Milwaukee’s Best, Part 4: The 50 Best To Play For Braves, Brewers: 20-11
By Phil Watson
Ben Oglivie, shown on a 1983 poster.
17. Ben Oglivie, LF
Brewers 1978-86
Ben Oglivie arrived in Milwaukee via a December 1977 trade that sent right-hander Jim Slaton and left-hander Rich Folkers to the Detroit Tigers and, perhaps not coincidentally, the Brewers had their first winning season the very next year.
Oglivie had surprising power for a tall, thin player—standing 6-foot-2 and weighing only 160 pounds during his career—and led the AL in home runs in 1980 with 41.
Oglivie was an All-Star for Milwaukee in 1980 and again in 1982-83 and in that 1980 season, he hit .304/.362/.563.
In postseason play, Oglivie struggled a bit, going 11-for-60 with two homers in the 1981 and 1982 playoffs.
In 1978, Oglivie was fifth in the AL in batting and ninth in slugging and in 1980 was third in slugging and seventh in hits. Oglivie was seventh in homers in 1969 and fourth in 1982 and was in the top 10 in RBI from 1980-82.
Oglivie became a free agent in November 1986 and went on to play two more seasons with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of the Japan Pacific League, hitting 46 homers, before retiring after the 1988 season.
He was originally an 11th-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox out of Wayne State University in Detroit in 1968 and was dealt to the Tigers in October 1973.
Oglivie is currently the hitting coach for the Class-A West Michigan Whitecaps in the Detroit organization.
Here are Oglivie’s statistics from his nine seasons with the Brewers:
| Year | Age | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 29 | 128 | 527 | 469 | 71 | 142 | 29 | 4 | 18 | 72 | 11 | 7 | 52 | 69 | .303 | .370 | .497 | .867 | 143 |
| 1979 | 30 | 139 | 572 | 514 | 88 | 145 | 30 | 4 | 29 | 81 | 12 | 5 | 48 | 56 | .282 | .343 | .525 | .869 | 131 |
| 1980 ★ | 31 | 156 | 660 | 592 | 94 | 180 | 26 | 2 | 41 | 118 | 11 | 9 | 54 | 71 | .304 | .362 | .563 | .925 | 153 |
| 1981 | 32 | 107 | 452 | 400 | 53 | 97 | 15 | 2 | 14 | 72 | 2 | 2 | 37 | 49 | .243 | .310 | .395 | .705 | 107 |
| 1982 ★ | 33 | 159 | 677 | 602 | 92 | 147 | 22 | 1 | 34 | 102 | 3 | 5 | 70 | 81 | .244 | .326 | .453 | .780 | 118 |
| 1983 ★ | 34 | 125 | 483 | 411 | 49 | 115 | 19 | 3 | 13 | 66 | 4 | 6 | 60 | 64 | .280 | .371 | .436 | .806 | 129 |
| 1984 | 35 | 131 | 509 | 461 | 49 | 121 | 16 | 2 | 12 | 60 | 0 | 6 | 44 | 56 | .262 | .327 | .384 | .711 | 100 |
| 1985 | 36 | 101 | 394 | 341 | 40 | 99 | 17 | 2 | 10 | 61 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 51 | .290 | .354 | .440 | .794 | 118 |
| 1986 | 37 | 103 | 384 | 346 | 31 | 98 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 53 | 1 | 2 | 30 | 33 | .283 | .334 | .390 | .724 | 95 |
| TOTALS | 1149 | 4658 | 4136 | 567 | 1144 | 194 | 21 | 176 | 685 | 44 | 44 | 432 | 530 | .277 | .345 | .461 | .806 | 124 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/20/2015.
Next: 16. Wisconsin Native, Career Brewer