Joe Oliver (baseball)

Joseph Melton Oliver (born July 24, 1965) is an American former catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) and current manager in Minor League Baseball. During his 19-year professional playing career (1983–2001), he played for seven different MLB teams, and was a member of the World Series-winning 1990 Cincinnati Reds. Oliver is currently the manager of the Portland Sea Dogs, Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.

Joe Oliver
Oliver with the Nashville Sounds in 1988
Catcher
Born: (1965-07-24) July 24, 1965
Memphis, Tennessee
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 15, 1989, for the Cincinnati Reds
Last MLB appearance
October 6, 2001, for the Boston Red Sox
MLB statistics
Batting average.247
Home runs102
Runs batted in476
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Playing career
Oliver as a member of the Cincinnati Reds tags out Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros during a game at Riverfront Stadium on October 3, 1990

Oliver was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the second round of the 1983 MLB amateur draft, Oliver would make his Major League Baseball debut with Cincinnati on July 15, 1989, and appear in his final game on October 6, 2001. A relative rarity, in both his first and last at bats in those games, he got hits. He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 3 inches (191 cm) tall and weighed 215 pounds (98 kg; 15.4 st). Oliver was a member of the Reds team that defeated the Oakland Athletics in the 1990 World Series. He drove in Billy Bates from second base in Game 2 of that series with a hit off Dennis Eckersley to win the game and propel the Reds to the title.

Oliver had a 13-season Major League career with the Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. In 1,076 games played—769 of them with the Reds—he amassed 831 hits, with 174 doubles and three triples to accompany his 102 career home runs. In 1992, he led National League catchers in games caught, putouts and range factor. He was the NL player of the week August 16th, 1992. He also led NL backstops in fielding percentage in 1990. [1]

Managing career

On January 31, 2014, ESPN reported via his agent Burton Rocks that Oliver returned from a 13-year absence from professional baseball to manage the Lowell Spinners, the Red Sox' Short-Season Class A affiliate in the New York–Penn League. Oliver took over for 2013 manager Bruce Crabbe, who joined Triple A Pawtucket Red Sox in a coaching capacity.[2] In two seasons at Lowell (2014–15) Oliver led the Spinners to a 74–77 (.490) record; he was promoted to manager of the Class A-Advanced Salem Red Sox of the Carolina League for 2016 during the off-season.[3] During his first season in Salem, his club posted the Carolina League's best record (87–52, .626), but the Red Sox fell in the opening round of the playoffs to the eventual league champions, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, two games to one. In 2018, Oliver returned for the third consecutive season,[4] then was promoted to manager of Double-A Portland of the Eastern League for 2019.[5]

Oliver's five-season (2014–18) record is 297–270 (.524).

Personal life

Oliver now resides in Orlando, Florida and until 2014 coached the varsity baseball team at Bishop Moore Catholic High School. He and his wife, Kim, have four children: Dejai, Karrah, Gavin, and Lauryl.

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References
  1. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/olivejo01.shtml
  2. milb.com
  3. Abraham, Peter (November 11, 2015). "Red Sox notebook: Minor league changes". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  4. "Red Sox announce minor league field staffs for 2018". Boston Red Sox official website. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  5. MLB.com, Red Sox Set Minor League, Player Development Staff. (10 January 2019)

Preceded by
Bruce Crabbe		 Lowell Spinners manager
2014–2015		 Succeeded by
Iggy Suarez
Preceded by
Carlos Febles		 Salem Red Sox manager
2016–2018		 Succeeded by
Corey Wimberly
Preceded by
Darren Fenster		 Portland Sea Dogs manager
2019–		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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