| John Olerud | |
|---|---|
 Olerud with the Boston Red Sox in 2005 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born: (1968-08-05)August 5, 1968 (age 57) Seattle, Washington, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 3, 1989, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 2, 2005, for the Boston Red Sox | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .295 |
| Hits | 2,239 |
| Home runs | 255 |
| Runs batted in | 1,230 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the Canadian | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2020 |
John Garrett Olerud Jr. (/ˈoʊləruːd/; born August 5, 1968) is an American former professionalbaseball player. He played inMajor League Baseball as afirst baseman from1989 through2005, most prominently as a member of theToronto Blue Jays team that won two consecutiveWorld Series championships in1992 and1993. He also played for theNew York Mets,Seattle Mariners,New York Yankees, andBoston Red Sox.
A two-timeAll-Star, Olerud was a patient, productive hitter throughout his career,[1] winning theAmerican League batting title in1993, and finishing as runner-up for theNational League batting title in1998. Olerud was also an excellent defensive first baseman, and won threeGold Glove Awards. In 1999, he appeared on the cover ofSports Illustrated titled "The Best Infield Ever?" along withEdgardo Alfonzo,Rey Ordóñez, andRobin Ventura, when he played for theMets.[2] Olerud was notable for wearing a helmet while on defense, due to his suffering from abrain aneurysm in college.
Olerud was born to Lynda and John E. Olerud, adermatologist and former baseball player born inLisbon, North Dakota.[3][4][5][6] Later fromFederal Way,[7] the elder Olerud playedcollege baseball for theWashington State Cougars as acatcher and was thecaptain of the team that advanced to the semifinals of theCollege World Series in1965.[8][5] AnAll-American,[9] he was named the outstanding WSU scholar-athlete as a senior.[7] Selected by theCalifornia Angels in the1965 amateur draft, he spent the next seven years studying medicine and playingminor league baseball, including for the AAA Winnipeg Whips in 1971.[4][10]
AtInterlake High School inBellevue, Washington, the junior Olerud played varsitybasketball,golf, and baseball for three years.[11] As a senior in 1986, he led the Saints to a state championship as both a pitcher and a first baseman. At age 17, he was selected by theNew York Mets in the 27th round of the June1986 amateur draft, but chose to attend Washington State University.[3]
Like his father, Olerud played college baseball for Washington State inPullman under head coachChuck "Bobo" Brayton. As a true freshman in 1987, he hit .414 with five home runs and 20RBIs. As a pitcher, he went 8–2 with a 3.00ERA and was an All-American. Washington State finished third in the six-teamWest I regional of theNCAA tournament.[12][13]
In 1988, Olerud hit .464 with 23 home runs, 81 runs batted in, 108 hits, 204 total bases, and a .876 slugging percentage. As a pitcher, he had an undefeated 15–0 season,[14] with a 2.49 ERA and 113 strikeouts. He was a consensus All-American as both a first baseman and pitcher and was named theBaseball America College Player of the Year.[15][16] Washington State University again finished third in the six-teamWest I regional of theNCAA tournament.[14][17]
Prior to his junior season in 1989, Olerud was running indoors on campus on January 11 when he collapsed; hospitalized in Pullman, he was airlifted to Spokane later in the day, accompanied by his father.[18][19][20][21][22] He was diagnosed with asubarachnoid hemorrhage, which caused bleeding into the spinal column. He remained in the hospital for about two weeks after the seizure and lost 15 lb (6.8 kg), but was back in class by the end of January.[23] A few weeks later in Seattle, further examinations revealed abrain aneurysm,[5] and he underwent surgery in late February.[23][24][25] From 1989 onward, he always wore a batting helmet while on defense.[22]
Olerud returned to action for the Cougars in mid-April;[23][26][27][28] he hit .359 with five home runs and 30 runs batted in during 78 plate appearances. On the mound, he posted a 3–2 record with a 6.68 ERA. He was aPac-10 North All-League designated hitter. The Cougars again won the Pac-10 North title, but lost their first two games of the North tournament in blustery Spokane to end their year early.[29][30]
In June, theToronto Blue Jays selected him in the third round of the1989 draft.[31][32] Intending to return to the Cougars for his senior season,[33][34][35] he again playedsummer ball with thePalouse Empire team in theAlaska League,[36][37] while the Blue Jays negotiated a contract. He told teams prior to the draft that a very large bonus would be necessary for him to forego his senior year at Washington State.[31][32] In late August, he signed with Toronto.[5][22][38][39]
In a 17-season career through 2005 spanning 2,234 games, Olerud posted a .398on-base percentage, 500 doubles, 255 home runs, 1,275 walks, 1,408 runs scored, 1,230 RBIs, 3,602 times on base, 96 sacrifice flies, and 157 intentional walks. He was also hit by pitches 88 times and grounded into 232 double plays during his career. He is one of only 26 players to everhit for the cycle multiple times in their careers. Defensively, in 2,053 games at first base, he recorded a career .995fielding percentage. He is a two-timeAll-Star and a member of twoWorld Series-winning teams with the Blue Jays (1992–93).
