Al Oliver will have plenty of time for motivational speaking when he's LIVING IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!

Donald Sutherland is his biggest fan!

Shouldn't be long before Sutherland straps Oliver down on a bed & hobbles the hopeful HOF'er.

Oliver had a reputation during his playing career as being difficult to handle, especially after he left Pittsburgh, and in the aftermath of the 1985 ALCS (where he was caught on camera seething after being removed for a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning of Game 7 with the Jays trailing 2-1 at the time) he couldn't get another major league job - although I'll grant that he was clearly in decline and hadn't been much of a hitter since he left Texas. I suspect with all of that baggage people forgot how good a player he really was, although I don't think he quite makes the HOF standard.

-- MWE

Bill James said that Oliver was seething because his manager was over-managing and ended up leaving the bench empty when it was needed. Cox was pulling the lefty-righty strings too early (Iorg also pinch-hit, according to Retrosheet).

Al Oliver will have plenty of time for motivational speaking when he's LIVING IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!

Funny you should say that, as Portsmouth, Ohio IS on the Ohio River.

Just a few miles from where I'm at.

Wanna have a Primer get-together at Al's place?

Does Portsmouth still have that indie-league team at Branch Rickey field?

I don't think so. Nothing came back from Google nor anything on Portsmouth's homepage or newspaper.

"During my career, I developed a strong sense of what it takes to overcome the forces that work against you"

Is that a direct reference to Bobby Cox?

"Al Oliver will have plenty of time for motivational speaking when he's LIVING IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER! "

I think thats where fellow former Ranger Oliver Darren Oliver is living too.