At a January 10, 2024, semifinal game of the Il Elite Cuba Baseball League in Havana, Tony Oliva, the former Minnesota Twins baseball star and a resident of Minnesota, was honored for the first time since he left Cuba in 1962. [1]
The small number of fans present at that game reacted with reluctance to the announcement that the former star player was going to throw the first ball at that game since they knew practically nothing about Tony Oliva’s history.
That fan ignorance resulted from Fidel Castro’s 1962 elimination of professional baseball on the island and starting the first version of the [Cuban] National Baseball Series while the Cuban media spread a blanket of silence over the performance of Cuban players who played in the [U.S.} Major Leagues. Indeed, the players from the National Series who were gradually deserting the Island to play in the MLB were classified as traitors to the national sport.
The unofficial Cuban article about this occasion and the Cuban history of ostracizing these players added the following summary of Oliva’s career with the Minnesota Twins:
- Oliva “spent his entire career in the US Major Leagues[with the Twins]. In 1964 and 1965 he was the leader of hitters in the MLB—later he would be so in another season—and during five championships he was the one who had the most hits in that circuit. He participated in eight All-Star games, and in three seasons had more than 200 hits. For such a valuable service record he was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 2022. He has been one of the eight Cuban players who have ascended to that temple of the best baseball in the world.”
Upon his election and induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, Tony made the following observations in the U.S. about his Cuban roots and Minnesota home:[2]
- “Minnesota is my second homeland. ‘Cubita’ is my first homeland, where I was born, where my roots are, where I took my first steps, and Minnesota has been my second home. Here I made my family, I’ve lived here for more than 60 years. In the organization they have treated me very well, both when I was a player and after I retired. I can’t complain, because the community has been great to me too. It is a beautiful city, very quiet, with very friendly people….”
- “It was very hard [playing baseball in U.S. without any of his Cuban family seeing those games]. Many people don’t know what one went through, what it means to be alone. Even if you have all the success in the world, the family is very much needed, especially when you finish a game and you have no one to share with. That feeling of triumph sometimes turns into sadness, because you want to be with your parents, enjoy it with those close to you. . . But fate is like that. I know my family was supporting me at all times, from a distance, and we never broke ties.”
His sadness over the absence of his Cuban family in the U.S. was softened when his brother, Juan Carlos Oliva, who had been a star baseball pitcher in Cuba, obtained a U.S. visa with the assistance of Minnesota’s U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar to come to the U.S. to attend his brother’s induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame.[3]
As a Minnesota resident and fan of the Minnesota Twins, I celebrate Tony’s marvelous career with our team and look forward to hearing more about his recent return to Havana.
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[1] Santana, Tony Oliva and Castro’s hypocrisy, Diario de Cuba (Jan. 13, 2024).
[2] Lima, Tony Oliva: “Getting to Cooperstown is not an award just for me,” On cuba news (Dec. 26, 2021).
[3] Walsh, Tony Oliva’s little brother gets OK to leave Cuba, attend Hall of Fame induction, StarTribune (July 11, 2022).