Olerud jumped directly to the majors after a stellar career at Washington State, where he was a pitcher noted for his performance from 1987 to 1989. He had originally intended to return to Washington State for his senior year but agreed to sign with the Blue Jays only after they promised that he would report directly to Toronto.[23] He was known for always wearing abatting helmet in the field as a precaution, due to the aneurysm he suffered at age twenty.[40]
Olerud broke into MLB with the Toronto Blue Jays in1989, without ever playing in the minors. Prior to the1990 season, he was named the #3 prospect in MLB byBaseball America.[41] He wasplatooned by Jays'managerCito Gaston for the first few years of his career, until1992, when he became the team's full-time first baseman. In1993, his breakout season, he led the American League in batting average (.363), intentional walks (33),times on base (321),on-base percentage (.473),OPS (1.072), anddoubles (54, also a career-high), while posting career-highs in home runs (24), RBIs (107),runs (109), andhits (200). He flirted with a .400 batting average for much of the season, with his average staying higher than .400 as late as August 2.
Despite putting up solid numbers over the next several years, he failed to meet the high expectations placed upon him following his breakout performance in 1993. After the1996 season, Olerud was battling veteranJoe Carter and up-and-comerCarlos Delgado for a spot at eitherfirst base ordesignated hitter. Delgado was young, had a bright future and a low salary, while Gaston preferred Carter to Olerud, feeling the latter wasn't aggressive enough at the plate.[42] Therefore, Olerud was traded, along with cash, to theNew York Mets on December 20 forRobert Person.
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With the Mets, he set a team record in1998 by reaching base at least twice in 12 straight starts.[43] Olerud set team single-season records for batting average (.354), on-base percentage (.447) and runs created (138) in 1998. He was in the race for the National League batting title until the final day of the season, whenLarry Walker edged him out with a .363 average.[44] In the1999 campaign, Olerud appeared on the cover of the September 6 issue ofSports Illustrated, along with fellow Mets infieldersEdgardo Alfonzo,Rey Ordóñez, andRobin Ventura. The magazine raised the debate as to whether the four talented fielders comprised the best defensive infield in major league history.[2] He set Mets records for most walks (125) and times on base (309) in a season that year.
Following the 1999 season, Olerud returned home, agreeing to a three-year, $20 million contract with theSeattle Mariners. In2000, he amassed 45 doubles, 102 walks, 10 sacrifice flies and 11 intentional walks. He was an important part of the Mariners' historic2001 season in which they tied the record for most wins in a major league baseball season with 116. Olerud contributed to the effort with a .401 on-base percentage, 94 walks, 272 times on base and 19 intentional walks in 159 games. In2002, he recorded a .403 on-base percentage, 39 doubles, 98 walks, 269 times on base and led the American League with 12 sacrifice flies. In2003, he collected another 84 walks. Olerud also earned all three of his Gold Glove Awards while playing first base for Seattle in 2000, 2002, and 2003. In mid-July2004, the Mariners were in last place in the American League West Division and Olerud was designated for assignment;[45] he was hitting .245 with five homers and a trade was attempted but not completed; he was released the followingweek.[46]
About a week after his release, Olerud was signed in early August by theNew York Yankees to fill a void left at first base by the injury ofJason Giambi.[47] Less than two weeks later, the Yankees visited Seattle to play the Mariners. Olerud started the second game on Saturday, August 14; his first time up, Mariners catcherDan Wilson went to the mound to have a "conference" with pitcherJamie Moyer. This gave time for about a minute-long standing ovation for Olerud from theSeattle fans.[48] HisAmerican League Championship Series was cut short when he was forced to leave due to an injured foot in Game 3. Olerud pinch-hit in Game 7 but struck out after a lengthy at-bat against Pedro Martínez, making a rare relief appearance; it was Olerud's last at-bat as a Yankee.
On May 2,2005, theBoston Red Sox and Olerud agreed to terms on a minor league contract. He had been recovering from surgery in November 2004 to repair tornligaments in his left foot. Initially, Olerud reported to the club'sspring training complex inFort Myers, Florida. He was added to Boston's 25-man roster on May 27, sharing time at first base withKevin Millar and batting in the middle of the lineup (including several starts in the clean-up spot).
Following the 2005 season, Olerud announced his retirement from baseball on December 6. At the time, his 2,239 career hits represented the 143rd-highest total in major league history. His career .398 on base percentage ranks 65th, and his 500 doubles are 44th.
In 2007, Olerud was inducted into theNational College Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2016, Olerud was namedPac-12 Player of the Century when the conference released its All-Century Baseball team.[49] He was named to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in the Class of 2020, although he was not inducted until 2023. The collegiateJohn Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award is named after him.
Olerud became anevangelical Christian in 1990.[50] Olerud lives with his wife, Kelly, who was a high school classmate,[1] and their children (one son and one daughter) in the Seattle suburb ofClyde Hill.[51] Another daughter, Jordan, died at age 19 in 2020 from complications of a unique chromosomal disorder called tri-some 2p, 5p-.[52][53] Olerud is a cousin of retired MLB playerDale Sveum.
· Baseball Reference (Minors) · Retrosheet · Baseball Almanac| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | American League Player of the Month April 1993 June 1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Hitting for the cycle September 11, 1997 June 16, 2001 | Succeeded by |
