John Olerud
| Birthdate | 8/5/1968 |
| Death Date | |
| Debut Year | 1989 |
| Year of Induction | |
| Teams | Blue Jays, Marlins, Mets, Red Sox, Yankees |
| Position | First Base |
Two-time World Series champion and 1993 batting champ John Olerud was a three-time Gold Glove first baseman with a .398 on-base percentage and a 129 OPS+.
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Among the five 5-WAR seasons of first baseman John Olerud is one at 7.6 and another at 7.8
Among the five 5-WAR seasons of first baseman John Olerud is one at 7.6 and another at 7.8
John Olerud is flat-out under-appreciated. The first baseman had a 17-year big league career that featured just two All Star selections. He is rarely mentioned as a Hall of Fame candidate.
A closer look at his overall body of work shows a career worthy of consideration for Cooperstown.
Olerud made his debut three months after the Toronto Blue Jays selected him in the third-round of the 1989 draft. The Seattle-born Washington State University product was the Jays regular first basemen in 1990 and finished fourth in Rookie of the Year balloting.
In 1992, Olerud his his stride. He tallied a 127 OPS+ and a 3.4 WAR to help push Toronto to its first World Series title. The following season, the left-handed hitting Olerud was at his best, leading the league in doubles (54), batting average (.363), on-base percentage (.473), OPS (1.072), and intentional walks (33). He also posted career-bests in hits, runs, homers, and RBI. The performance helped give the Jays back-to-back Fall Classic triumphs.
During his time in the majors, Olerud played 8 years in Toronto, 6 in Seattle, 3 with the Mets, and one each with the Yankees and Red Sox. He had six campaigns with an on-base percentage of .400 or better. Olerud played in 135 or more games in 11 of his 17 seasons and had an OBP of at least .372 in all 11 of them. Not remembered as a big run producer, Olerud nonetheless had seven seasons of at least 93 RBI, four of them topping the century mark.
By the time he hung up his spikes in 2005, Olerud totaled 2,239 hits. Buoyed by 500 doubles, and 255 homers, more than 1/3 of his knocks went for extra bases.
Olerud’s .398 on-base percentage and 129 OPS+ are likewise impressive. The OPS+ figure is higher than that of fellow first baseman and Cooperstown candidates Keith Hernandez and Don Mattingly. It also ranks above many already-inducted men. Among them are Rickey Henderson, Jim Rice, Goose Goslin, Johnny Bench, and Charlie Gehringer.
According to BaseballReference.com, Olerud’s career 58.2 WAR puts him ahead of Cooperstown first sackers Bill Terry, Hank Greenberg, George Sisler, Tony Perez, Fred McGriff, Orlando Cepeda, and Gil Hodges. Olerud also outpaces popular candidates at his position including Will Clark, Carlos Delgado, Mattingly, and Steve Garvey.
The failure by many to include Olerud in the Cooperstown conversation remains a mystery.
In the collection is this John Olerud autographed Strat-O-Matic card from his finest season of 1993. Bucknell University math major Hal Richman originated the Strat-O-Matic game in 1961. Advertised in Sports Illustrated and sold out of Richman’s basement, Strat-O-Matic gave its players the ability to make managerial decisions based on MLB statistics.
In 1993 the Blue Jays had the top three qualifiers in the batting race - Olerud, Molitor, and Alomar
In 1993 the Blue Jays had the top three qualifiers in the batting race - Olerud, Molitor, and Alomar
The 1993 Toronto Blue Jays had the top three finishers in the race for the batting crown,. John Olerud took home the title with a .363 average. Paul Molitor finished second at .332 with Roberto Alomar right behind him at .326.
It marked the first time in baseball history that one team featured the top three performers in batting average. The regular season offensive explosion helped the Jays to 95 wins and the Eastern Division championship.
In the six-game triumph over the White Sox in the ALCS the trio continued their hitting dominance. They combined to hit .343 with a .445 on-base percentage, 4 doubles, a triple, and one home run. The triumvarite scored 15 runs and drove in 12 more.
In the Fall Classic, Olerud’s sixth-inning solo shot put Toronto ahead to stay in the Game 1. Alomar and Molitor starred throughout the Series. By the time the Blue Jays dispatched the Phillies in Game 6, Alomar had a gaudy .480/.516/.640 slash line. World Series MVP Molitor went 12-for-24 with pairs of doubles, triples, homers. His 8 runs batted in were complimented by a .571 on-base percentage and an other-worldly 1.000 slugging percentage.
The Toronto trio of Olerud and Cooperstown men Alomar and Molitor helped give the Blue Jay faithful as season to remember in ’93.
Shown here is the autograph of Hall of Famer Paul on a ticket that allowed a lucky fan to see his 3,000th hit on September 16, 1996.
