Antonio Pedro Oliva López

Tony is a highly recognized former Cuban baseball player who played the position of designated hitter and left fielder. An eight-time MLB All-Star who retired jersey number 6 of the Minnesota Twins.

Tony Oliva was born in Consolación del Sur, province of Pinar del Rio, grew up in the countryside and almost never played baseball because it was an area where the sport was not very active in that time, and he only played on Sundays in a small free amateur league called Casa Maltas. Later in 1961 he went to Palacios where he met a man who was a professional in the sport, it was left fielder Roberto Fernández who saw him play, noticing his skill, and after seeing him play enough, he proposed that he become a professional baseball player. After this, he got in contact with talent scout Joe Cambria who was at that time a worker for the Minnesota Twins, learning of his abilities.

Cambria agreed to sign Tony, having difficulties since Oliva did not have a U.S. passport, but through his brother Antonio he used his certificate, and thanks to his documents he managed to get his passport and was able to leave Cuba. For this reason Pedro was called Tony after his arrival in the USA, which later forced him to testify in American courts to legalize his real name of Pedro Oliva, but he kept the name Tony and became known in the baseball world.

Upon leaving Cuba his trip was to Mexico, where he waited for visa arrangements for eleven days. He then arrived at the rookie field of the Twins at Fernandina Beach, Florida, where he was forced to stay in the home of African Americans, since the hotels in the area did not usually rent to Black people. Things did not go well there and the Twins team was already indicating his return home. Imagine what a problem, having to go back to Cuba.

It was here that Joe Cambria intervened in favor of Tony and clarified that he and two other Cubans had the conditions to be tested again. Initially it was thought to give him a spot with the Charlotte Hornets, but that was not possible and then he was sent to the town of Wytheville. At 23 years old, that same year he played for the Wytheville Twins of the Appalachian League, class D. having difficulties with the language and having the team nomination, he had no choice but to play ball to gradually overcome the difficulties.

At first it was hard for him to adapt to playing right field, but at bat he showed his abilities, averaging .410 in 64 games hitting 31 extra-base hits. At the end of the season the Twins gave special attention to the Cuban, understanding that he was a diamond in the rough, that in his instructional league in St. Petersburg, Florida, he could be sharpened in all aspects of the game.

In 1962 he played with the Charlotte Hornets of the South Atlantic League (class A), there were 127 at-bats and he batted .350 with 58 extra-base hits. At the end of that season he played in nine games for the Twins, where he batted 4 hits including a double in 9 at-bats. In 1963 he played in AAA, in this case with the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers, in 146 games, he batted .304 and hit 61 extra-base hits. Again brought to the big team at the end of the season, where he batted 3 hits in 7 at-bats. It was time to bring him up. Pedro "Tony" was then 25 years old, and so it was that in 1964 he made it to the Majors.

Making his debut his offensive output was 217 hits in 672 at-bats, including 43 doubles, 9 triples and 32 home runs, 94 RBIs, averaging .323. In this way, Tony was the batting leader, leader in doubles, leader in runs scored (109) and leader in hits in the American League. He turned out to be Rookie of the Year, being the first Cuban baseball player to achieve this award and first rookie to win the batting championship in the Major Leagues in the twentieth century, and could have been the MVP of his league, but finished fourth in this voting.

In 1965, in the following season his offensive output did not decline, he again stepped up his efforts connecting 185 hits, although his production of extra-base hits decreased somewhat, which was not very reduced, 40 doubles, 5 triples and 16 home runs, with 98 RBIs and an offensive average of .321. For the second consecutive year, Tony was the batting leader, leader in hits connected and finished second in the voting for American League MVP. In that 1965 season the Twins won the American League title and faced the Dodgers in the World Series, which they lost in seven games.

Unfortunately his offensive output in this last event was moderate, connecting 5 hits, including a double and a home run, with only two RBIs. Some batting coaches had doubts about the stance that Tony adopted when batting, in their view, a weak pose and a golf swing. Fortunately for Tony Oliva, the owner of the Twins, Mr. Calvin Griffith, strictly prohibited anyone from approaching Oliva to correct his way of standing at home plate and batting. With the results he was obtaining, there was nothing to modify.

In 1966 Tony again led in hits connected with 191, including 32 doubles, 7 triples and 25 home runs, with 87 RBIs, and won his first and only Gold Glove as an outfielder. His team this time finished second, surpassed by the Baltimore Orioles. Subsequently, Tony declined in his batting in the 1967 and 1968 seasons when he batted below .300, but again in 1969 he returned to being an accustomed .300 or better batter.

In 15 seasons in the Majors, Tony batted over .300 nine times to retire with an excellent lifetime .304. In the 1969 and 1970 seasons he led in hits connected, with 197 and 204, respectively. In 1971 he won his third batting crown, averaging .337, and leading in slugging with .546 while hitting 30 doubles, 3 triples and 22 home runs.

