27 Facts About John Olerud

1.

John Olerud played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1989 through 2005, most notably as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays team that won two consecutive World Series championships in 1992 and 1993.

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2.

John Olerud played for the New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.

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3.

Two-time All-Star, John Olerud was a patient, productive hitter throughout his career, winning the American League batting title in 1993, and finishing as runner-up for the National League batting title in 1998.

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4.

John Olerud was an excellent defensive first baseman, and won three Gold Glove Awards.

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5.

The elder John Olerud played college baseball for the Washington State Cougars as a catcher and was the captain of the team which advanced to the semifinals of the College World Series in 1965.

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6.

At Interlake High School in Bellevue, Washington, east of Seattle, the junior John Olerud played varsity basketball, golf and baseball for three years.

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7.

John Olerud was a consensus All-American as both a first baseman and pitcher and was named the Baseball America College Player of the Year.

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8.

John Olerud was diagnosed with a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which caused bleeding into the spinal column.

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9.

John Olerud told teams prior to the draft that a very large bonus would be necessary for him to forego his senior year at Washington State.

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10.

John Olerud was hit by pitches 88 times and grounded into 232 double plays during his career.

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11.

John Olerud is one of only 26 players to ever hit for the cycle multiple times in their careers.

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12.

John Olerud is a two-time All-Star and a member of two World Series-winning teams with the Blue Jays.

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13.

John Olerud jumped directly to the majors after a stellar career at Washington State, where he was a pitcher noted for his performance from 1987 to 1989.

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14.

John Olerud had originally intended to return to Washington State for his senior year but agreed to sign with the Blue Jays only after they promised that he would report directly to Toronto.

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15.

John Olerud was known for wearing a batting helmet in the field as a precaution, due to the aneurysm he suffered at age twenty.

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16.

John Olerud broke into MLB with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989, without ever playing in the minors.

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17.

John Olerud was platooned by Jays' manager Cito Gaston for the first few years of his career, until 1992, when he became the team's full-time first baseman.

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18.

Delgado was young, had a bright future and a low salary, while Gaston preferred Carter to John Olerud, feeling the latter wasn't aggressive enough at the plate.

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19.

John Olerud set Mets records for most walks and times on base in a season that year.

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20.

John Olerud was an important part of the Mariners' historic 2001 season in which they tied the record for most wins in a major league baseball season with 116.

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21.

John Olerud earned all three of his Gold Glove Awards while playing first base for Seattle in 2000,2002, and 2003.

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22.

John Olerud had been recovering from surgery in November 2004 to repair torn ligaments in his left foot.

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23.

In 2007, John Olerud was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.

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24.

In 2016, John Olerud was named Pac-12 Player of the Century when the conference released its All-Century Baseball team.

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25.

John Olerud lives with his wife, Kelly, who was a high school classmate, and their children in the Seattle suburb of Clyde Hill.

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26.

John Olerud is a cousin of retired MLB player Dale Sveum.

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27.

John Olerud was named to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in the Class of 2020.

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