Pirate great delivers life lessons in visit to Athens

Al Oliver has a message, which is not surprising to anyone who played with or against the former Major Leaguer. In the 1970s and 1980s, maybe no one talked as much as the gregarious Oliver. But now, his message, "Life's a Hit Don't Strike Out," is being delivered on a larger scale to a more eclectic group.

Oliver brought this message to a group of baseball-obsessed fans at Ohio University's Walter Hall last Thursday in a speech that was as entertaining as it was motivational.

Thursday's talk covered a broad range of topics and was laced with humor and honesty. Oliver touched on everything from finding the right mate to racial tension and drug use in Major League Baseball. He rehashed old stories from his playing days, particularly his best-known years of 1968-1977, when he was a first baseman and outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Oliver recounted stories about Hall of Famers Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente, players he fit right in with at a young age. During a Q&A, he assured fans that no question was out of bounds and gave his opinions on burning issues in baseball today. Oliver, whose nickname is Scoop, attributes his infectious personality and positive attitude to his hometown of Portsmouth, Ohio.

"The community which I was raised in, everybody was the same way I was, friendly, enjoyed talking," Oliver said after his talk. "Our parents and the people in our neighborhood made us feel good."

The positive outlook on life is something he has worked hard to maintain. Being an African-American athlete toward the end of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, he faced racial discrimination in the majors. He lost his mother as a child and his father passed away on the day that he got called up to the major leagues. The attitude instilled by his southern Ohio hometown is something he hopes to offer to people who do not have the same support system.

"I've seen lots of ups and downs in life," said Oliver, "And I like to let people know that regardless what comes your way, if you keep a positive frame of mind, you can overcome many things."

Oliver put his hardships behind him and relied on his positive disposition and vibrant, outgoing persona from the moment he stepped foot in the dugout. "When I first came to the major leagues, I thought everybody was my friend," said Oliver. This attitude helped him earn the respect of the great players on his team, players who knew from the beginning how much Oliver loved to talk.

"Willie Stargell said I came in that way; he said, 'That Scoop could give a sermonette, don't get him started,'" Oliver recalled with a laugh.

The sermonettes and the honest answers oddly turned off some sports reporters back in the day, Oliver acknowledged. He said he might have been too friendly with the media and too honest with some of his answers, which could explain why someone with such an impressive resume has not been inducted into the Hall of Fame. A career .303 hitter, Oliver totaled 2,743 hits for the Pirates, Texas Rangers, Montreal Expos, San Francisco Giants and Toronto BlueJays. The total is the second highest for players who have not been inducted into the Hall of Fame, behind only former Cincinnati Reds outfielder Vida Pinson's 2,757 hits.

Oliver was also one of the nine members of the first all-minority lineup in Major League baseball on Sep. 1, 1971, something he takes pride in now. "It means a lot to me now, but at the time, it was no big deal," he said. "I didn't realize until maybe about the third hitter, and then I looked to [second baseman] Dave Cash and said 'We got all brothers out there, man.'" It was a defining moment of his athletic career and something he reflects on regularly during talks.

After retiring from baseball in 1985, something Oliver said was forced on him by league collusion, he soon aimed to formalize his locker-room chatter into a role he defines as "public/motivational speaker." He first began speaking in 1988 and continues to speak at about two or three engagements each month. He also became an ordained deacon in 1997 at his hometown Beulah Baptist Church, and currently serves as the chairman of deacons and a Sunday school teacher. According to his website, he also provides counseling, mentoring and clinics.

It's his interesting mix of a confident bravado blended with honesty and a dose of humility that make him nearly as captivating a speaker as he was a player. As far as his legacy goes, Oliver does not let his denial to the Hall of Fame bother him. Baseball is an integral part of who he is, but it's not all that he is, as evidenced by his success as a speaker.

Oliver said, "I want to be known as a good human being who happened to have been a Major League player."