Cesar Tovar

Positions:
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 69 Weight: 155
Born: Wednesday, July 03, 1940 in Caracas, Distrito Federal Venezuela
Died: 7 14 1994 in Caracas, Distrito Federal Venezuela
Debut: 4/12/1965
Last Game: 9/29/1976
Full Name: Cesar Leonardo Tovar

Hustling Cesar Tovar divided his 1967 season with the Twins among the outfield, third base, second, and short, playing in an AL-record 164 games and leading the league with 649 at-bats. The 5’9″ Venezuelan dramatized his versatility in a September 22, 1968 game when he played all nine positions against the A’s. He pitched one scoreless inning in which he struck out Reggie Jackson; the first batter he faced was Bert Campaneris, the only other man to perform in nine positions in a game. In 1969 Tovar stole a career-high 45 bases; on May 18, he and teammate Rod Carew each stole home in the second inning against a Detroit battery of Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan. Tovar improved his batting average every year from 1965 through 1971. Finally set in the Minnesota outfield, in 1970 he led the AL with 36 doubles and 13 triples. When he batted .311 in 1971, his 204 hits were the league high. He hit for the cycle on September 19, 1972. Tovar is the all-time AL leader in breaking up no-hit bids, collecting the only hit in five one-hitters; his victims included Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally, and Catfish Hunter.