Tony Pedro Oliva (born Antonio Oliva Lopez Hernandes Javique; July 20, 1938) is a Cuban former

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 ...

player and coach. He played his entire career 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), ...

as a

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

and

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

for the Minnesota Twins from to . An eight-time All-Star player, Oliva was an integral member of the Twins teams that won the {{by, 1965 American League pennant and two consecutive American League Western Division titles in 1969 and 1970. Oliva was named the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year in 1964 and won three American League batting championships as well as a Gold Glove Award during his career. Playing in baseball's "second

dead-ball era In baseball, the dead-ball era was the period from around 1900 to the emergence of Babe Ruth as a power hitter in 1919, when he hit a then-major league record 29 home runs; only three players since 1890 had even hit 20. This era was characterized ...

", he was one of the game's best hitters during his first eight seasons.{{cite web, work=

Baseball-Reference.com Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advan ...

, url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/o/olivato01.shtml, title=Tony Oliva Statistics and History, access-date=January 6, 2007 After eight seasons in the majors, Oliva's career was hampered by a series of severe knee injuries, forcing him to become a designated hitter during his final four years in baseball. He retired with a career batting average of .304. Oliva was inducted into the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2000.{{cite web, url=https://www.startribune.com/tony-oliva-minnesota-sports-hall-of-fame-inductee-class-of-1988/565997161, title=Tony Oliva: Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Class of 1988, date=December 9, 2019, last=Rippel, first=Joel, work=startribune.com, publisher=Star Tribune, access-date=July 18, 2021 The Twins retired Oliva's uniform number 6 in 1991. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.

Early life

Born in

Pinar del Río Province Pinar del Río is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is at the western end of the island of Cuba. Geography The Pinar del Río province is Cuba's westernmost province and contains one of Cuba's three main mountain ranges, the Cordillera de Guanig ...

, Cuba in 1938, he played baseball weekly with his father, brothers, and neighbors in a vacant lot near the family farm. Oliva's father, who worked in a tobacco factory and was famous for rolling the best cigars, was also a former semi-professional player who instructed Tony and helped him become "the best hitter in Pinar del Río".{{cite web, url=http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/119448294.html, first=Patrick, last=Reusse, title=Oliva a legend rooted in Minnesota, work=Star Tribune, date=April 8, 2011, access-date=July 27, 2011{{cite book, title=Heroes of the Major Leagues, url=https://archive.org/details/heroesofmajorlea00pete, url-access=registration, chapter=Tony Oliva, page
130–132
publisher=

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, year=1967, last=Peters, first=Alexander, isbn=9780394901886 A scout for the Minnesota Twins noticed the youth and brought him to the United States to play professionally. He was reluctant to leave his parents and nine siblings, but his father encouraged him to become "rich and famous" in America.

Professional baseball career

Minor leagues

Oliva arrived in the US in the spring of 1961. During spring training that year, he appeared in the Twins' final three games, collecting seven hits in ten at bats. The Twins, however, had already filled their minor league rosters and released Oliva, with some saying it was due to his poor outfield play. Having nowhere else to go, Oliva traveled to

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

to train with a friend who played for a Minnesota Twins Class A

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

. His quick wrists, long frame, and "unharnessed power" impressed Charlotte general manager Phil Howser, who placed a call and convinced the Twins to re-sign the potential star. Due to a paperwork switch at Oliva's arrival in the US to reflect the name and birthdate of his younger brother Pedro Jr. (born 1941) in order to appear younger to major league scouts, many newspapers reported the 21-year-old Tony as his 18-year-old sibling.{{cite web, url=http://www.tonyoliva.com/faq.html, title=Tony Oliva FAQ, work=Tony Oliva Official Web Site The name stuck and Oliva officially changed his name to ''Tony Pedro Oliva'' in the late 1990s. The Twins assigned Oliva to the class-D Wytheville Twins in the Appalachian League, where he played in 64 games and led the league with a .410

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, but had a low fielding percentage of .854.{{cite web, url=http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/O/Tony-Oliva.shtml, work=The Baseball Cube, title=Tony Oliva Statistics, access-date=2007-01-14 After finishing second to

Orlando Cepeda Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes (; born September 17, 1937), nicknamed "the Baby Bull" and "Peruchin", is a Puerto Rican former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for six teams from 1958 to 1974, primarily the San Francisco Giants. A ...

