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3/22/20

Mack - GOAT: #50 1B John Olerud






# 50:   John Olerud

            1B       6-5      220     L/L

      Washington State University

In December 1996, Olerud was traded by the Toronto Blue Jays to the Mets, in return for pitcher Robert Person.

1989 Round 3 draft pick by Toronto

Never played a minor league game until 2005.

He played only three years with the team, but they were terribly productive:

            1662-AB, /315/.425/.501/.926, 63-HR

             17.3 WAR for 3 years as a Met

            He set a team record of reaching base for 12 straight starts.
    
            In 1998:

                        Set team record with a .354 batting average

                        Set team record for on-base percentage (.447).

                        Set team record for runs created (138).

Came in 2nd in the league in batting average, behind Larry Walker.


Hit .438 in the 1999 NLDS against Arizona.

In the LCS, singled off John Rocker, sending home Roger Cedeno and Melvin Mora to win the game.

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

Mack – Many of you might think Olerud should be higher on this list. I fully understand that, but the majority of his years and accomplishments in baseball happened on other teams. An example… his three Gold Gloves were won in the American League, not with the Mets. The same for his two all-star appearances, and his two World Series rings. And, 1998 was the only year he broke .300-BA as a Met.

Olerud chose to leave the Mets and sign a $20mil deal with Seattle.

He definitely would be higher if he played longer for us, but still, he deserves to be on this list.

5 comments:

  1. I get all kinds of hostility when I suggest when you're looking to put together an all-time Mets team that Olerud should be at 1B. Everyone naturally gravitates to Keith Hernandez and Carlos Delgado, but you can't argue with those numbers Olerud produced (including superior defense). Of course, in time Pete Alonso may obliterate the other 1B choices.

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  2. Olerud was a wonderful player. I'd rank Hernandez - Olerud - Delgado in that order, but very close. The longer tenure and World Series Championship are the separators.

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  3. Olerud was tough for me to rank.

    I have bb both Keith and Delgado higher but a good arguement could be the Delgado-Olerud ranking.

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  4. Great kickoff for the list. If Olerud didn’t have the foot speed of a glacier, he could have been MVP.

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  5. Had to be in the Top 50. He was special, but with Mets too briefly.

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