Norristown grad Andre Solomon signs professional baseball contract in Kentucky

By: Ed Morlock, The Times Herald

Andre Solomon took a big step in his baseball career Tuesday June 6 when he signed a contract with the Lexington Paints of the Thoroughbred Baseball League in Kentucky.

It’s been a long journey for the 27-year old who spent his childhood moving back-and-forth between Norristown and Sylvania, Georgia.

Solomon made Norristown his permanent home in the seventh grade. He played Little League baseball in Norristown, legion ball for Norristown A.A. and went to Norristown Area High School before graduating in 2007.

After high school he played about five years in the Perkiomen Valley Twilight League, where he made a couple All-Star games playing for the Plymouth Angels and Valley Forge Bucks. During his first two years of the Perky League, he also played for the Philadelphia Reds — a team that travels all over the country — on the weekends. He played junior college ball at Motlow State Community College in Tennessee.

He only got one at-bat in his final season in the Perky League because he was invited to Spring Training with the New Jersey Jackals of the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball in 2016.

During that time he received an invitation to the Arizona Winter League. He saved up to travel to Arizona after working at AristiCare at Meadow Springs, a specialized rehabilitation nursing facility. His parents — Charles and Tina Solomon — also financially helped him make the trip out west. Charles set up a Go Fund Me so that people could donate to help him on his journey. It raised $570.

“After New Jersey I just received an e-mail saying that the Arizona Winter League is coming up,” Solomon said. “It cost me $3,000 to go out there. I had to work, saving money for that, go out there just taking a chance. But it was worth it.”

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