WHY I THINK TONY OLIVA SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK TONY OLIVA SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Tony Oliva had perhaps the most extraordinary talent that any player in baseball history ever had. He could throw his bat at a pitched ball and hit line drives. Even though a talent even that amazing probably shouldn’t get a player into the Hall of Fame on its own, Tony Oliva was the best hitter in baseball for a considerable amount of time. He hit .304 lifetime, won three batting titles, hit 220 career home runs, collected 1,917 hits, and had seven full seasons over .300. In the field, he won a Gold Glove award as a rightfielder in 1966. Career long Minnesota Twin Tony Oliva started his career by hitting .444 in nine games in 1962, and .429 in seven games in 1963. In 1964, he had perhaps the best year that any rookie ever had, as he batted .323 to capture the AL batting title, tied a rookie record also held by Hal Trosky with 374 total bases, hit 32 homers, and led the AL in hits, total bases, and runs scored. Needless to say, he was the Rookie of the Year, accumulating 19 of 20 first place votes. In 1965, he again won the batting title at .321 and hit 40 doubles, scored 107 runs and led the AL in hits and sacrifice flies (10).  Oliva led in hits and doubles again in 1967, and hit .289 in 1968 when the AL hit .237 as a whole. In 1969 and 1970, Oliva batted .309 and .325 and led the AL in doubles and hits each year. He batted .337 in 1971 to win his third batting title. He was having serious knee problems by 1972 (he dove for a fly ball and injured his right knee in 1971) and was forced to DH, starting in 1973. He used to be a great baserunner and a tenacious slider but with the knee complications those skills all but diminished. Oliva hit .291, .285 and .270 on injured knees and batted .211 as a part time player in 1976 before being forced to retire after that season. His number six is retired by the Twins, and he was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2000. For an excellent career as a hitter and baserunner, Tony Oliva should have been honored as a Hall of Famer. He always played like one. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS

Games career: 1,676 season high: 161 in 1964 

At Bats career: 6,301 season high: 672 in 1964 

Hits career: 1,917 season high: 217 in 1964 led AL: 217 in 1964, 185 in 1965, 191 in 1966, 197 in 1969, 204 in 1970 

Doubles career: 329 season high: 43 in 1964 led AL: 43 in 1964, 34 in 1967, 39 in 1969, 36 in 1970 

Triples career: 48 season high: 9 in 1964 

Home Runs career: 220 season high: 32 in 1964 

Runs career: 870 season high: 109 in 1964 led AL: 109 in 1964 

Runs Batted In career: 947 season high: 107 in 1970 

Stolen Bases career: 86 season high: 19 in 1965 

Walks career: 448 season high: 55 in 1965 

Strikeouts career: 645 season high: 72 in 1966 

Batting Average career: .304 season high: .337 in 1971 led AL: .323 in 1964, .321 in 1965, .337 in 1971 

On Base Percentage career: .353 season high: .378 in 1965 

Slugging Percentage career: .476 season high: .557 in 1964 led AL: .546 in 1971 

Total Bases career: 3,002 season high: 374 in 1964 led AL: 374 in 1964 

Sacrifice Hits career: 14 season high: 3 in 1964 

Fielding Percentage career: .975 season high: .987 in 1967 

Double Plays career: 19 season high: 4 in 1970 led AL RF: 3 in 1966, 4 in 1970, 3 in 1971 

Putouts career: 2,332 season high: 351 in 1970 led AL RF: 290 in 1964, 274 in 1965, 299 in 1966, 287 in 1967, 315 in 1969, 346 in 1970 

Assists career: 71 season high: 14 in 1969 led AL RF: 14 in 1969, 12 in 1970 

DID YOU KNOW?

-batted lefthanded and threw righthanded

-was an eight time all-star from 1964 through 1971, setting the MLB record for the most consecutive all-star selections to start an MLB career

-was the first player in MLB history to win his league’s batting title in his first two big league seasons 

-was also the first player ever to win his league’s Rookie of the Year Award and batting title in the same season 

-finished second in the AL MVP voting in both 1965 and 1969, fourth in 1964, sixth in 1966, tenth in 1971, 15th in 1969 and 19th in both 1967 and 1968 

-had 100 plus RBI’s in a season twice and 98 once 

-hit over 20 homers in a season five times 

-hit three home runs in one game on July 3, 1973 

-got eight hits in a row on June 29, 1969 

-batted .385 and .500 in two ALCSes with a homer and two doubles in each 

-hit a double and a homer in the 1965 World Series

-led the AL in extra-base hits in 1964 (84) 

-led the AL in hit by pitch in 1975 (13) 

-finished second in the 1966 AL batting race to Triple Crown winner and future Hall of Famer Frank Robinson (.316)

-led the AL in intentional walks in 1968 (16) 

-led AL rightfielders in games in 1967 (146), 1969 (152) and 1970 (154) 

-was named the AL Player of the Week on June 30, 1974

-when he first came up, teammate Zoilo Versalles called him “the new Ty Cobb” for his speed, throwing arm and hitting skills 

-also played 43 games in centerfield, ten in leftfield, 104 as a pinch hitter, and one as a pinch runner

-was inducted into the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012