The story of Cuban Tony Oliva sheds light on when US-Cuba relations were at virtually an all-time low – in the tense aftermath of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Castro’s Cuba. Oliva’s meteoric rise in the American major leagues, oddly, was assisted by this crisis, which served to keep him in the US and led the Minnesota Twins to give him a second look after his initial lackluster showing. The result was a career that was at times culturally isolating but that led to three batting titles, including in Tony O’s first season, when he was the 1964 American League Rookie of the Year.
Here’s an excerpt from Tony Oliva:
“Nearly all of Oliva’s Cuban friends in the Twins organization had learned to adjust to cultural difference and had settled into baseball careers by the time the Bay of Pigs invasion led to Cuba’s closing. Most of them were married. That was not the case for Oliva, who arrived in Florida alone in 1961. He stuck it out, even in the worst of times. The young man called his parents during the loneliest times of the offseason. He offered to come home if they wanted him to return to work the family farm, but his mother always encouraged him to stay in North America to pursue an opportunity that was available to so few Cuban athletes. Oliva occasionally sent gifts to his parents, but the packages never reached them.”
