John Olerud was a Seriously Underrated Baseball Player 

“You’re going to the mets game too? Nice. What row are you sitting in?” “First base”

John Olerud is a Jays LEGEND. We love him here.

When I was a little kid around 1990, my family saw three Jays games when they played the Twins in Minnesota. Before one of the games my brother and I got to watch some of the Jays take batting practice. After Kelly Gruber smacked a ball out into the bleachers, my brother got it and asked him to sign it for us. He did, and nothing against Kelly Gruber, but you could tell it was just a routine nothing to him, and after tossing it back to us he went about his day. Just then John Olerud came out of the dugout and we asked him to sign some kind of program or something, and he was so sheepish and actually pointed at himself and said "me?" when we asked him! He signed it for us and seemed genuinely happy to do it. I'll never forget that humility. Great guy.

John Olerud isn't just the kind of guy I want on my team - he's the kind of guy I want NINE of. Everyone should look at him as the example of how to be a professional player.

Did I know who John Olerud was before this? No, no I did not. Do I love him w everything I own now? Yes, yes I do.

For those unaware, the story goes like this: When Henderson signed with Olerud's Mariners in 2000, he came up to Olerud and asked about the helmet the first baseman always wore in the field. After learning the reason -- Olerud suffered an aneurysm in college, and wore the helmet to protect his head -- Henderson said, "Man, I played with someone like that in New York." And Olerud's response: "Yeah, Rickey, that was me." Apocryphal, but funny nonetheless!

Apparently he just lost a teenage daughter to an illness this month. Thanks for doing this video. As a Jay's fan from those years I always thought he was super underrated. The guy could rake.

I was starting to think Olerud was a figment of my imagination. No one ever seemed to remember him. Thank you for saving my sanity

Griffey's swing is rightfully considered the most beautiful in baseball history, but Olerud's wasn't too far behind.

Jays fans out here like "You're not telling me anything new here."

I vividly remember meeting John Olerud at a big Toronto suburb church in 1990. He came out to hang out with a bunch of youngsters for the heck of it. He was so calm and normal. It was incredible.

And he is in MLB The Show 20 too. I would for sure love to have John Olerud on my team. Heck, would even love to get his autograph!

We love John in Seattle. ALWAYS will!

Fred McGriff, John Olerud, Carlos Delgado. Not a bad streak at first for the Jays. All great ballplayers. All underrated. All should be getting a better look for the Hall of Fame.

I watched Olerud while he was in Toronto. Everybody I knew considered him to have the sweetest smoothest swing in baseball.

It's nice that Mariners seem to be the talk of the RU-vidrs town recently.

John had the sweetest swing. John is one of my favourite players although that whole Jays team was awesome. I wish him well

Easily one of my favorite Mets of all time. His time here was too short.

I’m sorry are we just gonna skip over the fact Lenny dkstya blackmailed umpires???

John Olerud was the reason the Blue Jays thought it would be okay to trade 1B Fred McGriff to the Padres for OF Joe Carter. The Toronto Blue Jays obviously had confidence in John Olerud.

John Olerud is my favourite player of all-time. Watching him be an integral part of two World Series Championships was the highlight for me. The biggest testament to his character was how he voluntarily gave up his spot in the line up to Paul Molitor, in the 1993 World Series away games, as the didn’t have the Designated Hitter position.

One of my favorite Mets. A joy to watch him play. It was always exciting to see him hit a home run because he wasn't a power guy.

I remember how much he was talked about in 1993 because he was hitting 400 for the majority of the season.

Olerud and Rickey Henderson were briefly teammates on the 93 Jays, winning the World Series. Years later, they were teammates on the Mets. Henderson noted that Olerud wore a helmet while fielding, and mentioned he played with a guy like that before. Olerud responded, "That was me"

No one in Toronto has ever forgotten how great John was. So glad he was with us for our two championships

John is one my highly respected idols growing up. It was special to see him play. He played the game right. I tip my cap to him.

