Books and articles about Bob Oliver

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The versatile Oliver was primarily an outfielder in his 1969 rookie season for the expansion Royals. That May 4 he had six hits in a game. Kansas City's primary first baseman the next year (although he also played 46 games at third base), Oliver had his best season, batting .260 and reaching career highs with 27 HR, 99 RBI, 83 runs, and 24 doubles. In 1971 he returned to his utility role, and he tied the AL mark for double plays by a first baseman in a game with six on May 14. He was dealt to the Angels after the season for pitcher Tom Murphy. Playing first base in 127 games for California, by far his most at a single position in a season, Oliver rebounded to hit 20 HR while batting a personal-best .269. He duplicated his offensive performance in 1973 as a utility man. (SFS)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » December 2, 1967: The Twins trade P Ron Kline to the Pirates for infielder Bob Oliver, Kline was 7–1 in 1967 and will post a 12–5 record in relief for the Bucs in 1968. » April 9, 1969: The Royals, who debuted with a 4–3 win over the Twins in 12 innings, travel further to win by the same score in 17 frames. It's a game for steals. With the Royals Ellie Rodriguez at bat, Bob Oliver tries to steal 2B. Twins C John Roseboro throws him out, but has to push Rodriguez's bat out of the way. After several conferences between the umpires, Oliver is sent back to 1B and Rodriguez is called out for interference. On the Twins side, with the score tied 2–2 in the 5th inning, and Roger Nelson pitching, Rod Carew steals home for the first time in his career. Billy Martin and Carew had worked on the play in spring training, where Carew had twice swiped home. Carew will be 6–6 on attempts before being caught at home. » May 4, 1969: Bob Oliver goes 6-for-6 (4 singles, a double and a home run), as the Royals coast over California 15–1. Every KC starter collects a hit and scores a run. » June 29, 1969: Tony Oliva collects eight straight hits in the Twins' twinbill split with the Royals. Kansas City takes the opener, 7–2, behind homers by Mike Fiore and Bob Oliver. Oliva flied out his first time up, then stroked three singles. In the Twins 12–2 win in game two, Oliva hits two homers, a double and two singles, driving in five runs. » July 9, 1969: With the Twins hosting Kansas City, the Royals Bob Oliver attempts to steal 2B with Ellie Rodriguez at bat. Catcher John Roseboro pushes Rodriguez's bat out of the way and his throw to 2B nails Oliver. After huddling eight minutes with his umpire crew, home plate ump John Rice declares Rodriguez out for interference and orders Oliver back to 1B, though (as author Rich Marazzi points out) the rule states that an out nullifies an interference call. The Royals win, 4–3. Killebrew accounts for all the Twins scoring with a homer. » May 5, 1972: The Angels acquire Bob Oliver from the Royals for Tom Murphy. » July 30, 1972: The Angels beat Kansas City, 4–3, when Bob Oliver hits a leadoff home run in the 11th inning against his former team. The win goes to Lloyd Allen, relegated to the bullpen after five straight losses as a starter. Allen's batterymate, Jack Hiatt, is 1-for-1 after taking over in the late innings. Hiatt, purchased yesterday from the Astros, appears without a number on his uniform since there was not enough time to sew one on.