in batting average in the

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

leagues in winter ball, Oliva was sent to single-A Charlotte in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, where he played 127 games and hit .350 with 17 home runs and 93 RBIs. He was called up to the major leagues with nine games left and debuted for the Twins on September 9, 1962, hitting a searing .444 in 12 plate appearances. In 1963, he was invited to spring training with the Twins and management hoped that the lefty Oliva would counterbalance their right-handed sluggers

Bob Allison William Robert Allison (July 11, 1934 – April 9, 1995) was an American professional baseball outfielder who played for the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball from to . Allison attended the University of Kansas for ...

and Harmon Killebrew.Peters (134–135) While there, he became friends with teammate, and fellow Cuban,

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

Zoilo Versalles Zoilo Casanova Versalles Rodriguez (; December 18, 1939 – June 9, 1995), nicknamed "Zorro", was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball, most notably for the Minnesota Twins. He was the catalyst wh ...

, who quickly became convinced that Oliva was "the new

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the ...

", citing their similarities in hitting ability, speed, and arm strength. However, Oliva failed to make the Twins' major league team and was assigned to the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers, the club's Class AAA affiliate in the Pacific Coast League. Disappointed, Oliva started the season slow, compiling a .235 average in his first two months. He recovered, however, and finished the minor league season with a .304 batting average with 23 home runs and 74 RBI. This earned him a call up for the final few games of the 1963 major league season. Once again he responded with a sizzling bat, hitting .429 in just 7 at-bats.

Major leagues

Compiling one of the great rookie years in baseball history, Oliva was selected as a near-unanimous 1964

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, receiving 19 of 20 first-place votes. Oliva was voted to his first

All-Star game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

in his rookie year, but went 0-for-4 at the plate. His AL-leading .323 batting average made him the first player ever to win both the Rookie of the Year Award and AL batting title.{{cite book, year=1966, title=The American League, chapter=The Minnesota Twins, page=120, first=Shirley, last=Povich, author-link=Shirley Povich, publisher= Grosset & Dunlap, editor=Ed Fitzgerald He also paced the AL in hits (217), doubles (43), extra base hits (84), total bases (374), runs (109), and runs created (133). Oliva's 374 total bases tied a rookie record. Oliva finished fourth in MVP voting. In 1965, Oliva won a second straight AL batting title with a .321 average, his back-to-back wins once again a baseball first. His performances were all the more noteworthy for falling right at the onset of baseball's "second deadball era", with only two other AL hitters reaching the .300 mark that season, ( Carl Yastrzemski (.312) and

Vic Davalillo Víctor José Davalillo Romero (born July 30, 1936) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder. He played for 30 years in the U.S., Mexico, and his homeland, compiling more than 4,100 base hits total. Davalillo (pronounced da-va-L ...

(.301)). Oliva added 16 home runs, 98

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 ...

, and 107 runs. He led the AL in hits (185), runs created (108), sacrifice flies (10), and batting average (.321), good for a second-place finish in MVP voting to teammate and Twins spark plug Versalles. In his second All-Star game, Oliva entered as right fielder in the eighth inning, replacing game starter Rocky Colavito, and had a double in the ninth inning after pinch hitting in the seventh inning and grounding out. Tony Oliva 1987

Through the end of July in 1966, Oliva was leading the league with a .328 average. However, between August 21 and August 28 and September 13 and September 21, he slumped badly, collecting three hits in 29 at bats and four hits in 34 at bats respectively, which cost him a chance at his third straight batting title. Oliva finished with a .307 batting average and was the runner-up to

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

winner and AL MVP

Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams, from to . The only player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of both ...

, who hit .316. For the third year in a row, Oliva led the AL in hits (191). Additionally, he won his only Gold Glove award, and finished sixth in MVP voting. One of the season's highlights came on June 9, 1966, in the seventh inning of a game against the

