Game 81: A Tony Oliva biography
Olivia, 22, had been in America less than two weeks. (Born Pedro Olivia, he used his brother Antonio's birth certificate to get a passport, as Pedro's certificate had been lost.) Now it looked like anyone who returned to Cuba would not be allowed back in America. Give up your entire world of family and friends, for a dream which didn't seem very promising? Olivia's first instinct was to go home. Twins minor-league lifer Minnie Mendoza helped convince Oliva to keep trying. (Mendoza helped a lot of immigrant players, not just those on his teams; Reds HOFer Tony Perez, to name one.)
At heart, Henninger's book is about the stress these decisions caused Olivia and other Cuban-born players in America. Older Twins followers or team history buffs will recognize names like Pascual, Valdespino, Becquer, Tovar, and more.
By: James Fillmore
Story Date: 2015-07-04T05:00:00+00:00