THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 21, 1994 TAG: 9408210187
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
When Jose Oliva is around, you pay attention. In the stands and beyond the fence, or risk taking a baseball off the bean. The Richmond Braves' powerful, slightly punchy third baseman has a knack for propelling balls each way - out of stadiums with his bat, into the cheap seats with his arm.
He did both just the other night in Richmond against the Norfolk Tides. Oliva ripped his 21st home run in a little more than 300 at-bats - he got No. 22 in the second inning Saturday at Harbor Park - possibly denting somebody's car roof in the parking lot.
Then a couple minutes after the Braves' 6-4 defeat, he stood on the top step of the dugout and hurled a couple dozen old baseballs into the upper deck at The Diamond. He did it again before the next night's game.
Both gestures made for happy fans, which is only right because Oliva's a happy guy. Never mind the throwing error he made in the ninth inning Thursday that cost the Braves a run. Could've happened to anybody. Think a little disappointment like that is going to ruin even one night of Oliva's season, which wraps up in Norfolk tonight at 6:15.
Oliva thinks not. It's a ballgame. Have a little fun. Hit a home run. Style a bit. Throw the fans a ball. Make some people smile.
``He loves to play and mess around,'' the Tides' Jonathan Hurst says of Oliva, his former teammate in the Texas Rangers' organization. ``He still has that kid inside that all of us should have. He's great to be around.''
The knock - and in baseball reputations spread like ivy - on Oliva, though, is he's too much the kid and not enough the devoted professional, certainly not in relation to his impressive natural skills.
However, Oliva might have altered that some with a solid second year in Triple-A and an eye-opening 19-game audition in Atlanta, where he hit .288 with six home runs and 11 RBIs.
You don't do things like that by playing the fool.
``I'm sure five years ago he was accused of that a lot more than two years ago, and then a little less last year,'' Richmond manager Grady Little said. ``It would be hard to accuse him of it in 1994. He's made some bonehead mistakes, just like every other player out there and some of us managers do on a day-to-day basis.
``He's a unique individual. He's kind of flighty, but he's got so much ability that you can't let too many negative things come in the way of your thoughts of all the positive things he does on a ballclub. He's got a chance to be a good one. He's going to make a lot of money in this game.''
Funny. ``Flighty'' - defined as ``mildly crazy'' - was one of the first adjectives Tides manager Bobby Valentine chose to describe Oliva, a cat-quick 6-foot-3, 210-pounder from the Dominican Republic, before he, too, sang his praises.
Valentine's introduction to Oliva came a few years ago in spring training when Oliva, then a skinny teenage shortstop, was allowed to play in a big league exhibition game for Valentine's Rangers. Oliva hit a home run his first time up.
``Because he's Jose Oliva and he's less than your model baseball player off the field, I think he's always going to be questioned when something goes wrong,'' Valentine said. ``I think he's flighty.''
Which doesn't change Valentine's opinion of Oliva as a player.
``I think he was the best player in the league this year,'' he said. ``I love his defense, love his offense, great power factor. I always thought as he gets to the big leagues, he'll become a more polished player.
``Only because his ability's so good, I think he takes the minor leagues a little lightly, which is a flaw, it's a character flaw. But I really believe he has superior ability.''
Oliva, 23, believes the same. He entered Saturday's game hitting .263, about 30 points above his career minor league average, and has trimmed his strikeouts from one in three at-bats last year - when he fanned 134 times - to one in four this year.
``I'm the best third baseman here in the league, I tell you that,'' Oliva said. ``Sometime I'm going to screw up, everybody makes mistakes. They know I play hard. I have more focus now, more confidence. My concentration is better. I'm learning how to hit now.
``If they go to the playoffs, I would like them to take me there. I will help them. I'm ready for everything now.''
It's an attitude and athletic package that might enable Oliva to supplant Terry Pendleton at third base in Atlanta next season, whenever next season comes.
But Oliva said he and Pendleton are friends. Pendleton's the best guy in the Atlanta clubhouse. He even let him use his bat in the majors.
So Oliva isn't looking at bumping off the veteran so much as simply taking his rightful place in the bigs.
``I would like to play in Atlanta, but if I play for somebody else, that would be great,'' Oliva said. ``I just want to be in the big leagues, put up my numbers and play for 20 years.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Richmond's Jose Oliva likes to have a little fun, hit a home run and
try to make some people smile.
by CNB