The Glorious Past: Al Oliver

As the Pirates are getting shelled again and wrapping up a record tying 16^th consecutive losing season, I’m forced once again into the glorious past. Nate McLouth has started off this season with an 18-game hitting streak, longest since Al Oliver did the same in 1972. I’m irrational about the Pirates in general, but Al Oliver is a bigger weakness than most for me.

Current day ballplayers can occasionally have a legitimate point with unfair criticism, but they clearly don’t remember the past the way I do. Al Oliver was pilloried in the pages of the Pittsburgh Press day in and out by some less than objective sports writers. Why? Well he played first mostly in the minors, and was quite good at it. But the Pirates had Bob Robertson who could really play nothing other than first. Now, don’t get me wrong, Bob Robertson was a better than average first sacker, but he was a big guy with limited mobility. Al Oliver was ‘athletic’ enough to finish second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1969 (Ted Sizemore-shocker a Dodger-won) while playing first in 106 games, but moved to the outfield more than 50/50 in 1970 splitting time in right and left.

So the 1971 season started, Bob Robertson had shown enough to play first, Clemente was in right, and Willie Stargell was in left. So Al was the starting center fielder having never played there before in the majors. Yet, this was never enough for some of the sour old Pittsburgh writers. I guess Al should feel honored about it, because they gave Clemente and Stargell some of the same treatment. He played mostly center field through the 1976 season, and after Willie moved to 1^st in 1975, hardly played there at all again. His last year in Pittsburgh he played mostly left, although he still played some in center, where Omar Moreno was breaking in.

Then, the Pirates broke my heart and traded Al in a huge four-team trade. But, I couldn’t be too heartbroken, because it was a good value-for-value trade. He netted Bert Blyleven and John Milner in return. At the time, Milner was considered to be the key of the deal since Willie Stargell was clearly declining (Bob Robertson had been released in spring training of 1977), and Milner was going to be the replacement. But Pops had a rejuvenated 1978, so Milner split time in left with Bill Robinson and started occasionally at first. Now, sportswriters being sportswriters, surely they savaged John Milner for his complete lack of an arm in the outfield?

I bet you know the answer to that.

Al played the outfield for the Rangers until he moved to DH in 1981, then spent two years with a good Expos team, winning a batting title in 1982 in a year he came close to winning an MVP. Al is a good candidate to get voted into the Hall of Fame under the old system, and who knows, he may join Clemente and Stargell there someday.

Nate came through with the Pirates losing tonight 10-2 with a lead off single in the bottom of the 8^th, so he’s left my guy Al behind now. The record for longest hitting streak at the start of the season? Charlie Grimm of your 1923 Pittsburgh Pirates-25 games.

Have I gotten down to this as a fan? Evidently so. Some day I might tell you which Pirate holds the all-time record for reaching on catcher’s interference in a season.