Award Context: Tony Oliva's 1964 Rookie of the Year

When the Twins signed Tony Oliva out of Cuba in 1961, they assumed they had acquired a 23-year-old.  Diligent research by the Twins public relations director Herb Heft revealed that the Twins had actually received a 21-year-old who was not named Tony but rather Pedro.  Pedro Oliva, with the assistance of legendary Cuban scout Joe Cambria, switched records with his older brother Tony and decided to retain his namesake and birthday when he finally landed stateside.  Thus, Pedro Oliva became Tony Oliva who would make a rapid progression through the Twins minor league system.   While assigned to Class D Wytheville of the Appalachian League in 1961, Oliva led all of organized baseball with a .410 batting average and was promoted to the Class A Charlotte in the Sally League by the end of the year. In 1962, the Twins called up Oliva in September and gave him 12 plate appearances where he went 4-for-9.  The next season, Oliva was tearing up Class AAA Dallas, hitting...