Up next in my on-going "missing" 1972 All-Star set is the new Hall of Famer Tony Oliva, who was on his way to a third batting crown in 1971 while also being voted as a starter for the classic 1971 game:
Oliva
would actually not play in the game due to injury, but nevertheless he
made his eighth straight All-Star team since bursting onto the baseball
world with his Rookie of the Year winning 1964 campaign.
All
he did to start his career was win two straight batting titles in 1964
and 1965, also leading the A.L. in hits both years as well as runs and
doubles in 1964.
Injuries
would nag him throughout his career, however in 1971 he would go on to
cop his third batting title, hitting .337 while also leading the league
with his .546 slugging percentage.
Of course, all he would do over his 15-year Major League career is have one of the greatest
rookie seasons in 1964, easily taking home the top rookie honor in the
AL while finishing up fourth in the MVP race, finish second in the MVP
race the following season when he helped guide the Twins to their first
World Series appearance (though many including myself feel he was robbed
of the award, ironically by his own teammate Zoilo Versalles), and lead
the league in hits five times, batting three times, doubles four times,
while topping .300 seven times.
He was an All-Star eight times while garnering MVP attention eight straight seasons, with three top-5 finishes, and if it wasn’t for injuries we’d be talking about a 3000-hit player with more than three batting titles.
What a great player that gets lost in the shuffle of the glory days of 1960 among legendary names like Aaron, Mantle, Mays and Clemente.
He was an All-Star eight times while garnering MVP attention eight straight seasons, with three top-5 finishes, and if it wasn’t for injuries we’d be talking about a 3000-hit player with more than three batting titles.
What a great player that gets lost in the shuffle of the glory days of 1960 among legendary names like Aaron, Mantle, Mays and Clemente.