| Tony Oliva | |
|---|---|
 Oliva with the Minnesota Twins in 1965 | |
| Right fielder / Designated hitter | |
| Born: July 20, 1938 Pinar del Río, Cuba | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 9, 1962, for the Minnesota Twins | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 29, 1976, for the Minnesota Twins | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .304 |
| Home runs | 220 |
| Runs batted in | 947 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2022 |
| Vote | 75% |
| Election method | Golden Days Era Committee |
Tony Pedro Oliva (born Antonio Oliva Lopez Hernandes Javique; July 20, 1938) is a Cuban former professional baseball player and coach. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right fielder and designated hitter for the Minnesota Twins from 1962 to 1976.[1][2] An eight-time All-Star player, Oliva was an integral member of the Twins teams that won the 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", he was one of the game's best hitters during his first eight seasons.[2] 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.[3] The Twins retired Oliva's uniform number 6 in 1991.[3] He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.[4]
- ^ Tony Oliva at the SABR Baseball Biography Project , by Peter C. Bjarkman, Retrieved January 23, 2020.
- ^ a b "Tony Oliva Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
- ^ a b Rippel, Joel (December 9, 2019). "Tony Oliva: Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Class of 1988". startribune.com. Star Tribune. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
- ^ "Oliva's legacy not just with Twins, but Minnesota". MLB.com. Retrieved July 31, 2022.