Tony Oliva
Outfielder · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1962-1976)
Tony Oliva was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1976 for the Minnesota Twins, a span of 15 seasons. In 1,676 career games, he hit .304 with 1,917 hits, 220 home runs, and 947 RBI. Tony Oliva was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022 and was a 8-time All-Star, a Rookie of the Year, and a Gold Glove. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 23,924.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Outfielder
- Bats / Throws
- L / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'1" / 175 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1962-09-09
- Last Game
- 1976-09-29
- Hall of Fame
- Inducted 2022 (BBWAA)
- Awards
- 8× All-Star · Rookie of the Year · Gold Glove
Full name: Tony Pedro Oliva
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,676 | 6,301 | 870 | 1,917 | 329 | 48 | 220 | 947 | 86 | 448 | 645 | .304 | .353 | .476 | .830 | 23,924 |
Career AVG .304 vs. league average .250 across their career seasons — +21.6% above league average.
Career OBP .353 vs. league average .317 across their career seasons — +11.5% above league average.
Career SLG .476 vs. league average .370 across their career seasons — +28.8% above league average.
Career OPS .830 vs. league average .687 across their career seasons — +20.8% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | MIN | AL | 9 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | .444 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1963 | MIN | AL | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .429 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1964 | MIN | AL | 161 | 672 | 109 | 217 | 43 | 9 | 32 | 94 | 12 | 34 | 68 | .323 | .250 (+29%) | .312 (+15%) | .377 (+47%) | .690 (+33%) | 4016.9 |
| 1965 | MIN | AL | 149 | 576 | 107 | 185 | 40 | 5 | 16 | 98 | 19 | 55 | 64 | .321 | .245 (+31%) | .310 (+22%) | .371 (+32%) | .682 (+27%) | 2988.0 |
| 1966 | MIN | AL | 159 | 622 | 99 | 191 | 32 | 7 | 25 | 87 | 13 | 42 | 72 | .307 | .248 (+24%) | .309 (+14%) | .376 (+33%) | .685 (+25%) | 2826.3 |
| 1967 | MIN | AL | 146 | 557 | 76 | 161 | 34 | 6 | 17 | 83 | 11 | 44 | 61 | .289 | .242 (+19%) | .306 (+13%) | .357 (+30%) | .663 (+22%) | 2199.0 |
| 1968 | MIN | AL | 128 | 470 | 54 | 136 | 24 | 5 | 18 | 68 | 10 | 45 | 61 | .289 | .236 (+22%) | .298 (+19%) | .340 (+40%) | .638 (+30%) | 2491.0 |
| 1969 | MIN | AL | 153 | 637 | 97 | 197 | 39 | 4 | 24 | 101 | 10 | 45 | 66 | .309 | .248 (+25%) | .320 (+11%) | .369 (+34%) | .689 (+23%) | 2690.0 |
| 1970 | MIN | AL | 157 | 628 | 96 | 204 | 36 | 7 | 23 | 107 | 5 | 38 | 67 | .325 | .253 (+28%) | .325 (+12%) | .385 (+33%) | .711 (+24%) | 2747.6 |
| 1971 | MIN | AL | 126 | 487 | 73 | 164 | 30 | 3 | 22 | 81 | 4 | 25 | 44 | .337 | .249 (+35%) | .316 (+16%) | .365 (+50%) | .682 (+34%) | 2850.2 |
| 1972 | MIN | AL | 10 | 28 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .321 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1973 | MIN | AL | 146 | 571 | 63 | 166 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 92 | 2 | 45 | 44 | .291 | .256 (+13%) | .325 (+6%) | .378 (+8%) | .703 (+7%) | 820.8 |
| 1974 | MIN | AL | 127 | 459 | 43 | 131 | 16 | 2 | 13 | 57 | 0 | 27 | 31 | .285 | .256 (+11%) | .324 (avg) | .369 (+12%) | .693 (+7%) | 461.9 |
| 1975 | MIN | AL | 131 | 455 | 46 | 123 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 58 | 0 | 41 | 45 | .270 | .257 (+5%) | .327 (+5%) | .374 (+1%) | .701 (+3%) | 357.4 |
| 1976 | MIN | AL | 67 | 123 | 3 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 13 | .211 | .255 (-17%) | .320 (-27%) | .360 (-28%) | .681 (-27%) | -525.3 |
| Career · 15 seasons | 1,676 | 6,301 | 870 | 1,917 | 329 | 48 | 220 | 947 | 86 | 448 | 645 | .304 | — | — | — | — | 23,924 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
Playoff Batting by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1676 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 842 | 3075 | 443 | 935 | 95 | 433 | .304 |
| Away | 834 | 3226 | 428 | 982 | 125 | 514 | .304 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976-09-29 | MIN | TEX | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1976-09-28 | MIN | TEX | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1976-09-19 | MIN | LAA | W | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-09-14 | MIN | OAK | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-09-07 | MIN | TEX | W | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-09-05 | MIN | CHW | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-09-03 | MIN | CHW | W | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-09-01 | MIN | MIL | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-08-31 | MIN | MIL | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-08-31 | MIN | MIL | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | MIN | OF | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1964 | MIN | OF | 159 | 159 | 313 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| 1965 | MIN | OF | 147 | 147 | 284 | 10 | 11 | 3 |
