John Olerud: A Seriously Underrated First Baseman (Olerud needs more recognition than he has!)

[@montyswingwell5945]

Had such a sweet swing, he made it look effortless.

[@bluemonkjd]

The Rickey Henderson story must be mentioned. When Rickey came over to the Mets, he noticed Olerud, and said, "Hey, I see you wear a batting helmet when you're in the field. I used to have a teammate that did that too." To which Olerud replied, "Yes, Rickey, that was also me. In Toronto."

[@KardiFan2000]

That story was made up though. Apparently, somebody on the Mariners staff made up the story, but everybody believed it because it sounds like something that Rickey would say lol.

[@omalley5196]

I love that story!!! I wish it was true cause it's funny as hell. I laugh every time I hear it. But plenty of former teammates of Ricky said that's gotta be false. He was a cocky ass dude in interviews and came off as dumb but was actually a very good teammate and far more intelligent then you'd think by listening to him speak. They all say he'd definitely remember someone of Olerud's skill level. So I wanna believe but I just can't anymore. All signs point to BS or strange baseball folklore. Its amazing that stories like that made their rounds before the internet and social media. I heard it told so many times back in the day I had to believe it was true. It's like the Richard Gere story! People all over the world believed that years before the internet was a thing. Poor guy! Ricky's story might make him like vein but it's at least funny, not Richards so much!!! The internet actually set me straight on those urban legends.

[@bigzizzo]

😂😂😂

[@KardiFan2000]

He was the most underrated Blue Jay on those '92 and '93 championship teams.

[@SuperStrik9]

Olerud's swing was a thing of beauty.

[@southsider3542]

Olerud was a truly great player, a lot of people don't know is that he was also a phenomenal pitcher in college at Washington State. He ended up having an aneurysm (which is why he wore the batting helmet even when he was fielding), so he probably could've been the Shohei Ohtani or Brendan McKay of the 90s if he wanted to. To this day, the John Olerud Award is given to the best two way player in college baseball

[@54raynor]

His 1988 season is often considered the best individual season in College Baseball history, hitting .464 with 23 home runs AND going 15-0 with a 2.49 ERA on the mound.

[@ItsAlwaysRusty]

Class act.. Humble player who didn't showboat and played the game quietly. He let his skill speak for him . Heard he was a great teammate as well.

[@Krivack]

Johnny O's swing was a pure poetry in motion! Quick, elegant, smooth, effortless... DEVASTATING!

[@BoiseFreerunner]

John Olerud needs to be in the hall

[@mateomarli8952]

one of my grandpa’s favorite players. He does need way more recognition

[@nicasionohart]

He is a Bluejays legend 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@michaelbaucom4019]

Should be in the Hall. And a nice man to boot.

[@moshe7332]

great video

[@GeorgeSchlichter-pr8fl]

I think they got the names on the level of Excellence mixed up. This man belongs there

[@utleyduckling9790]

He and Rafy Palmeiro have very similar swings - smooth as silk

[@stephenmiller2337]

Tremendous hitter, and very good fielder. He always kept his head down through the swing, which takes a tremendous amount of discipline, and had the sweetest swing in the game. He also had very good range and instincts at first, and has some well deserved WS titles under his belt. He's also a very shy and low key guy who's a good guy. He should be in the HOF.

[@chrisstarr4523]

I always loved that center field shot at the old Yankee Stadium.

[@rafterscott]

17 year career with a career average of .295, 18 homers, 89 RBIs. Perhaps best of all was his career .995 fielding percentage. Sadly I doubt he'll get into the hall.

[@KardiFan2000]

Not to mention a .399 career on-base percentage, which not many players have managed to achieve.

[@ryancalhoun2910]

@@nicolashalbleib6237 Championships don't factor in to HOF considerations in baseball. This isn't hoops or football.

[@shermanngjazz]

Olerud should've had more All Star appearances.

[@smallworldbigworld-yi3xw]

A lot of cheaters took his spot.

[@NevadaLamb]

I fell in love with Olerud during his Mariner years! (grew up in Seattle). There was something I loved about him. Probably the helmet. 😂 it made him unique. He was a player you could count on. Real cool to see the clips of him as a Jay!

[@Bluejay1999ad]

I collect John Olerud baseball cards

[@baristaleejh]

Respect!!

[@edsonbojorquez2913]

Blue jay fan giving de good old finger to the outfield at minute 2:12 is great

[@pieroysumalaconducta2272]

Amazing player....

[@obscurereference6298]

A first balloter to the "Hall of Really Good"

[@zachcomposto535]

Most underrated player of all time

[@swagobaseball4511]

Just curious... But if you have access to some games, and would be able to put them up... Some Games with Jose Canseco. Texas Rangers | 1992 - 1994 Boston Red Sox | 1995 - 1996 Oakland Athletics 1997 Toronto Blue Jays | 1998 Tampa Bay Rays - 1999 Chicago White Sox - 2001 NY Yankees - 2000 Canseco had some great years on these teams and you never see anyone put games up from this time...

[@akgyrator]

That's my Ole :)

[@theblackmamba2433]

Good ole johnny olerud

[@njd9143]

Left handed swings look better than right handed idk why

[@jamessykes2760]

Sweetest swing

[@explained5000]

Should be in the HOF

[@herotomillions4095]

If he was a legend on any other team, he probably would be

[@brianlaurent8041]

He should have been given way more gold gloves. He would make bad throws to first look routine.

[@RecorderPlayer2]

I'll never understand why the Red Sox didn't give him a shot at the 1st base position in 2005/2006. They had Kevin Millar, who I guess was a star of the 2004 team, but the contrast between them was astonishing - MIllar playing 1st was a little like Frankenstein, Olerud was like a ballet dancer. And in the limited time with them Olerud hit around .330 for most of the year until he cooled off and ended up around .290. Olerud hitting in Fenway Park -> even at that age I'll bet he would have hit .320 or so for a couple of years. In 1993, his breakout year, he was hitting over .400 into LATE AUGUST. I can remember thinking "this might be it - he might be the one to do it."

[@박성호-f7y5f]

mr. helmet. i remember him as it..

[@SaltyStripper]

Where do you get all this high quality game footage?

[@jeffk393]

That was my first thought. These look like the original master tapes

[@ronfowlermusic]

How about David Segui?

[@smallworldbigworld-yi3xw]

All the roiders kept Olerud from looking like the HOF player he was.

[@briancalifornia1]

Weird that he wore a helmet when playing first base

[@ryancalhoun2910]

Aneurysm, bro

[@john9391]

tell us you don't know what overrated means without telling us, i d i o t