Héctor Olivera González, a right-handed hitter from Cruces who spent 13 seasons in the Serie Nacional and led the sixth Selective Series with a .459 average for Las Villas, died on Sunday, 11 October 2026. CiberCuba reported the death the same evening, citing his son, Héctor Olivera Jr., through the journalist Yasel Porto of Dporto Sports. Swing Completo reported it citing a Facebook post by INDER, Cuba’s national sports institute.
He was born on 30 September 1953 in Cruces, in what is now Cienfuegos province, which made him 73. In the United States his name is better known through his son, Héctor Olivera Amaro, the Santiago de Cuba second baseman who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015 for $62.5 million. This is the father’s career, checked against the federation’s figures, with two errors in this week’s Spanish-language coverage corrected.
A pitcher first
Olivera came up as a pitcher. At 17 he was on the Cuban team that won the 1970 World Youth Championship in Venezuela, and in that tournament he threw a perfect game against Honduras: 27 batters up, 27 down. Both Swing Completo and a 2013 academic profile by three researchers at the Faculty of Physical Culture in Cienfuegos (EFDeportes no. 183) record the perfect game. They disagree on his strikeout total, so we leave it out.
The pitching did not last. The federation credits him with only 16 Serie Nacional appearances on the mound (1–3, 2.48 ERA in 36.1 innings). He made his name with the bat.
Thirteen National Series, 1972 to 1984
Olivera debuted in the 11th Serie Nacional in 1972 with Azucareros and later played for Cienfuegos. CiberCuba also lists Arroceros among his clubs. His last season as a player was 1983–84. CiberCuba and Swing Completo both put his National Series career at 13 seasons. Our player record for Héctor Olivera González carries the federation’s numbers. The Federación Cubana de Béisbol publishes careers that ended before 1991 only as one aggregate line, so no season-by-season split exists for him.
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 775 | 2,723 | 340 | 861 | 138 | 14 | 80 | 494 | 359 | .316 | .396 | .465 |
He walked 359 times and struck out 187, nearly two walks for every strikeout. The 138 doubles, 14 triples and 80 home runs match the figures in both obituaries. The batting average does not: CiberCuba gives .313. The federation’s line, which Swing Completo also uses, is .316.
.459 for Las Villas
The Selective Series brought the best players of each region together on a handful of teams. In the sixth edition, in 1980, Olivera was the designated hitter for Las Villas and led all batters at .459: 67 hits in 146 at-bats. Swing Completo gives the hits and at-bats, and 67 for 146 works out to .459. The 2013 Cienfuegos profile gives the same average and the batting title, citing the statistician Sergio Ferrer.
With the national team
He was part of the Cuban side that won the 1980 Amateur World Series in Japan, and he played at the 1981 Intercontinental Cup in Canada, where Cuba took silver. Both events appear in CiberCuba’s obituary and in the 2013 profile. Swing Completo also gives batting averages for both tournaments, but we could not find a second source for them, so they are not printed here.
Coaching in Cruces and Cienfuegos
After he stopped playing, Olivera stayed in the game as a coach. He worked with children’s teams in Cruces and was the hitting coach for the Cienfuegos pre-selection, the squad the province picks its National Series team from. The 2013 profile credits him with provincial and national youth titles.
The son who reached the majors
His son, Héctor Olivera Amaro, was born in 1985 and played second base for Santiago de Cuba. Baseball-Reference’s Bullpen notes that his father “had also been a star in Cuba and a member of the national team”. Swing Completo and CiberCuba both identify the son.
The younger Olivera signed with the Dodgers in 2015 for $62.5 million. Los Angeles traded him to Atlanta on 30 July 2015. His whole major-league career was 30 games for the Braves in 2015 and 2016: .245, two home runs and 13 RBI (MLB Stats API).
Setting the record straight
This is our reading of the sources, not a claim from any of them. Two details in this week’s reports don’t hold up:
- His birthday. CiberCuba says he was still in hospital on his 73rd birthday, 2 October. Swing Completo says he died at 72, a few days before a birthday on 30 October. EcuRed and the 2013 Cienfuegos profile both give 30 September 1953, which means he died at 73, eleven days after his birthday.
- The Selective Series average. CiberCuba has him leading the sixth Selective Series at .489 in 1981. The 2013 profile and Swing Completo both give .459, and Swing Completo’s 67 hits in 146 at-bats come to .459. Swing Completo dates that edition to 1980.
We also left out the cause of death, because CiberCuba and Swing Completo give different ones. Funeral arrangements had not been announced when this was published.
Sources
CiberCuba, “Fallece el legendario pelotero cubano Héctor Olivera a los 73 años” (11 October 2026). Swing Completo, José Alberto Portela, “Luto en el beisbol cubano: Fallece Héctor Olivera…” (11 October 2026). M. Ramos Rodríguez, M. Rodríguez González and D. E. Quesada Hernández, “Héctor Olivera González, bateador designado por excelencia”, EFDeportes no. 183 (August 2013). EcuRed, “Héctor Olivera González”. Federación Cubana de Béisbol career statistics (beisbolcubano.cu). Baseball-Reference Bullpen, “Héctor Olivera Jr.” MLB Stats API (person 493343: transactions and career statistics).
Spotted an error in this article? Let us know and we'll correct it.
