JOHN OLERUD
WASHINGTON STATE |
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If one were to label John Olerud’s
sophomore season at Washington State in 1988 as merely “pretty
good”, it would be as gross of an understatement as
to saying  Jared
Fogel simply lost “a couple of pounds” by eating
Subway sandwiches. In simple terms, Olerud was a statistical
freak. He feasted on opposing pitchers, devouring them like
Fogel disposed of footlong veggies. Olerud hit .464 with 108
hits (both of which are still WSU records) in just 233 at
bats and clubbed 23 homeruns with 21 doubles and three triples.
He scored 83 times and drove in 81 RBI – a number which
also still stands after twenty years still stands as the highest
in school history. Based on those numbers alone Olerud was
a shoo-in for unanimous All American honors. However that’s
just half the story. The Washington native was also a lights
out pitcher, starting 16 games and appearing in 19 for the
Cougars. He went a perfect 15-0 on the mound, compiling 113
strikeouts and allowing just 100 hits in 122.2 innings. His
pitching prowess was unprecedented in Cougar history and not
eclipsed until future MLB All Star Aaron Sele appeared in
Pullman in the early 90’s and eclipsed his strikeout
totals.
Olerud had already been on pro scouts’
radar before becoming a Cougar - he was a 27th round draft
choice out of high school despite making his intentions to
go to college well known. He also impressed as a freshman,
batting .414 in limited action (38 games, 58 at bats) and
went 8-2 with a 3.00 ERA on the mound in 14 appearances, but
after he walked away with the NCAA Player of the Year title
as a sophomore, teams were jonesing to sign him to their rosters.
However something happened in his junior year preseason that
didn’t just threaten his playing career, but his life.
Inexplicable intense headaches had been plaguing
Olerud and while jogging one  January
morning at WSU’s Hollingbery Fieldhouse, he suffered
a grand mall seizure which sent him to the hospital and left
him unconsciousness for an hour. For two weeks he was mandated
to a hospital bed while probing physicians tried to find the
source of his afflication. After the cause of collapse couldn’t
immediately be determined the resilient Olerud soon started
preparing for the hardball season, but a month later an X-ray
taken at an alternate angle during a follow up at University
of Washington Medical Center finally revealed that source
of the problem. Olerud was diagnosed with a subarachnoid hemorrhage
that caused bleeding into his spinal column. A six hour surgery
in which a piece of skull from behind his left eye was removed
corrected the aneurysm and amazingly he was back to playing
baseball within a few weeks. In order to protect against line
drives and collisions which could result in contact with his
skull, doctors advised Olerud to always wear a protective
batting helmet while out in the field.
Despite being atrophied due to injury, Olerud
was still able to put up respectable numbers in limited action
as a junior. In 27 games, he compiled 28 hits in 78 at bats
for a .359 batting average with 16 extra base hits and 30
RBI. As a pitcher he went 3-1 with a 4.88 ERA and only walked
a single batter in 24 innings.
When the amateur draft came along, Olerud
and his family actually discouraged teams from selecting him
and he prepared to come back for his senior year to prove
himself ready for the bigs. Most clubs obliged, yet the Toronto
Blue Jays and GM Pat Gillick weren’t convinced that
the lanky lefty wasn’t for pro ball. They choose Olerud
in the third round and after scouting him throughout the summer
as he played for the Palouse Cougars of the Alaskan Summer
League they made him offer we couldn’t refuse. The Blue
Jays were so certain of his ability they offered Olerud $825,000
and included a guarantee that he could begin his career in
the majors - even with Toronto being in the midst of a pennant
race.
Olerud inked his first professional deal
on August 26, 1989, and just days later, on September 3rd,
he singled in his first major league at-bat against German
Gonzales of the Minnesota Twins - the first of 2,239 hits
during an accomplished career. He was a two time All Star
(1993, 2001) and won a trio of Gold Gloves at first base (2000,
2001, 2003). In 1993 Olerud flirted with .400 before faltering
late, but still led the American League in batting (.363)
and on base percentage (.473) and finished third in MVP voting.
In 2007, Olerud, along with his former WSU
coach Chuck "Bobo" Brayton who was instrumental
in his development as a player, were named to the College
Baseball Hall of Fame.
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