| Tony Armas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: (1953-07-02)July 2, 1953 (age 71) Puerto Piritu, Venezuela | |
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 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the Venezuelan | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2005 |
Antonio Rafael Armas Machado (born July 2, 1953) is aVenezuelan former professionalbaseball player. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) as anoutfielder from 1976 to 1989. He is the father of pitcherTony Armas Jr. and the older brother of outfielderMarcos Armas.
Armas was one of the top power hitters in theAmerican League in the early 1980s. Twice he led theAmerican League inhome runs, and topped all of Major League Baseball inruns batted in during the1984 season. Armas was prone to injuries and went on thedisabled list twelve times during his major league career, missing 302 games.
Armas debuted with thePittsburgh Pirates'Gulf Coast League affiliate in1971 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 in1976. He appeared in four games for the Pirates, and collected twohits in six at-bats.
Duringspring training in1977, Armas,Doug Bair,Dave Giusti,Rick Langford,Doc Medich andMitchell Page were dealt to theOakland Athletics in exchange forChris Batton,Phil Garner andTommy Helms.[1]
Armas was the opening dayright 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 in1978 and 80 in1979. For1980, Armas became a full-time right fielder, and finally played a full season, batting .279 with 35 home runs and 109runs batted in in 158 games.
In thestrike shortened1981 season, Armas tied for the league lead in home runs (22) and games played (109) to be named theAmerican League Player of the Year byThe Sporting News. In1982 he set a pair of major league records with elevenputouts and twelvetotal chances in right field in a single game against theToronto Blue Jays. Following the season he was traded, along withJeff Newman, to theBoston Red Sox forCarney Lansford,Garry Hancock and minor leaguer Jerry King.
In Boston, Armas became thecenter fielder, sharing the outfield withJim Rice (LF) andDwight 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 monster1984, batting .268 and leading the AL with 43 home runs, 123 RBI, 77extra-base hits, and 339total bases. He was named toThe Sporting News andUPI postseason AL All-Star teams, was Boston's co-MVP, and placed seventh in AL MVP balloting.
From 1980 to1985, Armas hit more homers (187) than any other AL player. His next two seasons were ruined by recurring leg injuries and Boston's acquisition ofDave Henderson. Armas was released after batting just once in the1986 World Series. In the following years, he became a valuable role player for the Angels, and he retired after the1989 season.
Twice he finished in the top ten in AL Most Valuable Player award balloting (4th, 1981; 7th, 1984).
Armas was signed as a free agent by the California Angels In July 1987, and played 3 seasons with them (1987–1989) to finish out his Major League career. For his career playing in 1,432 games over 14 seasons, Armas tallied 251 home runs, 614 runs, 204 doubles, 39 triples, 815 RBI, and 1,302 hits.
Tony is one of 13 children, His younger brother, outfielderMarcos Armas, had a brief stint with the Athletics in the 1993 season, while his sonTony Jr. pitched from 1999 through 2008 for theMontreal Expos/Washington Nationals,Pittsburgh Pirates andNew York Mets.
Armas is the currentBattingcoach for theLeones del Caracas a team in theVenezuelan Professional Baseball League.
His playing career in Venezuela was a stellar one. He started playing with the Leones and later joined theCaribes de Oriente. His 97 career home runs were the Venezuelan professional baseball record, before another center fielder—Robert Pérez "the black wall" ofCardenales 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 earned induction into theVenezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum with 96% of the vote. He also was selected to theCaribbean Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.