(STILLWATER, Oklahoma / August 6, 2018) – One of the greatest players in college baseball history will be inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame tonight when former Oklahoma State great Robin Ventura is enshrined as part of the Class of 2018.
A star for the Cowboys from 1986-88, Ventura boasted a record .428 career batting average and also set an NCAA record with a 58-game hitting streak in 1987. He still holds the OSU career records for batting average, runs (300) and hits (329) and is second all time in doubles (71), home runs (68), total bases (608), RBIs (302) and slugging percentage (.792).
A three-time All-American, Ventura capped his career by earning the 1988 Golden Spikes Award, given to the nation’s best amateur player. He led the Cowboys to a pair of College World Series appearances during his time in Stillwater, including a national runner-up finish in 1987, and was also a member of the 1988 USA Baseball Olympic team.
Ventura was Baseball America’s Freshman of the Year in 1986 after hitting .469 with 21 homers and 96 RBIs and was also named the Big Eight Tournament MVP.
In 1987, Ventura posted a .428 batting average, 21 homers and 110 RBIs and was crowned Baseball America’s Player of the Year while repeating as the Big Eight Tournament MVP.
Ventura’s final collegiate season came in 1988, and he helped lead OSU to a school record 61 wins by hitting .391 with 26 home runs and 96 RBIs en route to the Golden Spikes Award.
The No. 10 overall pick of the Chicago White Sox in the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft, Ventura made his big league debut in September of 1989 and played 16 major league seasons for the White Sox, Mets and Dodgers. He was a two-time MLB All-Star and won six Gold Gloves at third base.
Following his playing career, Ventura spent four seasons as the Chicago White Sox manager from 2012-16 and was a finalist for American League Manager of the Year in 2012 after leading the White Sox to a second-place finish in the AL Central.
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