Robert Lee Oliver (February 8, 1943 – April 19, 2020) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1965), Kansas City Royals (1969–72), California Angels (1972–74),

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

(1974), and

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 ...

(1975). He batted and threw right-handed.

Career

Minor leagues

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Oliver lettered in baseball and basketball at Highlands High School in

North Highlands, California North Highlands is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento– Arden-Arcade– Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 42,694 at the 2010 census, down ...

, a suburb of Sacramento. After graduating in 1961, he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

American River College American River College (ARC) is a public community college in unincorporated Sacramento, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System. History The college was opened in 1955 as American River Junior College, on the site ...

, where he was heavily scouted. Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates before the 1963 season, Oliver played in the Pirates' farm system for four seasons, with a late call-up in 1965, during which he made his major league debut. Oliver was traded to the Minnesota Twins and spent two more seasons in Minor League Baseball (MiLB).

Major leagues

Oliver made the big leagues for good in 1969, having been selected by the Kansas City Royals in the previous October's expansion draft. Playing on a young team that included fellow rookies Pat Kelly and

Lou Piniella Louis Victor Piniella ( usually ; born August 28, 1943) is a former professional baseball player and manager. An outfielder, he played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and ...

— the eventual

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL) Rookie of the Year — Oliver batted .254, with 13 home runs, and 43

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBI), in 118 games played. That year, he achieved two firsts in Royals history: 1) He was the first Royal to collect six hits in a nine-inning game (only two other Royals,

Kevin Seitzer Kevin Lee Seitzer (; born March 26, 1962) is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and Cleveland Indians. He is currently the hitting coach for the Atl ...

in 1987 and

Joe Randa Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

in 2004, have since accomplished this feat), with a 6-for-6 performance in a May 4 victory over the California Angels; and 2) He hit the Royals' first-ever

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

, the shot coming off

Jim Bouton James Alan Bouton (; March 8, 1939 – July 10, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. Bouton played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher for the New York Yankees, Seattle Pilots, Houston Astros, and Atlanta Braves between 1 ...

in the first game of a July 4 doubleheader against the American League's other 1969 expansion team, the Seattle Pilots. 1970 was a breakout year for Oliver; he established career highs in home runs (27),RBI (99), and runs scored (83). Oliver enjoyed two more solid seasons: 1972 (during which he was traded to the California Angels), batting .269, with 20 home runs, and 76 RBI; and 1973, batting .265, with 18 home runs, and 89 RBI, while splitting his time as a utility player. The

acquired him for the 1974 stretch drive; Oliver appeared in nine games for the team. His contract was purchased by the

from the Orioles on December 1, 1974, but he only saw limited duty in 1975. During his career, Oliver batted .256, with 94 home runs, and 419 RBI, in 847 games played.

Other interests and death

While a member of the California Angels, Oliver moonlighted as a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

for the Santa Ana Police Department. In the offseason he was a school resource officer. Oliver managed the Sacramento Steelheads, in 1999. He has also worked at two baseball schools in

Sacramento County Sacramento County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, which has been the state capital of California since 1854. Sacramento County is the ...

: operating his own Baseball Academy in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, as well as working as a hitting instructor at

Dusty Baker Johnnie B. "Dusty" Baker Jr. (born June 15, 1949) is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Houston Astros in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in the MLB for 19 seasons, most notably with the Lo ...

's Baseball Camp in Rancho Cordova. Oliver's son

Darren Darren is a masculine given name of uncertain etymological origins. Some theories state that it originated from an Anglicisation of the Irish first name Darragh or Dáire, meaning "Oak Tree". According to other sources, it is thought to come from ...

also played in MLB, from 1993–2013. Both father and son are former teammates of

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...

: Bob from 1972 to 1974, and Darren as a rookie with the Texas Rangers in 1993 (Ryan's final major league season). Oliver died on April 19, 2020, at the age of 77, in

Rio Linda, California Rio Linda (Spanish: ''Río Linda'', meaning "Pretty River") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California. It is part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 15,106, up from 10,466 ...

References

External links