Tony Oliva

Tony Oliva
Oliva with the Minnesota Twins in 1965
Right fielder / Designated hitter
Born: (1938-07-20) July 20, 1938 (age 85) 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
Teams
Minnesota Twins (1962–1976)
Career highlights and awards
8× All-Star (1964–1971) 2× World Series champion (1987, 1991) AL Rookie of the Year (1964) Gold Glove Award (1966) 3× AL batting champion (1964, 1965, 1971) Minnesota Twins No. 6 retired Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame
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]