I adored John Olerud when I first was a cognizant 8/9 year old baseball fan in 95/96. I recognized that solidness right from the get-go. Then, being a Mets fan, I was through the roof when he came to NY in 97. I loved him so much, I didn't really hold it against him when he went to Seattle in 2000. Made too much sense for him. Fast forward to 2010, and I was applying to grad school programs. Got rejected from every single one except Washington State in a hail mary acceptance in June. I was so excited to go somewhere, it took a couple of hours to realize I was going to the school that Olerud went to. It's an odd combo being a Met fan who loved Olerud and stumbling upon being a WSU alum after. If the world ever suffers the misfortune of my procreation, I will show my kids his swing. Here's some other things about Olerud: -John Olerud had an OPS with the Mets, in those 3 seasons, of .926. That was the highest of any Met with at least 300 PA's...until Pete Alonso's .941 in 2019. -He was unconscious during the 1999 NLCS. After the Mets went down 3-0, he hit HR early in Game 4, then won the game with 2 RBI single in the 8th off John freaking Rocker. Olerud then hit a 2-R HR in the first inning of the Grand Slam Single game the next day. -Idk if this story is apocryphal, but he *was* recognized on the subway once. Well, "recognized" because he was mistaken for Wayne Gretzky, who was a Ranger at the time. -His father was also an accomplished player at Washington State (being All-American and going to the 65 College World Series), and studied medicine while playing minor league ball. He ended up with a very accomplished medical career. He gave a talk when I was at Wazzu, but I had class during said talk and couldn't make it.

The most basic form of success as a batter is getting on base. Clearly, Olerud clearly knew how not to make an out. I had him as my first baseman on my Strato-Matic team in 93. He led my team to become the champion of the 20 team-league I was a part of back then. Definitely underrated! Thanks for creating this.

I was waiting for this video!! If Olerud was still in NY in 2000, they would’ve won for sure. Todd Zeile was great but Olerud was just so much better.

I'm so glad someone finally made this video. loved watching this guy play.

Thanks man, I needed this. He was a my favorite player growing up and I played his style of good D and hitting for average and doubles and still do to this day. John Olerud is an inspiration.

Johnny O is a legend here in Toronto - I saw his first HR live as well as his first multi HR game.. one of my alltime fav players.

John has been my favorite player since he played down the road at WSU. I remember watching Moneyball and getting so pissed that John really missed the current era, when, as the video says, he would have been valued a lot more. But then I looked at his salary history: he got a lot of money from the Mariners to play the game he loved in his hometown. So, that makes me feel a little better. Still, if peer respect is anything, I think he ranks among the best.

As an M's fan, I will NEVER forget John Olerud. Loved him

I remember him as a heck of a player. Being a Red Sox fan I saw a lot of him with the 'Jays hurt us quite a bit.

Couldn’t agree more. Olerud was one of the most underrated players of his time. Completely dependable and quite frankly, a star.

He had a sweet swing. Loved his time with the Mets 😊

More known for that sweet swing but the field helmet is definitely memorable

The Mariners were a really interesting team when Olerud was there. Bret Boone got all this credit for all the RBIs he had, but since he hit behind John Olerud and Edgar Martinez, there was someone on-base for MORE THAN HALF of Boone's plate appearances. And he hit fourth; he led off innings more often than anyone on that team except Ichiro. But when he wasn't leading the inning, there was usually someone on base (and since Olerud and Edgar were both doubles machines, probably someone in scoring position).

He was so ahead of his time. Rewatching the 93 world series it's amazing that he sat game 3 and didn't even come in for defense (he was on deck to ph but never came up). Forgetting about if he had been encouraged to walk more and pull less instead of more, if he had just been moved to hit 2nd instead of 5th he would have scored so many more runs. He got walked a lot less with hall of famers batting behind him also. If he didn't get hurt towards the end of his career or have family issues encourage him to retire "early" he would have been a lot closer to 3000 hits and maybe got some love from the dinosaurs. Also he had the most aesthetically pleasing swing I've ever seen.

I always wondered why he had a batting helmet when he was on defense. Now I know

Olerud and McGriff. They had a strong run at 1B.

As a 90s kid who played first base and hit for contact pretty well, I definitely knew and admired Olerud.

Still one of the sweetest swings! As a 10 year old jays fanatic I always loved him and Devon white

He was a role model of mine. I'm grown up now, but I still aspire to carry myself like him.

I loved watching Johnny-O play for the Mariners. Fabulous player.

My freshmen year at WSU I remember Olerud hitting over.460 while going 15-0 as a pitcher. He was pretty amazing.

Years ago when I still played baseball, I actually really liked Olerud and didn't understand why he wasn't appreciated more. He started at first base at the first MLB game I ever spectated (SEA@BOS May 2004). I'm glad people are really starting to realize how valuable and unique players like him actually were. Lots of really great players were so easily forgotten in the PED era.

I always had mad respect for Olerud. He was never super spectacular when he played so he got overlooked but his consistency is amazing.

Had the smoothest swing ever. Hands down the best overall hitter I've ever watched play the game. And I saw a lot of his games in the 7 years in Toronto.

O's fan here. I've only ever had 2 baseball players jerseys... Cal Ripken Jr. and John Olerud. I'm probably the only O's fan to ever be seen in a Blue Jays or Mets jersey that wasn't due to losing a bet (Had both a Blue Jays & Mets Olerud jersey, felt less tacky wearing the Mets one though). "Hey, I thought you were a Birds fan?" "I am." "What's with the Jays/Mets jersey then?" *turns around and shows the name OLERUD written across the back* "Ah, gotcha. Fair enough." It's like my Colts and Broncos Manning jerseys. I don't like the Colts or the Broncos, but I love my boy from theTennessee Vols, Peyton Manning. Great video on John Olerud. Thanks for posting it.

He was a great Met and the fans loved him. I was heartbroken when he left, broke up the best fielding infield ever.

Do Mark Grace!

Here's my All-Olerud (underrated players)team: P- Lance Lynn, C- Mitch Garver, 1B- Freddie Freeman, 2B- Ketel Marte, 3B- Eugenio Suarez, SS- Andrelton Simmons, OF- Jorge Soler, Austin Meadows, Ender Inciarte

Blue Jays fan always was a huge fan of John Olerud, he was production. Saw him with jays against mariners in seattle, his home run won the game. Very good video thanks for this!

The tribute is much appreciated. This man was stellar performer for the Mets during those three years. There was quite a bit of disappointed when he departed for Seattle.

Wow, can't say I've heard of Olerud before this video, but how does a guy that hit .363 in the Blue Jays championship season not get talked about more often?

Me and my dad still use him as our standard for a perfect swing

Met fan here... he was clutch...quiet..respectful...and a baseball player.. wish we can have more of these guys in the league..

Lifelong Seattle Mariners fan here: I love John Olerud's style of ball playing and the fact that he was one of the best additions to The Mariners for the seasons he played with us. Criminally underrated player.

I just looked at his stats today before the video he was underrated

I've never click on a video SO fast

I’m not much of a baseball fan anymore but I always remembered John Olerud. His name made me watch this and wow. I forgot how good he was. Fantastic video. Thanks for taking me back.

I've always liked Olerud and wondered why noone else noticed him

Anyone here remembers John Olerud in the MLB Showdown card games?

There's so much Mariners content on RU-vid lately! I'm loving it! Olerud was (and honestly probably still is) my mom's favorite player his entire Mariners tenure

Wow! It's cool to see all of the love for Olerud no matter where he played. Toronto...loved. New York..loved. Seattle..loved. I am sure if he played for the Angels back in the day, I would had loved him play for my team, too.

I've met Michael Kay on the train once and didn't even realize until I got off the train, I tweeted him after 😂 he said he woulda given me a pic too

"John Olerud played three minor league games ever. They were in 2005. The Blue Jays promoted him directly to the major leagues in 1989." Damn - JO was a time traveller as well!!

The one thing I loved about him was when he got pitched inside, like way inside, he didn't react at all. Totally cool, like you were not getting inside his head, and throwing him off his game.

I was at the game when he hit for the cycle. We left early as we were shit faced, but caught the homerun on TV at home. Absolute bomb too.

I feel Freddie freemen also brakes the stereotypical first basemen mold

I feel like I belong to a special group of people because I recognized his name instantly.

Awesome video! Loved watching Olerud when I was a kid in the 90s!