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

, where Oliva joined Harmon Killebrew, Don Mincher, Rich Rollins and Versalles to hit five home runs in a single inning. These five home runs, hit off starter Catfish Hunter (three) and reliever Paul Lindblad (two), stand as of 2021, tying an MLB record for the most home runs in a single inning. {{MLBBioRet , Image = TonyOilvaTwins.png , Name = Tony Oliva , Number = 6 , Team = Minnesota Twins , Year = 1991 After a somewhat off 1967, where he led the AL with 37 doubles and finished in the top 10 in batting average, slugging percentage, hits, total bases, RBIs, runs created, extra base hits, and intentional walks, Oliva's rebound in 1968 was cut short by injury. Missing the last 34 games, he once again hit .289, but so depressed were batting averages it was good for third in the AL by a single point (and only batting champ Yastrzemski topping .300 by a single point as well). He returned to form in 1969 to again place third in the AL with a .309 batting average, with 24 homers, 101 RBIs, and league leads in hits (197) and doubles (39). He finished third in batting average in the American League in 1970 at .325, with 23 home runs and 107 RBIs. He also led the AL in hits (204) for the fifth time, in doubles (36) for the fourth time, and finished second in MVP voting for the second time, this time to Baltimore's Boog Powell. In {{Baseball year, 1971, Oliva won his third AL batting title with a .337 average and led the league in slugging percentage (.546). These feats at the end of a stretch of eight straight All-Star appearances that began his rookie season marked the high point of his career, as severe knee, leg, and shoulder injuries hampered his remaining playing days. His roommate

Rod Carew Rodney Cline Carew (born October 1, 1945) is a Panamanian former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman, second baseman and designated hitter from 1967 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins ...

often heard Oliva "moaning and groaning" and getting up to obtain ice for his sore knees during the night.{{JamesAbstract, pages=800, chapter=Right Field He played just 10 games in 1972 before having season-ending surgery. Due to injuries and a 1973 American League rule change establishing a new position, he became the Twins' designated hitter that spring and remained in that role his final four seasons. Oliva would hit the first home run by a DH in league play on April 6, 1973.{{cite web , last1=Jaffe , first1=Jay , title=2022 Golden Days Era Committee Candidate: Tony Oliva , url=https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2022-golden-days-era-committee-candidate-tony-oliva/ , website=fangraphs.com , date=17 November 2021 , publisher=FanGraphs , access-date=23 November 2021 Oliva was a coach for the Twins after he retired as a player. As such, he holds the distinction of being the only on-field team member to appear with all three Minnesota Twins'

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

teams: star outfielder in 1965, hitting coach in 1987 and bench coach in 1991.

MLB statistics

{, class="wikitable" ! Years !! Games !! AB !! Runs !! Hits !! 2B !! 3B !! HR !! RBI !! SB !! CS !! BB !! SO !! AVG !! OBP !! SLG !! OPS , , E , , FLD% , - , 15 , , 1,676 , , 6,301 , , 870 , , 1,917 , , 329 , , 48 , , 220 , , 947 , , 86 , , 55 , , 448 , , 645 , , .304 , , .353 , , .476 , , .830 , , 61 , , .975 =MLB awards = Oliva's's major league awards: {, class="wikitable sortable" , - !style="background:#ccf;", Award / Honor !style="background:#ccf;", Time(s) !style="background:#ccf;", Date(s) , - , American League Rookie of the Year , 1 , 1964 , - , American League All-Star , 8 , 1964–1971 , - , , American League Gold Glove Award (OF) , 1 , 1966 , - , American League Player of the Week , 1 , June 30, 1974 Oliva was the AL MVP runner-up in 1965 and 1970. National Baseball Hall of Fame (2022)

Other awards, honors, and achievements

* World Series champion: 1987, 1991 * AL batting champion: 1964, 1965, 1971 * AL leader in slugging average: 1971 * AL leader in runs scored, total bases, runs created, and extra base hits: 1964 * AL leader in hits: 1964–1966, 1969, 1970 * AL leader in doubles: 1964, 1967, 1969, 1970 * AL leader in sacrifice flies: 1965 * AL leader in put outs as right fielder: 1964–1967, 1969, 1970 * AL leader in assists as right fielder: 1969, 1970 * AL leader in double plays turned as right fielder: 1966, 1970, 1971 * Minnesota Twins No. 6 retired: July 14, 1991. * Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame: 2000 * Tony Oliva statue,

Target Field Target Field is a baseball stadium in the North Loop, Minneapolis, historic warehouse district of downtown Minneapolis. Since its opening in 2010, the stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins. The stadium hos ...

: April 8, 2011.

Hall of Fame candidacy

Oliva was considered for election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame via voting of the

Baseball Writers' Association of America The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) is a professional association for journalists writing about Major League Baseball for daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying websites. The organization was founded in 1908, and is known ...

(BWAA) from 1982 to 1996. Writer Bill James, utilizing the Keltner list, determined that Oliva was a "viable Hall of Fame candidate", but ultimately did not endorse him as a Hall of Famer.{{cite book, title=Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame?:Baseball, Cooperstown, and the Politics of Glory, last=James, first=Bill, author-link=Bill James, isbn=9780684800882, year=1995, pages=275–285, 351–352, publisher=

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pu ...

