Ben Oglivie

Benjamin Ambrosio Oglivie Palmer (born February 11, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball left fielder for the Boston Red Sox (1971–1973), Detroit Tigers (1974–1977), and the Milwaukee Brewers (1978–1986). He also played two seasons in Japan for the Kintetsu Buffaloes (1987–1988). He batted and threw left-handed.

Oglivie debuted on September 4, 1971 for the Red Sox and played his final game on October 5, 1986 for the Brewers. Oglivie hit for power fairly well, breaking the 40-home run mark in 1980 with 41, which was good for a tie (with Reggie Jackson) for the league lead. Oglivie hit 3 home runs in a game, three times. In the process, Oglivie became the first non-U.S. born player to lead the American League in home runs.

In a 16-year career, he posted a .273 batting average with 235 home runs and 901 RBIs in 1754 games. He had 87 career stolen bases and 784 runs scored. Oglivie picked up 1615 hits in 5913 at bats.

Oglivie played for the Kintetsu Buffaloes in Japan after retiring from MLB and hit 46 home runs in two seasons. He then returned to attempt a comeback in the minors, but never made it back to the majors again.

Oglivie begins his third year in the Tampa Bay Rays system as a coach. He will act as the hitting coach for the Gulf Coast Rays. In 2008 he was hitting coach for the Montgomery Biscuits. Oglivie has since been named hitting coach for the West Michigan Whitecaps (Detroit Tigers – A) for the 2011 season.

The Colón, Panama native was one of six post-1959 era players selected as part of the 2012 class inducted in the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame. Each Latin American country (Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Venezuela) had one player chosen for enshrinement, which took place in February, 2012.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
• List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube