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Put Tony in his place - The Baseball Hall of Fame
Read why we think he should be in the Hall of Fame, then see How YOU can help! The Committee on Baseball Veterans has a chance to right a wrong. Overlooked for too long, Tony Oliva can be elected by this committee to The National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Tony has certainly earned this spot by his record setting hitting, and continuously improving defense. His relentless pursuit of excellence made him one of the greatest players the game has ever seen. The Committee on Baseball Veterans meets once every two years . In order to be voted in, a player must appear on 75% of cast ballots. The guideline that the committee votes upon is below: “Voting — Voting shall be based upon the individual's record, ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the game.” That leaves a lot open for interpretation, and has given birth to many statistical calculations with regard to an election. Terms like “The Black Ink Test”, “The Grey Ink Test”, “Hall of Fame Career Standards Test” and Hall of Fame Monitor Test” are heard often around the hot stove. These tests are creations of baseball fan and master statistician Bill James. The problem with those tests is that statistics can generally be presented in such a way to make a good case for either side of any given argument. With all due respect to Mr. James we prefer a simpler more basic test. It does not have a fancy name or acronym, but rather a single thoughtful question: “Was the player dominant in his era?” In Tony’s case, the answer is a resounding YES. In the league for 15 seasons, Tony’s career encompasses 8 full seasons free of major injury. During those eight seasons he earned 3 Batting Crowns, and finished in the top three, 7 times. He led the league in hits five times and finished in the top ten seven times. In 1972 Tony had 100 fragments removed from his knee (How long does it take you to assemble a puzzle with 100 pieces?). His knee was never the same after that point, and gives him problems to this day. In 1973 with one good leg, he made the top ten list again. In addition, he had five top-ten seasons in runs, 6 top-ten seasons in RBI’s and seven top-ten years in Slugging percentage, Total Bases, as well as Doubles. He was one of the few hitters in the heart of the “pitchers era.” So... what’s the Problem? Honestly, we don’t know! It is a problem that we are taking every effort to correct (more on how you can help later). We searched everywhere for hurdles on voting Tony into the Hall and could not find many. The best gauge we could find after the test for dominance was Bill James' 15-point litmus test on Hall of Fame Candidates. 1. Was he ever regarded as the best player in baseball? Tony Oliva was named American League Player of the Year twice, by a poll of players for the Sporting News. So while the Baseball Writers association did not choose him as the MVP, the Players did. 2. Was he the Best Player on his team? Tony had 2 Hall of Fame Teammates in Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew. With Carew the Singles specialist and Killebrew the Power hitter, Tony was the All-Around Player of the group. From '64-'71 Oliva was the best player on the team. 3. Was he the best player in baseball at his position? Tony’s group includes Frank Robinson, Roberto Clemente and Hank Aaron. With that, Tony was named to the All Star team from 64-71. 4. Did he have an impact on a number of pennant races? The Twins won the pennant in 65, and took division crowns in 69 and 70. They were also in the great four-way battle for the flag in 67. In 65 he claimed his second batting title in a row, and 69 and 70 he led the league in hits and doubles. He also had 100+ RBI seasons to match his .300+ Batting Average. 5. Was he good enough to play after his prime? After the 1972 operation he was never the same. In the 4 seasons he played after this debilitating operation, he hit .278 and hit 43 home runs. There is absolutely no question he was good enough to play after his prime. 6. Is he the very best player in baseball history not in the Hall of Fame? We are a little biased on this one, but if he is not the best player not in the Hall of Fame, he is in the top 5. 7. Are most players who have comparable career statistics in the Hall of Fame? This particular measurement is very slanted. If the question is interpreted matching final career numbers, the players that Tony most closely resembles are Carl Furillo, Gus Bell, and Andy Pafko. With all due respect to “The Reading Rocket”, Gus and “Handy Andy” They have one batting title, one triples title and 3 top ten appearances in MVP Voting COMBINED! At issue here is that none of these players ever dominated. In our opinion, this is a terribly slanted qualification. 8. Do the players numbers meet Hall of Fame Standards? Certainly. They are posted on this site for your inspection. 9. Is there evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than his statistics? The only knock on Tony is generally put into this category. While most experts admit he was an unselfish, well-rounded player, they always add in “Error-Prone.” We are here to set the record straight. If you are willing to call Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, and Roberto Clemente Error prone, we cannot help you. View the comparison chart below:
A better fielder than Williams, Kliner, Clemente, etc, is “Error Prone”? Absolutely not! 10. Is he the best player at his position not in the Hall of Fame? Without disrespect to people like Bobby Bonds, Ken Griffey Sr, Carl Furillo, Bob Meusal and Gavy Cravath, we believe Tony contributed more to the game and played at a higher level. 11. How Many MVP type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP? If not, how many times was he close? Although Tony never won an MVP award, he was in the running several times. In 1964, he won the Rookie of the Year Award and Finished 4th in the MVP ballot. In 1965, he was runner up to teammate Zoilo Versalles, and was voted the Sporting News Player of the Year. In 1966 he came in 6th, was runner up to Boog Powell, and finished 10th in 1971, but won his second Player of the Year award from the Sporting News. 12. How Many All Star type seasons did the player have? How many All Star Games did he play in? Are most of the other players who played in this many in the Hall of Fame? Tony was on the All Star team from 1964-1971, every year until his big knee surgery. 13. If the Man was the best player on the team, would it be likely that the team could win the pennant? There is no question that if a team’s best player was Tony Oliva, they could be good enough to take a title. 14. What impact did the player have on baseball history? Was he responsible for any rule changes? Did he introduce any new equipment? Did he change the game in any way? His physical condition may have influenced the Twins with their vote on the DH. (Tony did hit the 1st ever DH Home-Run) He was also at least partially, if not completely responsible for several equipment innovations, including the ear flap on helmets. 15. Did he uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the Hall of Fame instructs us to consider in its written guidelines? There is absolutely no question that Tony’s character is beyond reproach. He is one of baseball's great ambassadors. Summary Tony Oliva was the dominant player of his day. His teams were always at or challenging for the top spot. The Veterans committee has the ability to right this wrong. Fans wishing to voice their opinion in support of Tony may do so in two ways: by sending a single letter to Hall of Fame Veterans Committee, 25 Main Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326, or by logging on to baseballhalloffame.org and sending an e-mail. The Hall of Fame does not forward petitions to the voting members, but makes all correspondence known to any interested voting members, as well as to the Screening Committee members and Historical Overview Committee members. |