, title-link=Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame? Several contemporaries have endorsed Oliva's enshrinement in the Hall of Fame, including

Tony Pérez Atanasio "Tony" Pérez Rigal (born May 14, 1942) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and third baseman from through , most notably as a member of the ...

, who mentioned in his 2000 induction speech that he hoped Oliva would soon be in the Hall of Fame.{{cite web, url=http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hof_weekend/2000/speeches/perez_tony.htm, title=Induction Speeches: Tony Perez, publisher= Baseball Hall of Fame, access-date=2007-01-14, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205023123/http://baseballhalloffame.org/hof_weekend/2000/speeches/perez_tony.htm , archive-date=2006-12-05 In 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007, Oliva was considered for the National Baseball Hall of Fame by its

Veterans Committee The Veterans Committee is the popular name of various committees of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum that elect participants other than recently retired players. Originally, it referenced the National Baseball Hall of Fame Committee ...

's election, but was unsuccessful. He was considered again by the Hall of Fame's Golden Era Committee (from the 1947–1972 era) which voted in 2011, but was short by four of the required 12 votes needed for induction in 2012.{{cite web, url=http://baseballhall.org/hall-of-fame/2015-golden-era-committee-ballot, title=Golden Era Committee Candidates Announced, publisher= Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, access-date=July 18, 2021, archive-date=November 5, 2014, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105091614/http://baseballhall.org/hall-of-fame/2015-golden-era-committee-ballot, url-status=dead In 2014, the Golden Era Committee considered him for the second time from their 10-candidate ballot, but both he and former infielder/outfielder

Dick Allen Richard Anthony Allen (March 8, 1942 – December 7, 2020) was an American professional baseball player. During his fifteen-year-long Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played as a first baseman, third baseman, and outfielder, most notably ...

were one vote short of election;{{cite web, url=https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2014/12/8/7346225/mlb-hall-of-fame-golden-era-dick-allen-tony-oliva, title=Baseball Hall of Fame Golden Era Committee elects nobody, date=December 8, 2014, last=Stephen, first=Eric, work=sbnation.com, publisher=SBNation, access-date=July 18, 2021 one candidate was elected in 2011 and no one in 2014.

Golden Days Committee

The Golden Era Committee was replaced in July 2016 by a 16-member Golden Days Committee, to vote from a 10 candidate ballot for the 1950–1969 era.{{cite web, url=https://www.mlb.com/news/hall-of-fame-era-committee-elections-rescheduled-to-2021, date=August 24, 2020, last=Kelly, first=Matt, title=Era Committee elections rescheduled to 2021, work=mlb.com, publisher=Major League Baseball, access-date=July 18, 2021{{cite web, url=http://www.hallofstats.com/upcoming#year_2021, title=Hall of Stats: Upcoming Elections, work=hallofstats.com, publisher=Hall of Stats, access-date=July 14, 2021 Oliva was voted into the Hall of Fame at their meeting on December 5, 2021, and was formally enshrined on July 24, 2022.

Legacy

Throughout his 15-year career, Oliva possessed a "rather pleasant disposition" and was known as a positive influence in a team's clubhouse. He was popular with the fans and the media of the Twin Cities during his career, and was given the nickname "Tony-O". Oliva had strong offensive numbers during an era heavily dominated by pitching. He batted .304 with 220 home runs, 947 RBI, 870 runs, 1,917 hits, 329 doubles, 48 triples, 448 bases on balls and 86 stolen bases in 1,676 games played. In 13 postseason games, he batted .314 with 3 home runs and 5 RBI. He was selected to the All-Star team his first eight seasons, surpassing

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "The Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Yank ...

's previous record of six selections. In addition, he was a powerful-armed Gold Glove outfielder who led AL right fielders in putouts 6 times, double plays 3 times, and assists twice. In a 1976 '' Esquire'' magazine article, sportswriter Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter", consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Oliva was the right fielder on Stein's Latin team - an impossible snub of Hall of Famer

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was pos ...

