third in the NL in that category. He was named as an outfielder on The Sporting News 1975 NL All-Star Team. The Pirates won the NL East again, but were swept by the Cincinnati Reds 3 games to none in the NLCS. In Oliver hit .323; this was his first of nine straight .300+ seasons. He played in the All-Star game once again, batting .360 at the break, but an inner ear infection sidelined him in the second half, and prevented him from finishing in the top 10 in batting categories. He was voted the National League Player of the Month for June. In 1977, as part of the so-called "Pittsburgh Lumber Company", Oliver hit .308 (tenth in the NL) with 19 home runs and 82 RBI. His 175 hits were 10th in the NL. He also stole a career-high 13 bases, although he was thrown out 16 times along the way. His 8 sacrifice flies were fifth in the league as well. Texas Rangers Oliver was traded along with Nelson Norman from the Pirates to the Rangers in the first four-team blockbuster deal in Major League Baseball history on December 8, 1977 that also involved the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets and a total of eleven players changing teams. The Rangers also received Jon Matlack from the Mets. The Pirates acquired Bert Blyleven from the Rangers and John Milner from the Mets. Going to the Braves from the Rangers were Adrian Devine, Tommy Boggs and Eddie Miller. The Mets got from the Braves Willie Montañez and from the Rangers Tom Grieve and Ken Henderson who was sent to New York to complete the transaction three months later on March 15, 1978. In 1978 Oliver was second in the AL with a .324 batting average, and his 170 hits were good for eighth in the league, and his 35 doubles were sixth in the league. The next season, 1979, Oliver hit .323, good for fifth in the league (the fifth time he had finished among his league's top ten in batting). Wearing the number 0 on his uniform (being the first player in the major leagues to do so,) Oliver played in all of Texas's 163 games in , and reached career highs in hits (209, fourth in the AL), doubles (43, second in the AL) and RBI (117, fourth in the AL) while batting .319, which was eighth in