1966
Born October 11, 1966
Scribner, NE, USA
Gregg Olson Marquee
b. October 11, 1966 · Baltimore Orioles 1988–1993, Atlanta Braves 1994, Cleveland Indians 1995, Kansas City Royals 1995, 1997, Detroit Tigers 1996, Houston Astros 1996, Minnesota Twins 1997, Arizona Diamondbacks 1998–1999, Los Angeles Dodgers 2000–2001
Gregg Olson threw a curveball that broke so sharply hitters described it as falling off a table, and for five years in Baltimore it was close to unhittable. He saved 27 games as a rookie in 1989 and took American League Rookie of the Year, then made the All-Star team in 1990.
An elbow injury in 1993 ended that run and began another one entirely: over the next five years he pitched for seven organizations, several of them for only a handful of games. Arizona gave him a full-time job again in 1998, and he saved 30 games for them in 1999 at thirty-two.
Born in Scribner, Nebraska in 1966, Olson appeared in 622 games without ever starting one, saving 217 and posting a 3.46 earned run average.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 1 | 1990 |
| Rookie of the Year | 1 | 1989 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | BAL | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1989 | BAL | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1990 | BAL | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1991 | BAL | 72 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1992 | BAL | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1993 | BAL | 50 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 1994 | ATL | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 1995 | CLE/KCR | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1996 | DET/HOU | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1997 | KCR/MIN | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1998 | ARI | 64 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 |
| 1999 | ARI | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2000 | LAD | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2001 | LAD | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 622 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | BAL | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 3.27 |
| 1989 | BAL | 5 | 2 | 64 | 0 | 27 | 85.0 | 57 | 16 | 46 | 90 | 1.69 |
| 1990 | BAL | 6 | 5 | 64 | 0 | 37 | 74.1 | 57 | 20 | 31 | 74 | 2.42 |
| 1991 | BAL | 4 | 6 | 72 | 0 | 31 | 73.2 | 74 | 26 | 29 | 72 | 3.18 |
| 1992 | BAL | 1 | 5 | 60 | 0 | 36 | 61.1 | 46 | 14 | 24 | 58 | 2.05 |
| 1993 | BAL | 0 | 2 | 50 | 0 | 29 | 45.0 | 37 | 8 | 18 | 44 | 1.60 |
| 1994 | ATL | 0 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 14.2 | 19 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 9.20 |
| 1995 | CLE/KCR | 3 | 3 | 23 | 0 | 3 | 33.0 | 28 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 4.09 |
| 1996 | DET/HOU | 4 | 0 | 52 | 0 | 8 | 52.1 | 55 | 29 | 35 | 37 | 4.99 |
| 1997 | KCR/MIN | 4 | 3 | 45 | 0 | 1 | 50.0 | 58 | 31 | 28 | 34 | 5.58 |
| 1998 | ARI | 3 | 4 | 64 | 0 | 30 | 68.2 | 56 | 23 | 25 | 55 | 3.01 |
| 1999 | ARI | 9 | 4 | 61 | 0 | 14 | 60.2 | 54 | 25 | 25 | 45 | 3.71 |
| 2000 | LAD | 0 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 17.2 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 5.09 |
| 2001 | LAD | 0 | 1 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 24.2 | 26 | 22 | 20 | 24 | 8.03 |
| Career | — | 40 | 39 | 622 | 0 | 217 | 672.0 | 598 | 258 | 330 | 588 | 3.46 |
On this day & linked events
1988
Major-league debut: Gregg Olson
Gregg Olson made a major-league debut on September 2, 1988.
1991
Baltimore Orioles Combined No-Hitter, 1991
Bob Milacki, Mike Flanagan, Mark Williamson and Gregg Olson threw a combined no-hitter for the Baltimore Orioles against the Oakland Athletics on July 13, 1991, winning 2–0.
2001
Final major-league game: Gregg Olson
Gregg Olson played a final major-league game on June 22, 2001.
Image: BrianIgmac, CC BY 3.0