Seattle Mariners Throwback Thursday: John Olerud

The Seattle Mariners have had some interesting first baseman throughout their career. From players getting robbed of Gold Glove Awards because they didn’t hit enough home runs (David Segui), to the other Martinez’s (Tino), to Dae-Ho Lee. The most interesting of them may have been John Olerud.

It seemed like he was in Seattle a lot longer than just four and a half years. Yet, that’s all that he was there. He signed back in 2000 in advance of his age 31 season. He would be released in late July of 2004 at the age of 34, just a week or so shy of his birthday.

Arguably the most memorable John Olerud moment during his time with the Seattle Mariners came on June 16th, 2001.

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• Forgotten Mariners Friday: First Baseman Bryan LaHair
• Forgotten Mariners Friday: Outfielder James Jones
• What If… The Mariners Didn’t Trade Michael Pineda?

John Olerud and the rest of the Seattle Mariners were down in San Diego playing against the Padres. It was nothing out of the ordinary when Olerud hit a double to lead off the second. It was more out of the ordinary in the third when he hit a triple, just one of two he would hit in nearly 3,000 plate appearances on the Mariners.

In the fifth, he would hit a single and was now a bomb away from becoming the third Mariners (at the time) to hit for the cycle. It’s a good thing he got the fifth at-bat, as it took him until the 9th inning to finish the deed.

What’s crazy is that Olerud only hit 13 triples in his career. That means that in just over 15% of the games he hit a triple, he would hit for the cycle, having first done it in 1997.

During his time in Seattle, Olerud wouldn’t quite hit as well as he did during his first 11 seasons in which he was a .301 hitter. He did hit .289 still during his first four years, not much of a dip. The big change came on defense, where he would win three Gold Gloves in four years, the only time he would ever win the award.

What many people may not know about John Olerud is that he was the original Shohei Otani. During his freshman season in college, he hit .414 with five homers and went 8-2 on the mound with a 3.00 ERA. If you think that is good, it pales in comparison to his sophomore year at Washington State. He would hit .464 with 23 homers, 81 RBI, go 15-0 on the mound with a 2.49 ERA and 113 strikeouts. Obviously, he was named college player of the year.

His junior year is the reason he wore a helmet when he played. While running in the offseason, he collapsed, and it was discovered he had a brain aneurysm. He was never the same after that, especially as a pitcher, and would give it up after his junior year. He was still a great hitter though, highlighted by his masterful 1993 season. He actually was hitting over .400 in August but would finish the season at .363.

John Olerud, if not for his unfortunate injury in his junior year of college, could’ve gone down as one the greatest players to ever play the game. Instead, he is remembered for being one of the nicest guys in the league, still a great hitter with a great eye, and a beloved member of the 2001 Seattle Mariners league tying 116 win team.