, but a clear measure of how highly regarded Oliva was in his day. In 1981, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book ''The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time''. They explained what they called "the Smoky Joe Wood Syndrome", in which a player of truly exceptional talent but whose career was curtailed by injury, in spite of not having had career statistics that would quantitatively rank him with the all-time greats, should still be included on their list of the 100 greatest players. In 1991, Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter named Oliva the toughest hitter he ever had to face because "he could hit any pitch anywhere... he didn't have any weaknesses." In 2006, Cy Young Award winner Dean Chance said that Oliva and Carl Yastrzemski were the two toughest hitters he had to face in his career. In 2021, three-time All-Star

Luis Tiant Luis Clemente Tiant Vega () (born November 23, 1940) is a Cuban former Major League Baseball (MLB) right-handed starting pitcher. He pitched in MLB for 19 years, primarily for the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox. Tiant compiled a 22 ...

wrote that Oliva was the toughest hitter he had to face in his career.

Personal life

Oliva started dating Gordette (DuBois) in the mid-1960s. They were married in Hitchcock, South Dakota in 1968 and settled in Bloomington, Minnesota. He currently lives in a house he bought in 1972 and all of his four children live within {{convert, 10, mi of their parents.{{cite web, work= MLB.com, access-date=2007-01-14, title=Retired Numbers: Tony Oliva, url=http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/min/history/oliva.jsp As of 2015, Oliva also had four grandchildren.{{cite book , last1=Henninger , first1=Thom , title=Tony Oliva: The Life and Times of a Minnesota Twins Legend , date=2015 , publisher=U of Minnesota Press

References

{{reflist, 30em *{{cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VBCYaZfn62sC, title=Harmon Killebrew: Ultimate Slugger, last=Aschburner, first=Steve, year=2012, isbn=9781600787027, publisher=Triumph Books, access-date=January 22, 2020, ref=Asc12 *{{cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YXg4bi3Rg68C, title=Baseball with a Latin Beat: A History of the Latin American Game, last=Bjarkman, first=Peter, year=2010, isbn=9780786483082, publisher=McFarland, access-date=January 22, 2020, ref=Bja10 *{{cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WTB0DwAAQBAJ, title=Tony Oliva: The Life and Times of a Minnesota Twins Legend, last=Henninger, first=Thom, year=2015, isbn=9781452944395, publisher=

University of Minnesota Press The University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota. It had annual revenues of just over $8 million in fiscal year 2018. Founded in 1925, the University of Minnesota Press is best known for its boo ...

, access-date=January 22, 2020, ref=Henn15 *{{cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gvy_CfLmcrsC, title=Cool of the Evening: The 1965 Minnesota Twins, last=Thielman, first=Jim, year=2005, isbn=9781886513716, publisher=Kirk House Publishers, access-date=January 22, 2020, ref=Thie05

External links

{{commons category
Tony Oliva
at th
Baseball Hall of Fame
{{baseballstats, mlb=119980, espn=25946, br=o/olivato01, fangraphs=1009772, brm=oliva-001ped, retro=O/Polivt102 *{{webarchive , url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070423154307/http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/news/2007/election/vc/oliva.htm , date=April 23, 2007 , title=2007 Hall of Fame candidate profile {{s-start {{s-sports {{succession box , title= Minnesota Twins first base coach , before= Jim Lemon , years=1985 , after= Wayne Terwilliger {{succession box , title= Minnesota Twins hitting coach , before=Vacant , years=1986–1991 , after=

Terry Crowley Terrence Michael Crowley (born February 16, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and utility player from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore Oriol ...

{{s-ach, ach {{succession box , title=

annual hits leader , before= Carl Yastrzemski

Bert Campaneris Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco (born March 9, 1942), nicknamed "Bert" or "Campy", is a Cuban American former professional baseball shortstop, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for four American League (AL) teams, primarily the Kansas City / ...

, years=1964–1966
1969–1970 , after= Carl Yastrzemski

César Tovar César Leonardo Tovar (July 3, 1940 – July 14, 1994), nicknamed "Pepito" and "Mr. Versatility", was a Venezuelan professional baseball player, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins (–), Philadelphia Phillies (), ...

{{s-end {{Minnesota Twins {{Minnesota Twins retired numbers {{1987 Minnesota Twins {{1991 Minnesota Twins {{AL batting title {{AL Rookie of the Year {{AL OF Gold Glove Award {{Baseball Hall of Fame members {{2022 Baseball HOF {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliva, Tony 1938 births Living people Major League Baseball right fielders Major League Baseball designated hitters Minnesota Twins players National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees American League All-Stars American League batting champions Major League Baseball players with retired numbers Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners Gold Glove Award winners Major League Baseball players from Cuba Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball hitting coaches Minnesota Twins coaches People from Pinar del Río