1994 Topps All-Star Rookie Third Baseman Jose Oliva

The story of Raul Mondesi may have been a Greek Tragedy, Jose Oliva was a tragedy borne from modern times. Oliva was named to the 1994 Topps All-Star Rookie squad with just 19 major league games played. The league did not have many rookies that year playing third base, and while a case could be made for Brewers infielder Jose Valentin, Oliva was given the nod based on his sky high potential.

Oliva came to the Braves via trade, with Atlanta sending veteran pitcher Charlie Liebrandt to Texas. Oliva was a free agent in 1987 out of the Dominican Republic, specifically from baseball hotbed San Pedro de Macoris, home to Pedro Guerrero, Manny Lee, Juan Samuel, Joaquin Andujar, and Jorge Bell to name a few. More recently, stars like Miguel Andujar, Sammy Sosa, Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano came to the big leagues from this city which has a population under 200,000.

Oliva tore up the minor leagues, from the Gulf Coast League, to Butte, Montana, on down to Tulsa Oklahoma. He hit for impressive power and while he struck out quite a bit, the power numbers were legit. Oliva had no shortage of confidence and once boasted that he "could hit the Devil himself." double digit homers for Oliva in 1990, 1991, and 1992 made him an intriguing prospect for Atlanta to add to their lineup. The team had drafted the future hall of fame 3b Chipper Jones as a short stop initially, and adding power prospect Oliva to complement Ryan Klesko was intended to give the team a formidable middle of the lineup.

Oliva's minor league numbers in Richmond for the Braves surpassed everything he'd done to date, pushing his power above the 20 homer plateau in both 1993 and 1994. An injury to Terry Pendleton gave Oliva the chance to play everyday for a few weeks, and he responded with 6 homers while posting career highs for batting average and on base average with the big league club.

With Chipper Jones' arrival in Atlanta, Oliva was dealt in late August 1995 to Saint Louis, with a change of scenery perhaps giving Oliva a better shot an everyday gig. He would appear in 70 games overall in 1995, but hit an abysmal .142 at the major league level.

Oliva would spend the entire 1996 campaign in AAA Louisville, and he hit a career best 31 homers, but once again was stuck behind other established stars on the depth chart. That winter he would have a fantastic short season playing for his hometown team in San Pedro de Macoris, the Estrellas. He would spend the 1997 regular season playing in China for the Taipei, Taiwan team. He hit another 25 homers, and would return again to the Dominican Republic for another attempt to break in with a major league club. Oliva had a minor league offer from Seattle that off season, but sadly Oliva passed following a single car accident in the Dominican Republic. Oliva was survived by three young daughters.

We'll never know if Oliva could have made that come back, or what kind of MLB career he would have had. He passed away 2 months shy of his 27th birthday.