Former Met of the Day: John Olerud (1997-1999)

John Garrett Olerud aka. “Johnny O” was born August 5, 1968 in Seattle Washington. He was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 3rd round of the 1989 draft out of Washington State, where he was a star player, eventually making the College Baseball Hall of Fame. Johnny made it to the big club that same year, playing in six games. In 1990 he became an everyday first baseman and his numbers gradually got better. By 1992 he hit .284 with 16 HRs & 66 RBIs as the Jays went on to win the World Series. He hit .348 in the ALCS & .308 in the World Series. In 1993 he led the majors in hitting batting .363 & in doubles with 54. He got over the 200 hit mark made the All Star team and led his team to another World Series title, hitting 24 HRs, 107 RBIs & scoring 109 runs. He hit over .290 for two more seasons in Toronto, then manager Cito Gaston told him to hit for more power, & he only batted .274. For 1997 he signed with the Mets as a free agent.

Olerud was a true professional, and brought one of the sweetest swings in baseball to Shea Stadium, with a fine defensive glove. He would wear a helmet while playing the field at first base for protection, because he suffered a brain aneurism in college, and it became his trademark. While with the Mets he walked over 85 times every year, hit over .290 and drove in over 90 RBIs all three seasons. In his first year he drove in over 100 runs and batted .294 with 22 HRs. In 1998 he broke a Met set a Mets record for batting average hitting .354 ( 2nd in the NL) breaking Cleon Jones .340 mark set three decades earlier. He also set a Mets club mark for walks with 125. He hit 22 HRs drove in 93 runs and hit 36 doubles. In 1999 he was part of Sports Illustrated “best infield ever” along with Eduardo Alfonzo, Rey Ordonez, & Robin Ventura.

Olerud became only the 2nd Met in history to play in all 162 games; he hit .298 with 19 HRs, 39 doubles & 96 RBIs, as the Mets got to the NLCS and within 2 games of the World Series. In the NLDS he tore up Aizona pitching hitting .438 with 6 RBIs & a HR in four games. In the NLCS he hit .296 with 2 HRs & 6 RBIs against Atlanta. In Game #3 he drove in all 3 runs in the Mets 3-2 win, a solo HR off John Smoltz and then a two run base hit in the 8th inning off some bum named John Rocker.

In 2000 he decided he wanted to go back to his hometown and raise his kids in Washington State. They had better schools and he wanted to take then to school during the season, he broke many Mets fans hearts when he signed on with Seattle as a free agent. He spent the next four and a half seasons in Seattle, playing over 150 games each year, hitting over .300 with 90 plus RBis twice, winning three Gold Gloves and making another All Star team. He finished his career in Boston in 2005 batting .289.

Olerud finished his career with a .295 batting average, 2239 hits, 500 doubles, 1275 walks, 255 HRs & 1230 RBIs. Interestingly the slow footed Olerud played in 2234 games and he never stole a base.