
- Major League Baseball players from Venezuela
- Major League Baseball right fielders
- Monroe Pirates players
- Oakland Athletics players
- People from Anzoátegui
- Pittsburgh Pirates players
- Sherbrooke Pirates players
- Silver Slugger Award winners
- Thetford Mines Pirates players
- Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
- Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada
- Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States