CHICAGO -- Al Oliver’s hitting résumé speaks for itself. A career .303 hitter with 2,743 hits and 219 home runs over his 18 year major league career, he was feared in the batter’s box for nearly two decades.
On Sept. 1, 1971, he batted seventh.
“I thought I was a pretty good hitter,” Oliver said over a Zoom call with media Wednesday with a chuckle. “But when I looked at the card, I’m hitting seventh, and I said, ‘Hey, this has to be a great team.’ ”
That Pirates team that night would field Major League Baseball’s first all-minority lineup, a game where they would beat the Phillies, 10-7.