Olerud, John G.
Baseball
b. Aug. 5, 1968, Seattle, WA
Playing at Washington State, the 6-foot-5, 205-pound Olerud was twice named the first baseman on the college All-American team and he was College Baseball's Player of the Year in 1988. The Toronto Blue Jays chose him in the 1989 amateur draft. He was the 16th player to enter the major leagues without ever playing minor league baseball.
Baseball observers admired the left-handed Olerud's swing, but he didn't seem to be quite the hitter he should have been until 1993, when he became a better hitter than anyone could have predicted. Olerud was much more selective that season, collecting 114 walks compared to only 70 in 1992, and he batted nearly .400 for the first five months of the season, then cooled off and ended at .363, which was still 31 percentage points better than anyone else in the league. He also led the league with 54 doubles that season.
In three more seasons with Toronto, he failed to hit over .300 again, and the Blue Jays traded him to the New York Mets in 1997. He had another outstanding year in 1998, hitting .354, with a career-high slugging percentage of .551.
Olerud signed as a free agent with the Seattle Mariners in 2000 because he wanted to be closer to his home and his family. He had two seasons over .300 with Seattle, and he also won three Gold Gloves at first base for the Mariners.
In 2003, though, his average dropped to .269 and he got off to a slow start the following season. Stuck in last place in the American League's Western Division, the Mariners decided to go with younger players and cut Olerud in late July. He signed with the New York Yankees shortly afterward.
Olerud is one of 20 players to have hit for the cycle more than once. He did it on Sept. 11, 1997, with the Mets, and on June 16, 2001, with the Mariners. While with the Mets, he reached base in 15 consecutive plate appearances, a National League record he shares with Barry Bonds.