It's time that someone makes a case for putting TONY OLIVA in the Hall of Fame.
Until his crippling injury in 1972, Tony was a major star. Over his first 8 MLB seasons (1964 ROY thru 1971) he won three batting titles and finished in the top 5 BA leaders in 7 of those eight seasons. He led in total hits 5 times (and was among the top 10 in hits 7 of 8 seasons). He led the AL in doubles 4 times (and finished in the top five 7 times). He also finished among the top 10 in TB seven times (but led in TB only once).
For the years 1964-1971 (Tony's first eight seasons) he was the top AL producer in four of these five offensive categories:
Total Hits: 1. Oliva 1455 - 2. Brooks Robinson 1313 - 3. Yastrzemski 1303
Doubles: 1. Oliva 278 - 2. Yastrzemski 278 - 3. Brooks Robinson 229
Runs scored: 1. Yaz 734 - 2. Oliva 711 - 3. Killebrew 676
Total Bases: 1. Oliva 2356 - 2. Yaz 2244 - 3. Brooks Robinson 2101
Batting Ave: 1. Oliva .313 - 2. Frank Robinson .300 - 3. Yastrzemski .293
(for players with more than 3000 plate appearances over these 8 seasons)
His leg injury in 1972 changed Tony from a fine outfielder to a full-time DH.
His hitting also suffered. Over his last three full seasons (1973-1975) Tony had only 420 hits (20th in the AL over that span) and 596 Total Bases (#26 in the AL). His batting average over those seasons was just .283 (19th in the AL) and his Runs scored were not even in the top 50.
In his 15 year career (only 12 seasons with more than 10 games played) he has a black ink score of 41. (This is 52% better than the batting black ink total for the typical HOF position player.) He never won an MVP award, but he was runner-up in 1965 and 1970.
Despite the painful finish, Oliva's overall career BA is .304.
While he still had his wheels, Tony Oliva was clearly one of the games brightest stars!
Until his crippling injury in 1972, Tony was a major star. Over his first 8 MLB seasons (1964 ROY thru 1971) he won three batting titles and finished in the top 5 BA leaders in 7 of those eight seasons. He led in total hits 5 times (and was among the top 10 in hits 7 of 8 seasons). He led the AL in doubles 4 times (and finished in the top five 7 times). He also finished among the top 10 in TB seven times (but led in TB only once).
For the years 1964-1971 (Tony's first eight seasons) he was the top AL producer in four of these five offensive categories:
Total Hits: 1. Oliva 1455 - 2. Brooks Robinson 1313 - 3. Yastrzemski 1303
Doubles: 1. Oliva 278 - 2. Yastrzemski 278 - 3. Brooks Robinson 229
Runs scored: 1. Yaz 734 - 2. Oliva 711 - 3. Killebrew 676
Total Bases: 1. Oliva 2356 - 2. Yaz 2244 - 3. Brooks Robinson 2101
Batting Ave: 1. Oliva .313 - 2. Frank Robinson .300 - 3. Yastrzemski .293
(for players with more than 3000 plate appearances over these 8 seasons)
His leg injury in 1972 changed Tony from a fine outfielder to a full-time DH.
His hitting also suffered. Over his last three full seasons (1973-1975) Tony had only 420 hits (20th in the AL over that span) and 596 Total Bases (#26 in the AL). His batting average over those seasons was just .283 (19th in the AL) and his Runs scored were not even in the top 50.
In his 15 year career (only 12 seasons with more than 10 games played) he has a black ink score of 41. (This is 52% better than the batting black ink total for the typical HOF position player.) He never won an MVP award, but he was runner-up in 1965 and 1970.
Despite the painful finish, Oliva's overall career BA is .304.
While he still had his wheels, Tony Oliva was clearly one of the games brightest stars!
Comment