Tony Oliva

After moving to the United States in 1961, Oliva played in the minor leagues before becoming a major league regular in 1964. Playing in baseball\'s "second deadball era", he was one of the game\'s best hitters and an All-Star during his first eight seasons. Oliva was the 1964 American League Rookie of the Year, an AL batting champion during three seasons, an AL hit leader five seasons, and a Gold Glove winner one season. 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 is regarded as one of the best players not inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.\n', ' Oliva was born in Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. He played baseball weekly with his father, brothers, and neighbors in a vacant lot near the family farm. Oliva\'s father, who worked in a tobacco factory and was famous for rolling the best cigars, was also a former semi-professional player who instructed Tony and helped him become "the best hitter in Pinar del Río". A scout for the Minnesota Twins noticed the youth and brought him to the United States to play professionally. He was reluctant to leave his parents and nine siblings, but his father encouraged him to become "rich and famous" in America.\n', ' Oliva arrived in the US in the spring of 1961. During spring training that year, he appeared in the Twins\' final three games, collecting seven hits in ten at bats. The Twins, however, had already filled their minor league rosters and released Oliva, with some saying it was due to his poor outfield play. Having nowhere else to go, Oliva traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina to train with a friend who played for a Minnesota Twins Class A farm team. His quick wrists, long frame, and "unharnessed power" impressed Charlotte general manager Phil Howser, who placed a call and convinced the Twins to re-sign the potential star.\n', '