Al Oliver

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Albert Oliver, Jr. (born October 14, 1946 in Portsmouth, Ohio) is a former Major League Baseball player who amassed an 18-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1968-77), Texas Rangers (1978-81), Montreal Expos (1982-83), San Francisco Giants (1984), Philadelphia Phillies (1984), Los Angeles Dodgers (1985) and Toronto Blue Jays (1985). He batted and threw left-handed.

Oliver was a durable hard-hitter and a fine center fielder who also played left and right as well as first base. He was signed by the Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1964.

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[edit] Career

In his rookie season Oliver batted .285 with 17 home runs, placing second in the 1969 National League Rookie of the Year voting. From 1970-76 he played on five Pirates division champions, including the team that defeated the Orioles in the 1971 World Series.

In 1976 Oliver hit .323; this was his first of nine straight .300+ seasons. On December 8, 1977, he was traded as part of a 4-team trade by the Pittsburgh Pirates with Nelson Norman to the Texas Rangers. The Atlanta Braves sent Willie Montanez to the New York Mets. The Texas Rangers sent Adrian Devine, Tommy Boggs, and Eddie Miller to the Atlanta Braves. The Texas Rangers sent a player to be named later and Tom Grieve to the New York Mets. The Texas Rangers sent Bert Blyleven to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The New York Mets sent Jon Matlack to the Texas Rangers. The New York Mets sent John Milner to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Texas Rangers sent Ken Henderson (March 15, 1978) to the New York Mets to complete the trade.

Wearing the number 0 on his uniform, Oliver played in all of Texas's 163 games in 1980, and reached career highs in hits (209) and RBI (117). On August 17 at Tiger Stadium, he established an American League record with 21 total bases in a doubleheader (four home runs, a double and a triple). On March 31, 1982, after he became the Rangers' all-time leading hitter (.319) and reached the club's top ten in virtually every offensive category he was traded to the Montreal Expos for Larry Parrish and Dave Hostetler.

In 1982 with the Expos, Oliver hit a career-high .331 batting average to win the National League batting crown. He also led the NL in hits (204), doubles (43), extra bases (67), and total bases (317), and tied with Dale Murphy for the RBI lead with 109.

After stints with the Giants, Phillies and Dodgers, Oliver returned to the American League in 1985 with the Blue Jays, for whom he hit a pair of game-winning singles against the Kansas City Royals in the 1985 American League Championship Series.

Oliver was selected for 7 All-Star games, starting at first base in the 1983 Classic. He was named as an outfielder on The Sporting News 1975 NL All-Star Team and also as the first baseman on The Sporting News 1982 NL All-Star Team. Oliver was the outfielder on The Sporting News 1980 AL Silver Slugger Team, designated hitter on The Sporting News 1981 AL Silver Slugger Team and first baseman on The Sporting News 1982 NL Silver Slugger Team.

Al Oliver was a career .303 hitter with 219 home runs and 1326 RBI in 2368 games. He batted .300 or more ten times and retired with 2,743 hits (45th in the all-time list). He also ranks among all-time top-50 in games played (2368), total bases (4083), RBI (1326) and extra-base hits (825).

[edit] Highlights

  • 7-time All-Star (1972, 1975-76, 1980-83)
  • NL batting champion (1982)
  • Led NL in Hits, Total Bases, Doubles, RBI, Runs Created and Extra-Base Hits (1982)
  • Led AL in games played (1980)
  • Twice led NL in doubles (1982-83)
  • 3-time Top 10 MVP (7th, 1972; 7th. 1974; 3rd, 1982)
  • Won Silver Slugger Award for three straight years, at three different positions:
    • 1980, left field, AL
    • 1981, designated hitter, AL
    • 1982, first base, NL
  • Texas Rangers Career Batting Average Leader (.319).
  • Holds Rangers' record for most games played in a season (163 in 1980).
  • Ranks 79th on MLB All-Time Games List (2,368).
  • Ranks 57th on MLB All-Time At Bats List (9,049).
  • Ranks 47th on MLB All-Time Hits List (2,743).
  • Ranks 63rd on MLB All-Time Total Bases List (4,083).
  • Ranks 28th on MLB All-Time Doubles List (529).
  • Ranks 78th on MLB All-Time RBI List (1,326)
  • Ranks 57th on MLB All-Time Singles List (1,918).
  • Ranks 86th on MLB All-Time Runs Created List (1,401).
  • Ranks 74th on MLB All-Time Extra-Base Hits List (825).
  • Ranks 39th on MLB All-Time Sacrifice Flies List (95).
  • Ranks 73rd on MLB All-Time Intentional Walks List (119).
  • Ranks 23rd on MLB All-Time Grounded into Double Plays List (254).

[edit] Trivia

  • Oliver hit the last home run ever hit at Forbes Field. His shot came off Milt Pappas in the sixth inning of the last game played at the stadium, the second game of a June 28, 1970 doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs.
  • Oliver also drove in the first run ever scored at Three Rivers Stadium. His first-inning double off Gary Nolan drove in Richie Hebner in that stadium's inaugural game, on July 16 of that same 1970 season. However, the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Pirates 3-2 [1].
  • Oliver appeared on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the first and only time in 1991. Of the 443 ballots cast, he received 19 votes, 4 short of the 23 required for him to remain on the ballot the following year.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Preceded by
George Foster		 National League Player of the Month
June 1976		 Succeeded by
George Foster
Preceded by
Tim Wallach		 National League Player of the Month
June 1982		 Succeeded by
Mike Schmidt
Preceded by
Bill Madlock		 National League Batting Champion
1982		 Succeeded by
Bill Madlock
Preceded by
Mike Schmidt		 National League RBI Champion
1982
(with Dale Murphy)		 Succeeded by
Dale Murphy
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