Tony Olivia and the All-Star Game at Angel Stadium in '67

By TJ Troup 

So many of us lifelong baseball fans have fond memories of watching the All-Star game, and tonight hopefully will be one of those games that is seared in our memory banks. After watching the games from '59 through '66 on TV had an opportunity to go to Angel Stadium with my dad and one of my brothers for the game in '67. 

The rosters for both league's is one of the most impressive ever in baseball history, and a 2-1 extra-inning game was exciting, and puzzling since there were so many great hitters. Dominant pitching was the highlight along with the three solo home runs in the 2-1 National League victory. Starting in centerfield for the American League was Tony Olivia of the Minnesota Twins, and he was one of the few men who actually had a productive afternoon (yes the games were played in sunshine in those days) as he got two hits. 

The first two months of the season Olivia struggled as he hit .204 (20 hits 98 at-bats), and the Twins were under .500 at 20-22. Olivia then began to hit like he had the previous three seasons as he went 141 for 459—.307 and with two games to go with Minnesota going 71-47 they headed to Boston for the showdown with the Red Sox and the pennant. 

Anyone who has seen footage of "Yaz" in those crucial games realizes he was no doubt the MVP of the league, yet Olivia went 3 for 8 in the two games. The Beantown miracle had happened, and the Twins along with the Tigers and White Sox were just winning teams. Did not see every American League team play at Angel Stadium in those days, but did go a few times to see the Twins play, and the main reason was Tony Olivia. 

He was one of the two best right fielders in the American League (the other was Kaline)...and like Al, Olivia began his career with a splash. He was up for a "cup of coffee" in 1962 & '63 (and went 7 for 16 for a .438 batting average) so he was still classified as a rookie in '64, and had a sensational season winning rookie of the year honors, finishing fourth in the MVP balloting, and leading the league in total bases, hits, doubles and runs and won the AL batting title. There was an expectation in '65 that the Twins were finally going to capture the American League flag...and they did. 

When a team wins the pennant many players had to contribute, and Olivia sure did. Recently read an article by Cliff Eastham concerning what he thought were the ten most glaring choices for league MVP in history, and he listed Olivia in 1965 as one of them. Zoilo Versailles had by far his best season, yet a careful look tells us he was vastly overrated. Olivia won the batting title for the second consecutive season, hit for power, was one of the better defensive right fielders, and he finishes second in the balloting? 

Tony finished sixth in the MVP balloting in 1966, but no one was better than Frank Robinson that year. After three years he has finished 4th, 2nd and 6th place finishes for the MVP, and his improved defense in '66 garnered him his only Gold Glove for his prowess in the right, over Kaline I might add. Have already discussed '67, and he continued to play well in 1968 and '69. Tony's outstanding season in 1970 again places him second in the MVP balloting. 

Hitting the ball "Where they ain't"—thank you Mr. Waner...is the goal of every hitter, and after seven seasons Olivia had 1,291 hits in 1,134 games. Would he have been able to get 109 hits in the 78 games he missed if he had played? 

How many American League players have been able to amass 200 hits a season over the course of seven consecutive seasons during the past 57 years? The failed balloting in the '65 MVP race is one of the reasons that Tony Olivia is not in the Hall of Fame. Sure enjoyed seeing him play in the mid to late '60s, and later this week Tony turns 83.