John Olerud Retires

[Valadius]

Olerud tells Red Sox he's retiring

DALLAS (AP) -- First baseman John Olerud, a soft-spoken former batting champion and two-time All-Star, has retired after 16 seasons, the Boston Red Sox said on Tuesday.

Olerud, 37, was an All-Star in 1993 and 2001 and a .295 career hitter with 255 home runs and 1,230 RBIs in 2,234 games. He has played for Toronto (1989-96), the New York Mets (1997-99), Seattle (2000-04) and the Yankees (2004). He won Gold Gloves in 2000, 2002 and 2003.

Olerud won the AL batting title in 1993 with a .363 average and helped Toronto win its second consecutive World Series title.

He had surgery in November to repair torn ligaments in his foot and was on crutches until January. He signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox on May 1 and went from extended spring training to a minor-league rehab.

He batted .289 in 87 games for Boston last year.

[Zvon]

.....one of the sweetest swings Ive ever seen.
Damn, that guy could hit.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

Congrats on one helluva good career. Some good, great memories of Johnny O. and that sweet swing.

[nymr83]

easily my favorite player ever. goodbye john.

[Valadius]

Before Piazza, there was Olerud. It was Olerud's name and number on the back of my first Mets t-shirt.

[metirish]

Thanks John for the memories...

[Guest OlerudOwned]

It just kind of dawned on me how great #5 has been as far as Mets I Really, Really Like. First Olerud, still my favorite Met. Then Mr. Sparkle, who was a ton of fun to watch in '01. And now, of course, David Christ...Wright.

[smg58]

Very quietly a great player. It took the Mets six years to find a worthy replacement at his position. The thing that amazes me the most about Olerud was how somebody that tall could draw so many walks with Piazza in his prime hitting behind him.

[TransMonk]

Sweet swing, sweet smile, sweet man.

One player that I never doubted would do his job day in and day out.

One of my favorite memories was from May 23rd of 1999 when the Mets were down by 4 to the Phils in the bottom of the ninth. Johnny O capped the 5 run rally with a single to drive in the tying and winning runs as Cedeno got under the tag at the plate to seal the massive come from behind effort.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

BTW TM - it's good seeing you around again!

[MFS62]

Thank you, John, for being you.

Later

[Guest abogdan]

Olerud had maybe the best three consecutive seasons that any Met has ever had. Great hitter, great fielder, great Met.

[Elster88]

abogdan wrote: Olerud had maybe the best three consecutive seasons that any Met has ever had.

I wouldn't go that far, but it was great to have him on the team.

[Valadius]

Great Met, certainly.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Thanks for the memories. I wish him all the best in his retirement.

[dinosaur jesus]

My favorite player when he played in Toronto and I lived there. He should have been MVP in '93. The Mets have always been my team, and I was delighted when they got him. Most Canadians had no idea what they were missing, but you people in New York figured it out. Mets fans are the best, damnit.

[Willets Point]

Oh wow, now I'm officially old. Congrats to John Olerud on a great career three years of which spent in a Mets uniform where he played quite well.

[Guest abogdan]

Give me someone who put up better lines than this as a Met in three straight seasons:

1997: .294/.400/.489
1998: .354/.447/.551
1999: .298/.427/.463
Totals: .315/.425/.501

Only Piazza has three year stretches that come close, with Mike having the edge in slugging percentage and John having the edge in OBP.

Olerud's Career Met ranks according to the UMDB:
BA: #3; OBP: #1; SLG: #5 (#4 if Mike Jacobs had one less AB).

[nymr83]

Elster88 wrote: ="abogdan"]Olerud had maybe the best three consecutive seasons that any Met has ever had. I wouldn't go that far, but it was great to have him on the team.

piazza certainly never matched them as a Met....strawberry probably did but i'm not bothering to look.

[TransMonk]

OPS+

Olerud 1997-1999 : 136, 163, 131
Piazza 1999-2001: 137, 159, 150 (Piazza's time as a Met in '98 produced a 167)
Strawberry 1985-1987: 165, 140, 162 (Straw also had 165 in '88, take which 3 years you want)

Hard to calculate 3 year stints across eras and lineup roles. Straw did better in the mid-80s vs. the league average of the time. Piazza did a tad better vs. league average during the same era has Olerud.

I'll give this to Johnny, he did very little wrong in those 3 years with the Mets, put up some great numbers and helped win a lot of games.

On the all-time list of Mets players with 2000+ plate appearances he is #1 in average, OBP and OPS.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'll give you three:

Tom Seaver, 1969-1971
Tom Seaver, 1971-1973
Tom Seaver, 1973-1975

Who was Olerud Owned at the MOFo that he/she is familiar with the coinage Mr. Sparkle?

[Guest Beenso]

that phillies game that was mentioned...schilling was pitching a shutout into the 9th and i remember it like yesterday when he hit the game winner up the middle...

good times.

good luck johnny baseball

[Centerfield]

His HR off Randy Johnson in the '99 NLDS...his game-winner in Game 4 of the '99 NLCS...the Schililng game...keeping the game alive in front of Piazza's HR off Hoffman (I remember thinking beforehand, 'Well, if Johnny gets on, Piazza could win it with a HR')...Johnny O was my favorite player since Doc and Darryl. Have fun in your retirement big guy.

__________________________________________________

Creator of "the Quiet Riot"....come on! The name could still catch on!

[Elster88]

Nymr83 wrote: ="Elster88"] ="abogdan"]Olerud had maybe the best three consecutive seasons that any Met has ever had. I wouldn't go that far, but it was great to have him on the team. piazza certainly never matched them as a Met.

Um, yes he did.

Take the exact same years for Olerud (maybe plus one since Piazza only had half of the first year) and I'll guarantee that Piazza had better overall batting numbers.

OE: Monk beat me to it.

[Elster88]

Not to make it seem like I'm bashing Olerud. He did have three great years as a Met and was huge in the turnaround, and I loved watching him play. But to say he had the best three year period as a Met is silly. That's all.

[metirish]

Admit it Elster, your hammering Johnny baseball, this Jets season has turned you nasty....

[Guest Edgy DC]

Gooden, 1984-1986
Koosman, 1968-1970

[Elster88]

metirish wrote: Admit it Elster, your hammering Johnny baseball, this Jets season has turned you nasty....

I love him.

He doesn't really go by Johnny Baseball does he? Not a bootleg of Mattingly's nickname. Say it ain't so.

[seawolf17]

He did say "maybe," guys. Cool out.

What if we change abog's original statement to add the fact that those were his only years in a Met uniform? All those other guys (Piazza, Seaver, Kooz, Straw, Gooden, whoever) had a down year or two also. Ol' Johnny 5 came here, kicked ass for three years, then strode off into the deep, dark night. I don't think anyone else did that.

[metirish]

]He doesn't really go by Johnny Baseball does he? Not a bootleg of Mattingly's nickname. Say it ain't so.

I stole that from Beenso.....it just made me laugh.