Tony Oliva

Tony Oliva, nicknamed Tony O, played in the Twins organization from 1961 to 1976 primarily as a right fielder.
After playing three years in the minors, 1961 through 1963, with two brief fall stints with the Twins, Tony played his first full year at the major league level in 1964, winning Rookie of the year honors, a batting title, and a trip to the All Star game. He achieved two more Batting titles, 1965 and 1971, a Gold Glove, 1966, and eight consecutive trips to the All Star game, 1964 to 1971.

Tony hit for average and power, hit to all fields, and was known as one of the best bad-ball hitters in the game.

Injuries cut short his playing career finishing as a Designated Hitter from 1973 to 1976, his last year as a player/couch.

At the end of Tony's playing career he continued as a bench coach and a hitting coach for the Twins from 1976 to 1978 and 1985 to 1991, and six years as a roving minor league hitting instructor.

Oliva's postseason as a player includes the 1965 World Series against the Dodgers and the 1969 and 1970 AL Championship Series against the Orioles all of which were losses for the Twins. As a coach Tony was part of two World Series victories, 1987 against the Cardinals and 1991 against the Braves earning him two World Series rings.

Tony has continued his involvement with the Twins and still helps out with coaching in spring training and as an analyst on the Spanish language radio broadcasts. When not working in those capacities he is often found in the stands where he takes the time to meet fans and sign autographs.

Oliva's additional honors:
Had his number 6 retired July 14, 1991
Was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame on August 12, 2000
Had his statue erected at Target Field in April 2011.
Was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022 along with teammate Jim Katt.

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Tony Oliva was born Perdro Oliva Jr, July 20, 1938 in Pinar del Río Province, Cuba, growing up on his family's farm with his parents, four brothers, and five sisters. The farm had a baseball field that was used by a local club from the nearby village of Entronque de Herradura.

Pedro Jr started playing baseball at the age of seven spending as much time as he could along with his farm duties. By the time he was fifteen he was a good enough hitter to play with the local club despite being one of the youngest players. His ability to hit allowed him to move to more advanced teams. By the age on nineteen he was in winter league playing against teams farther away from his home.

In February of 1961 Pedro Jr was signed by scout Joe Cambria who had signed hundreds of Cuban players for the Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins.

Travel to the U.S. required a passport which required a birth certificate. Pedro didn't have one but his brother Antonio did. It was decided he would use that. On arrival in Florida he was called Tony, liked and name and kept it, never explaining his real name.

Arriving in the U.S. at the end of spring training in 1961, Oliva played in four exhibition games getting 7 hits in 10 at bats. In spite of his hitting he was released. With nowhere to go he was convinced by a fellow Cuban player, Minnie Mendoza, to stay in the U.S. and go see Phil Howser G.M. of the Hornets, a Twins minor league team in Charlotte, NC. He was allowed to work out with the team as an unsigned player. Howser liked what he saw and talked the Twins into resigning him. Tony played 64 games with the Wytheville Twins in 1961.

Tony Oliva was known for his mentoring of young players, helping them hone their baseball skills but also helping them adjust to life in the majors. One such notible relationship was with Rod Carew. In 1967, Oliva's fourth season and Carew's first they became roommates and life long friends.
Oliva continued mentoring through his years as a coach. Another notable example is Kirby Pucket in 1984.

"I just liked being around him because he always had a smile on his face. He always had a good word to say about everybody. Never spoke bad about anybody. I was just amazed, because I'd never met someone like that. That was Tony O. Today he's the same person. He always has a kind word. Always has time for people." - Rod Carew - taken from the book Tony Oliva - The Life And Times Of A Minnesota Legend, written by Thom Henninger.

Oliva was plagued by knee problems from early in his career. He had two off season surgeries in 1966 and 1967 for torn ligaments and was able to recover and play at his best level. June 29, 1971 was the injury that would change the course of Tony's career. Diving for a ball hit to right field by Oakland's Joe Rudi his right knee landed on a water sprinkler head. He had several knee surgeries after than. In 1972 he was limited to ten games.
In 1973 Oliva played 146 games as the designated hitter putting up productive numbers. By 1976, as a player/couch, his knees limited him to 123 at bats, mostly as a pinch hitter.
Tony Oliva retired as a player and continued as a coach in the Twins organization.

