Antonio José Armas (born April 29, 1978), better known as Tony Armas Jr., is a Venezuelan former professional baseball 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 ...

. He spent most of his active career with the

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 ...

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

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(MLB).

Professional career

New York Yankees

Armas was signed by the

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

as an amateur free agent in 1994.

Boston Red Sox

Armas and a player to be named later (

Jim Mecir James Jason Mecir (born May 16, 1970) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for five teams over an 11-year career between and . Mecir is notable for having overcome a birth defect (namely club feet) to become an effect ...

), were traded to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

in 1997 for Mike Stanley and Randy Brown.

Montréal Expos/Washington Nationals

He was sent to the Montréal Expos in 1997 along with pitcher

Carl Pavano Carl Anthony Pavano (born January 8, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, Pavano played in Major League Baseball from 1998 to 2012 for the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, New York Yankees, Clevel ...

in exchange for

Pedro Martínez Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , for five teams—most notably the Boston Red Sox from to . At the time o ...

. Various injuries held him back until 2003, when he was the team's Opening Day starter, shutting down the

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) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

Turner Field Turner Field was a baseball stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1997 to 2016, it served as the home ballpark to the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium in 1996 to serve as the c ...

, 10–2. But the strong start turned into a breakdown weeks later, after he was diagnosed with injuries in his arm and shoulder which required season-ending surgery. At that time, Armas had a record of 2–1, 23 strikeouts and a 2.61

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

, with a WHIP of 1.065 and not allowing a

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 ...

until his fifth and last start. Armas worked out in 2004 spring training, and his recovery was proceeding. Although the team initially hoped he could be ready for the start of the season, the rehabilitation was slower than expected. He finished the season with a 2–4 mark in 72 innings. In a nine-year career, Armas had a 52–65 record with 674 strikeouts and a 4.62 ERA in 917.3 innings. At bat, he was a .098 hitter (26-for-265) with ten RBI. During the 2006 season, Armas had a 9–12 record in 30 starts. Armas missed one month with arm problems, but in his second game back from the disabled list he pitched seven innings, allowing only one run on three hits. On October 29, 2006, Armas filed for

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

On February 1, 2007, he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates for a one-year $3.5 million contract with a 2008 mutual option. After starting the 2007 season 0–3 with an 8.92 ERA, Armas was removed from the rotation.

New York Mets

On February 11, 2008, he signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. He re-signed with the Mets in January 2009. However, he was released on March 31, 2009, after not making the team.

Atlanta Braves

In April 2009, he was signed by the

and assigned to the Triple-A

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

. On July 25, 2009, the Braves released Armas.

Pitching style

Armas used a low-90s moving

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

and a sharp-breaking

curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...

to establish what he wanted to do with each hitter. He had an effective

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, a splitter, and a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

to keep opponents out of balance.

Personal life

Armas is the son of former All-Star

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Tony Armas Antonio Rafael Armas Machado (born July 2, 1953) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1976 to 1989. He is the father of pitcher Tony Armas Jr. and the older brother o ...

, and a nephew of former

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 ...

Marcos Armas. Tony's father broke into the Majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1976.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armas, Tony Jr. 1978 births Living people Brevard County Manatees players Caribes de Anzoátegui players Caribes de Oriente players Edmonton Trappers players Greensboro Bats players Gulf Coast Nationals players Gulf Coast Yankees players Gwinnett Braves players Harrisburg Senators players Jupiter Hammerheads players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Mississippi Braves players Montreal Expos players New Orleans Zephyrs players New York Mets players Oneonta Yankees players Ottawa Lynx players People from Anzoátegui Pittsburgh Pirates players Sarasota Red Sox players Tampa Yankees players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Washington Nationals players World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela 2006 World Baseball Classic players