Top Twins Players Not in the Hall of Fame: Tony Oliva

[Cody Christie]

Tony Oliva hasn’t played a game since 1976, but he has been getting closer to induction in recent years. Back in 2014, he fell one shy of induction by the Hall of Fame’s Golden Era Committee. His next opportunity was supposed to come in 2017, but that was pushed back to 2020 and now it won’t happen until 2021. The wait might finally be over for one of the best hitters in Twins history.Case for Induction

Since 1900, only two hitters have won a batting title in their rookie season, Tony Oliva and Ichiro Suzuki. He was able to lead the league in runs, hits, doubles, and average on the way to winning the AL Rookie of the Year. He’d go on to win the batting title again in his second season as he was in the midst of eight straight All-Star seasons. Overall, he won three batting titles, led the AL in hits five times, and took home a Gold Glove.

 

Oliva finished runner up for the AL MVP in two different seasons and he was in the top-20 in eight different campaigns. In 1965, he finished behind teammate Zoilo Versalles even though Oliva’s OPS was 89 points higher. Five years later, Oliva had quite possibly his best professional season, but he finished behind Baltimore’s Boog Powell. According to Baseball Reference, Oliva’s WAR that season was nearly two points higher than Powell.

 

Case Against Induction

Multiple knee injuries kept Oliva from achieving more in his career. He was forced to move designated hitter after the position was created and his injuries eventually meant he had to retire after only 15 seasons. He finished as a .304/.353/.476 hitter but fell short of some of the important cumulative stat totals as he was limited to less than 2,000 hits.

 

JAWS, a scoring system used as a means to measure a player’s Hall of Fame worthiness, also doesn’t help Oliva’s campaign. Among right fielders, he ranks 34th overall, which puts him right ahead of players like Rocky Colavito and Rusty Staub. The three players directly ahead of him (Sam Rice, Harry Hooper, and Kiki Cuyler) have all been elected. There are also multiple players behind him on the list including the recently elected Harold Baines.

 

Prediction

Oliva was so close back in 2014 that it seems like he should have a very good chance to finally get the honor in 2021. Some fans started the group Vote Tony O back in 2011 to help his campaign which includes a website and social media accounts dedicated to helping Oliva’s candidacy. He might need one more big push over the next calendar year so he can be the next Twins player on the Cooperstown stage.

 

Do you think Oliva will finally be elected in 2021? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

 

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[TopGunn#22]

This has always annoyed me.  If Oliva had been a Yankee or a Red Sox he'd be "legendary."  He should have been in the Hall years ago.  And he should have been A.L. MVP instead of Zoilo.  

[Doctor Gast]

Great article Cody, one that is dear to my heart. There is no doubt he should be there. He had the stats to be MVP 2x but was snubbed. His knee injury slowed him down to get the HR, hits & defense totals that he could`ve had. Also they should consider his loyalty,  being      only      w/ the Twins & years of coaching which shows his love for the sport

Although I`ve never met him, he seems like a very nice man. He deserves to join the other Twins in the HoF for some time now. Hope     he doesn`t get snubbed again

[AceWrigley]

Tony Oliva is the kind of guy that if you've been hanging around with him and he's not there, you miss him. A great ballplayer. Slashing hitter that would take pitches off his shoes and drill them to all parts of the ballpark, especially in RBI situations. Impactful defense in RF with range and throwing arm.

 

ROY in '64. Batting titles his first 2 years. Gold Glove in '66. Garnered MVP votes every season up to his big knee injury. Batted .278 with an 103 OPS on basically one leg after the injury. Tony-O. He's in my HOF.

 

[ashbury]

This is where the NFL runs circles around baseball. Football celebrates their heroes, and they don't worry about watering down their HoF, because putting in heroes never does that. In baseball, we spend lots of time saying "he wasn't good enough."

 

Tony was good enough. Send him in.

[emperorofnorth]

My guess is that if you polled baseball fans that are over 65 years old ( myself included) a vast majority would say Tony O deserves to be in the Hall. Also,if you ask all the pitchers who faced him in the 1960's they too would overwhelmingly agree.I pray that the golden era committee comes thru and does the right thing.I agree with Ace Wrigley....Tony O will forever be in my Hall of Fame,.but now it's time to make it official.

[PopRiveter]

He’s in my hof

[stringer bell]

Concur with those in favor of Tony in the Hall. In addition to all the stats, he's been a great ambassador for the game.

[Scott51104]

He was fun to watch.

[tony&rodney]

Tony Oliva was really my only real hero in life. Thus, zero chance at rational thought about the man. He and Rod Carew came to my school in 1967 and talked with everyone as if we were family; an hour of milling around, pictures, cards handed out, and a two five minute talks. I still remember their genuine kindness and joy of visiting with us kids.

Tony is one of those people who anyone can approach and visit. His passion for baseball and more specifically life is a lesson for all. I'm not sure I have ever met or talked with anyone as sweet or kind to the random public who stopped to say hello to him in the days where he sat just below the concourse in the top rows behind home plate at the Metrodome. I sold beer and saw countless people stop and say hello to Tony O.

On a number of occasions through the years I asked pitchers who faced Tony Oliva on many occasions in competitive action for their assessment of him as a peer. Without hesitation, each stated that Oliva was easily among the top ten hitters of their era. 

When I remember the state of medicine in the 1960s and early 1970s, I recall how knee operations differed from the current years. Knees surgery meant being filleted and spending six weeks in bed and a year before reasonable mobility in those times. My trio of knee surgeries in the twenty-first century allowed me to limp home and start rehab in a few days.

The accomplishments of Tony Oliva are legendary and the fact of his omission from the Hall of Fame is unfortunate for baseball. Ask Sandy Koufax or any American League pitcher from 1964-1974.

I will never forget watching him hit a wicked line drive off of the center field fence at Metropolitan Stadium in his last year and seeing him land on first base, stop, and look to the dugout for the expected pinch runner, and then limp off of the field. Nobody in Twins history has ever hit line drives like Tony O. Nobody.

[mikelink45]

 

My guess is that if you polled baseball fans that are over 65 years old ( myself included) a vast majority would say Tony O deserves to be in the Hall. Also,if you ask all the pitchers who faced him in the 1960's they too would overwhelmingly agree.I pray that the golden era committee comes thru and does the right thing.I agree with Ace Wrigley....Tony O will forever be in my Hall of Fame,.but now it's time to make it official.

Since I am 75 I make it in your age requirements and there is not doubt that during the sixties there was not a team in the league that would not have drooled over the prospect of having Tony on their team.

[Thebigalguy]

Yikes, what's wrong with his neck in that photo that accompanies this article? HOF? Yes.