| 1966 | MIN | OF | 159 | 157 | 335 | 9 | 10 | 3 |
| 1967 | MIN | OF | 146 | 145 | 286 | 8 | 4 | 2 |
| 1968 | MIN | OF | 126 | 126 | 227 | 7 | 4 | 1 |
| 1969 | MIN | OF | 152 | 151 | 311 | 14 | 6 | 3 |
| 1970 | MIN | OF | 157 | 156 | 351 | 12 | 12 | 4 |
| 1971 | MIN | OF | 121 | 120 | 216 | 6 | 7 | 3 |
| 1972 | MIN | OF | 9 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Left Field | 10 |
| Center Field | 42 |
| Right Field | 1137 |
| Designated Hitter | 406 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Player of the Week | Week of 1974-06-28 |
| 1971 | TSN All-Star | OF |
| 1971 | TSN Player of the Year | |
| 1970 | TSN All-Star | OF |
| 1966 | Gold Glove | OF |
| 1966 | TSN All-Star | OF |
| 1965 | TSN All-Star | OF |
| 1965 | TSN Player of the Year | |
| 1964 | Rookie of the Year | |
| 1964 | TSN All-Star | OF |
| 1964 | TSN Rookie Player of the Year |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 10th | 36.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1970 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 2nd | 157.0 | 336 | 5 |
| 1969 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 15th | 21.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1968 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 19th | 5.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1967 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 19th | 6.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1966 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 6th | 71.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1965 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 2nd | 174.0 | 280 | 1 |
| 1964 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 4th | 99.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1964 | Rookie of the Year | AL | 1st | 19.0 | 20 | 19 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Tony Oliva (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Tony Oliva
Tony Oliva: the record in brief
The profile opens with Tony Oliva's first major league game on September 9, 1962; the last one listed came on September 29, 1976. Every season row on the page belongs to the Minnesota Twins, from 1962 through 1976. Oliva played primarily as an outfielder and batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Born on July 20, 1938, in Pinar del Río, Pinar del Río, Cuba, Oliva was listed at 175 pounds on a 6-foot-1 frame. Tony Oliva was the playing name; the full given name is Tony Pedro.
Across 1,676 games at the plate, Oliva's career line reads 1,917 hits in 6,301 at bats for a .304 average, along with 220 homers, 947 runs batted in, and 86 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .353 and .476 give Oliva a career OPS of .830. Oliva's .304 average ran 21.6% above the .250 that the league posted over the same seasons. The home run peak was 32 in 1964 with the Minnesota Twins. Oliva collected a career-high 217 hits in 1964.
Frequently Asked Questions about Tony Oliva
- What years did Tony Oliva play?
- Tony Oliva played in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1976.
- Was Tony Oliva a pitcher?
- No. Tony Oliva was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Tony Oliva hit?
- Tony Oliva hit 220 career home runs with 1,917 hits.
- Is Tony Oliva in the Hall of Fame?
- Yes. Tony Oliva was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.
- What teams did Tony Oliva play for?
- Tony Oliva played for one team, the Minnesota Twins (1962–1976).
- Did Tony Oliva win an MVP award?
- No. Tony Oliva did not win the MVP award.
- What awards did Tony Oliva win?
- Tony Oliva won the Rookie of the Year award (1964) and the Gold Glove (1966). He was selected to 8 All-Star Games.
- What were Tony Oliva's career stats?
- In 1,676 games, Tony Oliva had 1,917 hits, 220 home runs, 947 RBI, 870 runs, and 86 stolen bases, with a .304 batting average.
- What position did Tony Oliva play?
- Tony Oliva played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Tony Oliva and how much did he weigh?
- Tony Oliva was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 175 pounds.
- How many home runs did Tony Oliva hit each season?
- Tony Oliva's home runs by season: 0 in 1962, 0 in 1963, 32 in 1964, 16 in 1965, 25 in 1966, 17 in 1967, 18 in 1968, 24 in 1969, 23 in 1970, 22 in 1971, 0 in 1972, 16 in 1973, 13 in 1974, 13 in 1975, and 1 in 1976. His most in one season was 32, in 1964.
- What was Tony Oliva's career batting average?
- Tony Oliva batted .304 over his career, with 1,917 hits in 6,301 at bats.
- How many RBI did Tony Oliva have?
- Tony Oliva drove in 947 runs in his career.
- How many All-Star Games did Tony Oliva make?
- Tony Oliva was selected to 8 All-Star Games.