Tony Arias

Antonio Ramon Arias Jr.

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 5", Weight 210 lb.
• Schools Miami-Dade Community College, Florida International University
• High School Hialeah High School

• Born March 4, 1962 in Hialeah, FL USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

First baseman Tony Arias was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the eighth round of the 1984 amateur draft and played five seasons in their organization, reaching as high as AA. Arias hit .197/.267/.330 in his debut, with the Medford A's. In 1985, he batted .208/~.285/.346 for the Madison Muskies. He led the team in homers (12), doubles (25, tied), RBI (60) and strikeouts (137). Among the teammates he outslugged was Felix Jose.

Back with Madison in 1986, he put up a .255/.329/.412 line with 18 home runs and 103 RBI. He again led his club in dingers and RBI. He was second in the Midwest League in RBI, behind Luis Medina. Mark Grace was named the MWL first baseman with significantly better overall numbers than Arias. In 1987, Tony fell to .261/.306/.391 in 15 games for the Huntsville Stars before a wrist injury cost him the season. He split 1988 between Huntsville (.224/.305/.329 in 29 G) and the Modesto A's (.234/.347/.433 in 73 G). With Mark McGwire now manning first in Oakland, Tony's playing career was at a standstill and retired after the 1988 season.

Following his playing days, Arias was an Oakland scout for 7 years. He then worked in the Toronto Blue Jays organization for 11 years as their Director, Latin America Operations. He joined the Cincinnati Reds organization in 2006 and is currently (2011) the team's director of Latin American scouting. He signed Alfredo Aceves, Yonder Alonso, Josh Banks, Sebastián Elizalde, Vladimir Gutiérrez, Jesse Litsch, Carlos Machorro, Henry Rodriguez, Neftali Soto, Juan Carlos Sulbaran, Eugenio Velez, David Vidal and Francisco Rosario among others.