Tony Oliva (1938)
- MLB Hall of Fame and Twins Hall of Fame member.
- 15-year major league career, spanning from 1962-1976, mostly as a RF and later a DH, entirely with the Minnesota Twins.
- He was AL Rookie of the Year in 1964 after leading the AL in runs, hits, doubles, and batting average, and came in second in the AL MVP voting in both 1965 and 1970.
- Eight-time All-Star consecutively from 1964-1971.
- A good defender early in his career, Oliva took home a Gold Glove Award in 1966 before knee injuries slowed both his defense and his modest base-stealing abilities (six seasons with 10+ SB).
- He was a great hitter, leading the AL in hits five times, doubles four times, and batting average three times. He also had some pop, with 25+ HR in five seasons.
- Overall had 220 HR, a .304/.353/.476 slash line, and a 131 OPS+
- WAR is 43.1
Before the advent of netting along the baselines of the stands, fans had to be aware when Olivia came to bat. Many times a swing from Oliva would result in the bat launching from his hands into the stands. I’ll always remember his rookie year when he won the A.L. Batting Title.
If I remember correctly the annoucers would always talk about Oliva having a knuckle problem that caused that.