{"id":247422,"date":"2021-12-26T08:02:14","date_gmt":"2021-12-26T13:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=247422"},"modified":"2021-12-26T08:02:14","modified_gmt":"2021-12-26T13:02:14","slug":"tony-oliva-getting-to-cooperstown-is-not-an-award-just-for-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/sports\/baseball\/tony-oliva-getting-to-cooperstown-is-not-an-award-just-for-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Oliva: \u201cGetting to Cooperstown is not an award just for me\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since April 2011, all the fans who have entered Target Field through gate #6, in the left field of Minnesota\u2019s baseball temple, have come across the figure of Tony Oliva (Corralito, 1938), sculpted in bronze, immortalized as one of the legends in the history of the Twins.<\/span><\/p>\n

The statue of the native of Pinar del R\u00edo bats a compact swing heading for eternity. It could not be otherwise, because much of his legacy was cemented by his exquisite technique at the plate, from where he intimidated, standing left, every pitcher who crossed his path as of 1964.<\/span><\/p>\n

Precisely that year he entered the Major League diamonds like a hurricane and won \u201cRookie of the Year.\u201d Then came a string of successes and awards, including eight All-Star calls, three batting titles and five hitting leads \u2014 something that, incidentally, only three true monsters such as Stan Musial, Pete Rose and Tony Gwynn have achieved.<\/span><\/p>\n

For all that, Oliva is an adopted son of Minnesota. There, as is to be expected, he pervades like a king of the diamond, although he is also a reference for the community, which does not ignore his social work, his approach and support for the disabled, the poor, the elderly and Latinos.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Tony
Tony Oliva, new member of the Hall of Fame. Photo: National Baseball Hall of Fame\/@ baseballhall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If possible, the figure of Tony Oliva is, since last December 5, even more revered in Minnesota and in all the corners where he left his mark, after being <\/span>inducted<\/span><\/a> by the Veterans Committee as a new member of the Cooperstown Hall of Fame.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a very big surprise. I\u2019ve been waiting for my turn for a long time, but those who vote had taken their time. I feel very happy, very proud, very content, for me and for all the people who support me,\u201d Oliva said exclusively to <\/span>OnCuba<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

At 83, the legendary player from Pinar del R\u00edo claims to have a tighter schedule than ever. \u201cMy phone has never been so busy,\u201d he jokes in the middle of a relaxed chat, in which his love for \u201cCubita,\u201d as he calls the land where he was born, comes up again and again.<\/span><\/p>\n

You had been on the Veterans Committee ballots before and had come close to being elected. Did you see the possibility of being elected now very far?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I think this year I had more chances than ever. I had been very close the previous time in 2015, when I was only missing one vote; that was amazing. Now I still had faith, but if I did not enter, forget it, because my numbers are good enough to continue on the ballot, but if you miss a year for one vote and the next time you are left with less support, they will hardly take you into account for the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

The best thing about this waiting process has been the support of the fans, the club, the family, everyone was very positive, thinking that I could reach the Hall of Fame this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

What were the feelings when you got the news?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Imagine, I hadn\u2019t been waiting one or two years for this, I had been yearning for a moment like this for almost 45 years and it didn\u2019t happen. Now when the phone rang, it was the president of Cooperstown, and I felt great satisfaction, for me, for my family, for the people who were inside and outside my house waiting for the news, good or bad. That has been the main thing, to feel how so many people have been waiting and supporting.<\/span><\/p>\n

After the election was confirmed, I\u2019ve experienced a kind of big revolution. Wherever I go people congratulate me, the phone doesn\u2019t stop with calls from Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Venezuela. It\u2019s been madness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cubanos en Cooperstown: seis estrellas del diamante<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n