Throughout his years as a player and coach to the present day, Tony Oliva has been known for his pleasant, positive attitude, a smile on his face, being humble, able to keep his ego in check, always having time for fans, and his all around class and dignity.

Tony Oliva's journey to the Baseball Hall of Fame was a long one, likely not due to his playing stats but his shortened career. First on the ballot in 1982, along with stiff competition from Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson, he received 15% of the vote from the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America). By 1988 he was up to 47.3% of the vote. In 1996 the last of his 15 years on the BBWAA ballot he got 36.2%.
In the years that followed starting in 2000, Oliva was considered by the Veterans Committee. With 75% of the votes required he got as high as 59%.
In December 2011, the Golden Era Committee, with 16 voters, took over the process. Voting every three or four years. Finally in 2021 Tony Olivia was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and inducted in 2022 along with teammate Jim Katt.

• Oliva was the first Cuban to earn Rookie of the Year in the majors.
• In 1964 his rookie year, in addition to a winning a batting title, Oliva was the AL leader in runs scored, total bases, runs created, and extra base hits.
• Oliva was the AL MVP runner-up in 1965 and 1970.
• Led the A.L. in Hits 5 times, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1969, and 1970.
• Was AL leader in put outs as right fielder: 1964–1967, 1969, 1970.
• Was AL leader in assists as right fielder: 1969, 1970.
• Career Stats: .304 BA, .353 OBP, .476 SLG, 220 HR, 947 RBI, 1,917 Hits.
• Through most of the 1960s Tony Oliva batted third and Harmon Killebrew batted fourth becoming a powerful offensive duo and fan favorites.
• Oliva hit the first home run by a designated hitter on April 6, 1973 off Catfish Hunter, a two run blast scoring Rod Carew.
• Since Oliva was a coach for the Twins after retiring as a player he was the only on-field team member to appear with all three Minnesota Twins' World Series teams, as a player in 1965, hitting coach in 1987 and bench coach in 1991.
• "The flashy Cuban could simply do it all – hit for superior average, slug with eye-popping power, run like a svelte gazelle, and throw accurately and powerfully from the outfield with the best of them." - Taken from an article written by Peter C. Bjarkman for SABR (Society For Baseball Research)
• "He's a real good hitter . Maybe the best in the league. He's unorthodox, but that makes him tough to pitch to. What might not be a good pitch to somebody else he'll hit. There's no way you can defense him either. He hits the ball all over." -  Ted Williams, Boston All-Star hitter while he was manager of the Washington Senators (Expansion team), taken from the book Tony Oliva - The Life And Times Of A Minnesota Legend, written by Thom Henninger.
• Oliva was included in the 1981 book "The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time" written by Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig.
• When Oliva first came to the U.S. he spoke very little English and was given two pieces of paper, one with ham and eggs on it, the other fried chicken so he could order food in restaurants.
• Oliva was born Pedro Oliva Jr. In order to come to the U.S to play baseball he used his brother Antonio's birth certificate to obtain a passport for travel. He was called "Tony", liked the name, and decided to stick with it.
• Oliva officially changed his name to Tony Pedro Oliva in the late 1990s.
• In the spring of 1964 Tony Oliva met Gordette DuBois in a hotel lobby while she was on a high school trip. Even though he knew ten words in English and her 2 in Spanish Tony's charm won her over. They hit it off and came to bond over their shared backgrounds, him from a Cuban farm with ten children, her from a South Dakota farm with eight children. They married January 6, 1968 and went on to have three children.
• "I wish I will be remembered as a person that gets along-or tried to get along-with everybody. I speak to everybody. My wife and kids, they think I cannot stop talking sometimes. But I hope people remember me as the way I am, as somebody who would like to be buddy-buddy with everyone." - Tony Oliva - taken from the book Tony Oliva - The Life And Times Of A Minnesota Legend, written by Thom Henninger.