Robert Lee Oliver , a Major League Baseball player who spent time with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals, California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, and New York Yankees has passed away. Bob was 77 when he died, on April 19,2020, in Rio Linda, California.
Oliver signed with the Bucs in 1963, and had three cups of coffee in Pittsburgh, before they traded him to the Minnesota Twins on December 2, 1967, for Ron Kline .
The Twins kept Oliver in the farm system in 1968, until he was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the expansion draft on October 15, 1968, the 19th overall pick.
Oliver played with the Royals from 1969 through 1972, and made franchise history several times during his tenure, including a six-for-six day at the plate on May 4, 1969 , the first player from Kansas City to ever record six hits in a game .
The Royals traded Oliver to the Halos in 1972, for Tom Murphy , and they traded him to the Orioles after three solid seasons, for cash and a player to be named later ( Mickey Scott ). After a short stop with the Yankees, his big league career was in the books, a .256 batting average with 94 home runs, 419 runs batted in, and 847 games played.
Bob’s son, Darren Oliver , was also a Major League Baseball player , from 1993, through 2013.
Bob Oliver playing statistic, trade information, and player details from Baseball Almanac . Our sincerest condolences to the Oliver family.