Me too he was one of my favourite players, that year he was chasing 400 was so exciting and boy was that a sweet swing

Ahh yes, the Joey Votto of the 1990's. Also to add to that ops+ showing how good he was, consider how ops+ accounts for the era a player plays in and this was the power mad 1990's, so in 1993 John Olerud was 86% better than the average hitter in possibly the most power mad era in baseball history, by not focusing on home runs.

When I first heard Little Richard's Tutti-Frutti years ago, I thought the chorus was "Tutti-Frutti, Olerud-y."

I was in a car accident in September of 1991 and had a major blood clot on my brain that required me to have brain surgery to say I was badly injured is putting it lightly since the doctors told my parents I wasn't going to survive the night. Once out of the hospital the doctors told me I could never play again but I knew of John Olerud's story so my doctors ok'd me to play as long as I wore a batting helmet in the field. I had to go through all sorts of red tape with the high school athletic board but that February I was back on the field I pushed myself harder than ever to get back on the field in just 5 months overcoming the traumatic brain injury broken bones and ribs but it was John Olerud's story that inspired me to make it back. I will admit I come back too soon I should have taken a year off because I sucked pretty bad that season but to me John Olerud will always be one of my baseball hero's

Thanks for making this, my favorite player of all time that I modeled my swing after coming up in the game. He signed a ball for me during a rain delay with the Mets in 1997 and it's the only sports memorabilia I own that I care about.

Basically, John Olerud was the Kawhi Leonard of baseball.

Cito Gaston had his favorites and John wasn't one of them. He had a near perfect swing

i LOVED watching Olerud as a kid when he was with the Mets. He was always my favorite bc I could spot his helmet. Never knew why until today. Great video.

Just an awesome video. A kid from the 90s here that couldn’t agree with you more. Thanks for the video and I hope you make more focusing on individuals’ careers.

olerud was the equivalent of wade boggs and tony gwynn. great hitters that walk more than strikeouts. could have hit 30+ HRs every year but choose to put the team first

Let’s keep it at 0 dislikes, shall we? Edit: why god

One of my top all-time favs. Thank you.

As a kid growing up in the PNW playing 1st base in the 90s and early 2000's, Olerud was my dude. Always forget that he got a pair of rings with Toronto. Love to be reminded of that. I'm sure most Mariners fans feel the same about Olerud. Class act.

IF HES 86 PERCENT BETTER THAN THE AVERAGE PLAYER WHY WOULD THEY GIVE HIM UP. Just because he doesn’t hit home runs doesn’t mean he’s bad.

I was just reminiscing about those great Blue jays teams. I remember watching Olerud chasing .400 and it was amazing. A member of my favorites team chasing the legendary Ted Williams. Throw in back to back World Series wins and it was a great time to be a Jays fan! Love Olerud!

John Olerud is INSTANTLY one of my favorite players ever because of this. Thanks for making this video!

Wow, excellent video my man! Well narrated!! I’m from NY and a Mets fan and I can tell you the Olerud was one of my favorites. I knew when he was at the plate that he would get on base somehow. He was SOLID! Great fielder and just smart at the plate. And if you look at his level swing, that’s the sign of a great hitter. Mattingly had a similar swing also. Thanks for explaining why he always wore the batting helmet.

My favorite baseball player for sure - loved watching him play on the Mariners as I grew up.

One of my favorite Mets of all time. He was so good hitting 3 in front of Piazza. It's amazing he never got a gold glove until he went to Seattle. Those Mets teams with Olerud, Alfonzo, Ordonez, and Ventura were so fun to watch, especially because they were so good defensively.

That is one of the best most informative videos I've watched in a long time. Great information. Stories like this is what makes baseball the greatest sport in the world. (in my opinion).

Great video. Was a huge John Olerud fan growing up. I used to honor him by wearing my plastic Blue Jays batting helmet during the neighborhood streetball games. Great, great player.

One of the sweetest swings I’ve ever seen.......huge fan

I had legitimately never heard of him until now. Great video Mike!

Great player with the sweetest swing. He is also one of the few players in MLB history to hit for the cycle twice.

Absolutely wonderful video. I’ll never forget olerud. Especially as a Phillies fan. Hahaha he was a great first baseman and a great hitter.

One of my favourite jays of all time one of my favourite players of all times thank you for this more people need to realize how great of a player he was