In 1968, he became only the second player in MLB history to play all nine field positions during a single game, a feat first accomplished by Bert Campaneris, in 1965.
Tovar played baseball with such speed and aggressiveness that manager Billy Martin considered him one of his favorite players.
[4] Tovar was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, where as a child, he shined shoes to earn extra income for his family.
[5] That winter, he returned to Venezuela to play for the Leones del Caracas, and won the league's rookie of the year award.
[6] The Reds had a promising second baseman in Pete Rose, who would win the 1963 National League Rookie of the Year Award, with future Gold Glover Cookie Rojas on the bench and second basemen Bobby Klaus and Gus Gil in their minor league system, there was little room left for Tovar to progress.
[3] He also met future Hall of Fame member Tony Oliva in 1963 and the two became friends and later became roommates for seven years while playing for the Twins.
Tovar received a September call-up and played in a total of 18 games in the season however, he would be left off the postseason roster and would watch the Twins' seven-game World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers from home.
[9] At the end of the 1967 season, the Triple Crown winner, Carl Yastrzemski, received all but one vote for the American League Most Valuable Player Award; the lone dissenting ballot (cast by Minneapolis Star sports writer Max Nichols) was marked in favor of Tovar, who would finish 7th in the MVP voting.
[10] On September 22, 1968, Tovar became the second player after Bert Campaneris (Kansas City Athletics, 1965) to play all nine fielding positions in a game.
[2][11][12][13] Tovar started the game on the mound against Oakland and pitched one scoreless inning in which he struck out Reggie Jackson.
“The little guy can beat you so many ways – his bat, his feet, his brains, his hustle.” Billy Martin became the Twins manager in 1969 and he extolled Tovar's leadership and motivation among his teammates.
[3] During a game against the Detroit Tigers on May 18, 1969, Tovar combined with Rod Carew to set a major league record for most steals by a club in one inning with five.
In the third inning against the Detroit battery of Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan, Tovar stole third base and home.
[15] The Twins won the American League Western Division title in both 1969 and 1970, but each time were swept in three games by the Baltimore Orioles during the play-offs.
[18] Only five other players in major league baseball history have completed a cycle with a game-ending homer: Ken Boyer (1961),[19] George Brett (1979),[20] Dwight Evans (1984),[21] Carlos González (2010)[22] and Nolan Arenado (2017).
[3] When Billy Martin became the manager of the Texas Rangers in 1973, he requested that the team purchase Tovar's contract from the Phillies, which they did on December 7, 1973.
[1][3] Tovar's career experienced a brief resurgence as Martin's leadoff hitter for the Rangers in 1974, hitting .292 with a .354 on-base percentage.
[1][25][26] Along with former Reds center fielder Eddie Milner, Tovar is regarded as the major league's all-time leader in breaking up no-hit attempts with five.
[31] Tovar was responsible for spoiling two other no-hitters during his career: against the Washington's Dick Bosman (August 13, 1970) and the Yankees' Jim "Catfish" Hunter (May 31, 1975).
[3] After his playing career, Tovar continued to serve with the Águilas del Zulia as a coach where his protégé was future MLB player, Carlos Quintana who called him his "second father".
[3] In August 1990, he managed the Venezuelan team to a 1–7 last place finish in the Baseball World Cup, which was held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
[35] The level of pride and admiration with which the Venezuelan public held for Tovar's playing career was such that the nation's president, Rafael Caldera, attended his funeral.