Golden Days Era Committee selection – Tony Oliva

This week, we will look at the career of Tony Oliva, who was just elected to the Hall of Fame by the Golden Days Era Committee. Oliva moved to the United States in 1961 from Pindar del Rio, Cuba. He played in three spring training games for the Minnesota Twins in 1961 and, despite getting seven hits in ten at-bats, was released due to his poor outfield play. Oliva spent most of the next two years playing in the Twins minor league system getting only nineteen plate appearances at the major league level.

Oliva’s defense was partly to blame, but the Twins had power-hitting Bob Allison playing rig...