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Posted By: Bob

Maybe I should amend Oliva's resume to say "if he had played anywhere but Minnesota" instead of "if he had played in New York." The key is that there was no ESPN back then and Twins' players were routinely overlooked by the media and thus the fans. I am old enough to have seen Oliva play in person and I think the comparison to Clemente mentioned above was correct. Tony's struggle with the English language while a player certainly didn't help him either. In this day and age it's hard to imagine Latin players of the 60's not being given their due but with few exceptions, that was the case. I know Killebrew had all the home runs and Puckett the key hits and winning smile and Carew the sweetest swing since Ted Williams, but the best overall player to ever wear a Minnesota uniform was Tony Oliva.