In the 1967 (34), 1969 (40) and 1970 (36) seasons he led in doubles connected in the American League. The Twins contended for the American League title in 1969 and 1970 facing the Baltimore Orioles, in both series the Twins were defeated, but Tony Oliva batted .385 and .500, respectively. So his offensive output was evident, in each one he hit 2 doubles and a home run.

In the 1971 season, when he was crowned batting champion for the last time, Oliva dove to catch a batted ball in a game being played in Oakland where the grass was wet. The player from Pinar was injured in his right knee, which took him a long time to recover from, he could only play 10 games the following season in that recovery.

During his last five seasons, Tony Oliva underwent eight knee operations, which naturally diminished the strength of this great player. Even so his batting, although it decreased, was never below .270. From 1973 to 1975 he hit 49 home runs. In 1976 he could only play in 67 at-bats, always as a designated hitter, a role he adopted since his first injury, and it was then that he said goodbye to the field of play.

At the end of his fifteen seasons, Tony Oliva batted 1917 hits in 6301 at-bats including 329 doubles, 48 triples and 220 home runs, with 947 RBIs, 870 runs scored, 448 walks and 645 strikeouts (1 strikeout every 9.77 at-bats). His offensive average was .304, with an OBP of .353 and Slugging of .476.

From 1964 to 1971 he was selected to play in the All-Star Game, on three occasions, 1964-1967 as an opener on his team. In the same period he was always among those chosen to be voted MVP of his league. During this time he was highly praised by great figures of the era, among them Lou Piniella, Camilo Pascual, and the former big leaguer and White Sox chronicler, Ken Harrelson, each expressing that he was one of the best batters they had ever seen and the best of his time.

He also played several seasons in the Latin American winter leagues in the late 1960s. First he did so in the Dominican Republic, with the Águilas Cibaeñas in 1968-69 and later in the Mexican Pacific League in 1969-71. His interest in playing in Mexico was to have the possibility of obtaining a visa for his family so he could see them while he was in Mexico. Tony played with the Mochis and in the winter of 1970-71 he was able to meet with his mother and his sister Felicia. This meeting also allowed his grandmother to meet his grandchildren, Anita and Pedro, Tony's children.

In 1977 when the Cuban team was preparing for its tournament with the professionals of Venezuela, Oliva was able to visit Cuba and bring some equipment, which he delivered for free and even participated a bit in training. During this time he met with pitcher and Olympic athlete Braulino Vinent, who was at the peak of his career, taking advantage of the moment both faced each other in a game where according to reports Oliva connected some strong hits. After this he demonstrated his attachment and feeling to his native land where despite having spent so many years away from it and his family.

The number 6 that Tony Oliva used was retired by the Minnesota Twins in 1991.

Throughout his 15-year career, Oliva was known as a positive influence on the club. He was popular with fans and media in the Twin Cities during his career, and received the nickname "Tony-O".

Oliva had incredible offensive numbers during his career. He batted .304, with 220 home runs, 947 RBIs, 870 runs, 1,917 hits, 329 doubles and 48 triples in 1,676 games played. In 13 postseason games, he batted .314, with 3 home runs and 5 RBIs. He was selected to the All-Star team in his first eight seasons, surpassing the previous record of six selections by Joe DiMaggio.

In a 1976 Esquire magazine article, sports journalist Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter," consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Oliva was the right fielder on Stein's Latino team. 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 with truly exceptional talent but whose career was limited by injury.

The Twins retired Oliva's number 6 uniform on July 14, 1991. In 2000, Oliva was one of six franchise members voted and included in the inaugural class of the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame. Also included in 2000 were teammates Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew, along with Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek and former owner Calvin Griffith.

Writer Bill James, using the Keltner List, determined that Oliva was a "possible Hall of Fame candidate". Several contemporaries have endorsed Oliva's induction into the Hall of Fame, including Tony Pérez, who mentioned in his 2000 induction speech that he hoped Oliva would soon be in the Hall of Fame.

Oliva was considered for the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee voting in 2000, but was unsuccessful. He was considered again by the Golden Era Committee voting of the Hall of Fame in 2011, but was voted for by only four of 12 people. In 2014, the Golden Era Committee considered him for the second time, but both he and Dick Allen were one vote away from election; Ron Santo was elected in 2011 and neither was elected in 2014.

Personal Life

Oliva began dating Gordette (DuBois) in the mid-1960s. They married in Hitchcock, South Dakota in 1968 and settled in Bloomington, Minnesota. Currently he lives in a house he bought in 1972 and his four children live less than 10 miles (16 km) from their parents. As of 2011, Oliva also has four grandchildren.