Books and articles about Ben Oglivie

Tall and slender with a strong-wristed lefthanded stroke, Oglivie spent 16 ML seasons in the AL's Eastern Division, but didn't blossom as a power hitter until the latter half of his career. He hit three home runs in a game for the Brewers three times, all after turning 30, and he lead the AL with 41 HR in 1980. The native Panamanian was a free-swinger who disdained bases on balls, yet he rarely flailed wildly, striking out 80 times in a season only twice.

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Originally signed by the Red Sox, he could not crack Boston's starting lineup in 1971-73, and was traded to the Tigers for second baseman Dick McAuliffe. Oglivie played more regularly in Detroit, but was still on the bench enough to lead the AL in pinch hits in 1976, and after hitting .262 with 21 HR as the Tigers rightfielder in 1977, he was traded to the Brewers for pitchers Jim Slaton and Rich Folkers. He hit .303 in his first season in Milwaukee, then belted 29 HR in 1979 before recording career highs across the board in 1980, batting .304 with 41 HR and 118 RBI. His batting average plummeted into the .240s in 1981-82, but he still hit 34 HR in 1982 to help the Brewers to their only WS appearance, and in the WS he homered in a losing effort against the Cardinals in Game Seven.

Oglivie's HR production waned after the 1982 season, and after hitting only five in 103 games in 1986, he left the ML to play in Japan. He returned to the U.S. in 1989, and signed a minor league contract with the Brewers. (SCL)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » August 23, 1972: Kansas City's Roger Nelson shuts out the Red Sox, 3–0. Ben Oglivie's single in the 8th is the only hit off Nelson. » October 23, 1973: The Tigers trade 2B Dick McAuliffe to the Red Sox for OF Ben Oglivie. » December 9, 1977: The Brewers trade pitchers Jim Slaton and Rich Folkers to the Tigers for OF Ben Oglivie. The Mariners trade OF Dave Collins to the Reds for P Shane Rawley. » July 8, 1979: Ben Oglivie has three home runs in three at bats as the Brewers beat the Tigers 5–4 in the first game of a doubleheader. Oglivie drives in the winning run in the 2nd game as the Brewers take it 3–1. » April 29, 1980: The Brewers smash seven home runs in a 14–1 rout of the Indians. Ben Oglivie and Sal Bando lead the way with two apiece. » October 4, 1980: The Yankees clinch their 4th AL East title in five seasons, beating Detroit 5–2 in the first game of a doubleheader. Reggie Jackson hits his 41st home run of the season and will share the AL home run crown with Milwaukee's Ben Oglivie. » June 5, 1982: The Brew Crew connect for three consecutive homers -- by Robin Yount, Cecil Cooper, and Ben Oglivie -- in the 7th as Milwaukee pounds Oakland, 11–3. Ted Simmons and Gorman Thomas also homer to back Bob McClure's 3rd victory. It is the 2nd time in a week that Milwaukee sluggers have hit three consecutive homers. » June 20, 1982: Milwaukee's Ben Oglivie smacks three home runs in a 7–5 win over Detroit. It is the 2nd 3-homer game of his career. » September 12, 1982: For the 2nd time this season, Milwaukee gets three consecutive home runs -- from Cecil Cooper, Ted Simmons, and Ben Oglivie -- in a losing cause, as the Yankees win, 9–8. Six homers are hit in the game. Curt Kaufman wins his first ML decision and his only as a Yank. » October 3, 1982: Robin Yount smacks two home runs and a triple as Milwaukee whips Baltimore 10–2 to win the American League East championship. Don Sutton, 4-1 since being acquired by the Brewers in late August, is the winning pitcher. Milwaukee had lost three in a row to Baltimore before today's pivotal victory. Despite Yount's stellar game, he loses the AL batting title .332 to .331 to Kansas City's Willie Wilson, who sat out the Royals' final game. Yount ends the year with 114 RBI and joins teammates Cecil Cooper (121), Gorman Thomas (112), and Ben Oglivie (102) as only the 2nd foursome since 1940 to top the 100 RBI mark: The 1977 Bosox of Fisk, Rice, Hobson and Lynn were the others. Ted Simmons is just three short of 100 RBI or the Brewers would have joined the 1936 Yankees as the only squad with five 100-RBI hitters. » May 14, 1983: Ben Oglivie slugs three home runs as the Brewers come from behind to beat Boston 8–7 in 10 innings. Oglivie's 3rd homer ties the score at 6–6 in the bottom of the 9th. » August 2, 1985: Frank Tanana of the Tigers allows one hit—a home run by Ben Oglivie in the 5th—in beating the Brewers, 4–1. Tanana (6-10) K's eight while walking 1.