John Olerud Marquee

b. August 5, 1968 · Toronto Blue Jays 1989–1996, New York Mets 1997–1999, Seattle Mariners 2000–2004, New York Yankees 2004, Boston Red Sox 2005

In 1993 he hit .363, the best average in the American League, with 200 hits, 54 doubles and 114 walks, and was over .400 into August. Toronto won the World Series that year and the year before, and he was the first baseman for both.

He wore his batting helmet on defense because of a brain aneurysm that burst while he was a college pitcher at Washington State in 1989 and nearly killed him. He never pitched again and never played in the minor leagues either: Toronto drafted him that June and he was in the major leagues by September.

Seventeen seasons gave him 2,239 hits, 500 doubles, 255 home runs, 1,275 walks and a .295 average, with three Gold Gloves at first base. He hit .354 for the Mets in 1998, which is still the club record for a season. The 2011 ballot gave him four votes of 581.

Honors

Award	Times	Years
All-Star selection	2	1993, 2001
Player of the Week	4	1993, 1995, 1997, 1998
Gold Glove	3	2000, 2002, 2003
Hutch Award	1	1993
Player of the Month	1	1993

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1989	TOR	6	8	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	.375
1990	TOR	111	358	43	95	15	1	14	48	57	75	0	.265
1991	TOR	139	454	64	116	30	1	17	68	68	84	0	.256
1992	TOR	138	458	68	130	28	0	16	66	70	61	1	.284
1993	TOR	158	551	109	200	54	2	24	107	114	65	0	.363
1994	TOR	108	384	47	114	29	2	12	67	61	53	1	.297
1995	TOR	135	492	72	143	32	0	8	54	84	54	0	.291
1996	TOR	125	398	59	109	25	0	18	61	60	37	1	.274
1997	NYM	154	524	90	154	34	1	22	102	85	67	0	.294
1998	NYM	160	557	91	197	36	4	22	93	96	73	2	.354
1999	NYM	162	581	107	173	39	0	19	96	125	66	3	.298
2000	SEA	159	565	84	161	45	0	14	103	102	96	0	.285
2001	SEA	159	572	91	173	32	1	21	95	94	70	3	.302
2002	SEA	154	553	85	166	39	0	22	102	98	66	0	.300
2003	SEA	152	539	64	145	35	0	10	83	84	67	0	.269
2004	NYY/SEA	127	425	45	110	20	1	9	48	61	61	0	.259
2005	BOS	87	173	18	50	7	0	7	37	16	20	0	.289
Career	—	2234	7592	1139	2239	500	13	255	1230	1275	1016	11	.295

On this day & linked events

1968

Born August 5, 1968

Seattle, WA, USA

1989

Major-league debut: John Olerud

John Olerud made a major-league debut on September 3, 1989.

1997

John Olerud Hits for the Cycle, 1997

John Olerud hit for the cycle for the New York Mets against the Montreal Expos on September 11, 1997.

2001

John Olerud Hits for the Cycle, 2001

John Olerud hit for the cycle for the Seattle Mariners against the San Diego Padres on June 16, 2001.

2005

Final major-league game: John Olerud

John Olerud played a final major-league game on October 2, 2005.

Image: slgckgc, CC BY 2.0