A trade to the Cardinals gave Omar Olivares the chance to start his major-league career with the same franchise his father did.
On Feb. 27, 1990, the Cardinals acquired Olivares, a right-handed pitcher, from the Padres for outfielder Alex Cole and reliever Steve Peters.
Six months later, Olivares made his big-league debut, following in the footsteps of his father, Ed Olivares, an outfielder and third baseman who got to the majors with the Cardinals in 1960.
Ed and Omar Olivares became the first father and son to play for the Cardinals.
Family ties
Ed Olivares appeared in 24 games for the Cardinals from 1960-61.
Omar Olivares was born in Puerto Rico in 1967, a year after his father finished his pro playing career in the farm system of the Tigers.
Ed Olivares became a sports and recreation director in Puerto Rico and helped his son develop baseball skills.
“He taught me everything I know,” Omar Olivares told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He’s the one who thought about making me a pitcher. He knew I had a nice and loose arm, and he knew I was going to never get hurt. I was 16 years old. So I changed from an outfielder to a pitcher.”
In September 1986, Omar Olivares, 19, signed with the Padres. He earned 16 wins in the minors in 1988 and 12 at Class AA in 1989.
Special talent
Olivares caught the attention of Cardinals personnel, who urged general manager Dal Maxvill to acquire him.
“Six of our people had seen him pitch and they all liked him,” said Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog. “That’s unusual. The only other player that all our people had good reports on before we got him was Willie McGee.”
Though Olivares was assigned to start the 1990 season with the Cardinals’ top farm club at Louisville, Herzog was impressed by what he saw in spring training and considered him a special talent.
“He’s a great athlete,” Herzog told the Post-Dispatch. “I’d like to make an outfielder out of him. He could pitch every fifth day and play the outfield the other four.”
Herzog resigned in July 1990 before he could test his idea, but Olivares remained in the Cardinals’ plans. Cardinals director of player development Ted Simmons said Olivares was “a legitimate pitching prospect, make no mistake.”
During a visit to Louisville, Cardinals minor-league pitching instructor Bruce Sutter noticed Olivares had stopped throwing a forkball and asked him about it.
“I threw it the other night and the guy hit it for a homer,” Olivares replied.
Said Sutter: “If he hit your fastball for a homer, would you quit throwing your fastball?”
Olivares got the message and returned the forkball to his arsenal of pitches.
“I wasn’t too happy about it, but I kept throwing the forkball after that,” Olivares told the Post-Dispatch. “One night, I had 14 strikeouts and that’s the best I’d had my forkball. They told me they wanted me to throw it at least 20 times a game. I’ve got much better control of it than I used to have.”
Welcome to the bigs
in August 1990, Joe Torre replaced Herzog as Cardinals manager. Soon after, John Tudor went on the disabled list because of left shoulder pain. Olivares, with a 2.82 ERA in 23 starts for Louisville, was called up to take Tudor’s spot in the rotation.
“When they told me, I called home right away,” Olivares said. “My dad wasn’t there but my mother (Edna) was … She’s more excited than I am, and I’m pretty excited.”
Torre never had seen Olivares, but he got good reports from those who had.
“He started learning that forkball because he needed another pitch,” said Cardinals pitcher Bob Tewksbury. “He’s got good mechanics and a good, live arm. He’s a good athlete. He swings the bat pretty good. He’s a good kid, too.”
On Aug. 18, 1990, Olivares, 23, made his major-league debut with a start at St. Louis and limited the Astros to a run and three hits in eight innings.
With the Cardinals ahead, 2-1, Torre lifted Olivares for closer Lee Smith, who gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, Franklin Stubbs, in the ninth, depriving Olivares of a win. The Astros prevailed, 3-2, in 11. Boxscore
“You have to go with your best,” Olivares said, defending Torre’s decision. “I’m not angry at all.”
Making his mark
According to the Post-Dispatch, Olivares was the first major-league player with the initials O.O. since Oswald Orwoll, a pitcher and first baseman for the 1928-29 Athletics. In 1993, Olivares switched to uniform No. 00 with the Cardinals.
Olivares got his first major-league home run before he got his first major-league win.
On Sept. 8, 1990, Olivares hit a solo home run and a two-run double versus Rick Sutcliffe of the Cubs at Wrigley Field, but didn’t get the decision. Boxscore
His first win came in his next start, on Sept. 13, 1990, against the Expos at Montreal. Boxscore
Olivares finished 1-1 with a 2.92 ERA for the 1990 Cardinals. His best St. Louis season was 1991 when he was 11-7.
Olivares pitched five seasons for the Cardinals and was 29-24 with a 4.02 ERA. He batted .229 with three home runs.
The Cardinals released him in April 1995 and he signed with the Rockies two days later.
In 12 seasons in the majors, Olivares was 77-86, including a combined 15-11 for the Angels and Athletics in 1999.
RetroSimba 
I was always intrigued by Whitey’s idea of trying him in the outfield. Too bad we never got to see it. Omar was no hall of famer, but he owned Tony Gwynn. Tony had only three hits in twenty-five plate appearances against Olivares.
Yes, sounds like Omar Olivares could have been a much earlier version of what Michael Lorenzen does with the Reds today. Good info on Omar Olivares vs. Tony Gwynn. Thanks.