TTM Stats
- Sent: 11/18/2019 | Received: 3/27/2020 | 129 Days
- ’98 Pinnacle, ’98 Fleer Tradition
- Address: Home (address from Sports Card Forum)
The Story of the Autograph
John Olerud is a former first baseman in the major leagues. He played for the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox from 1989 to 2005.
Olerud was born and raised in the state of Washington. He played basketball and golf as well as baseball while he was in high school and led his team to the state championship in 1986. That same year the Mets first drafted him in the 27th round of the MLB Draft but he instead chose to attend college. He went to Washington State University and pitched in addition to playing the field. He was a tremendous hitter but he also went 15-0 in 1988 with a 2.49 ERA and 113 strikeouts on his way to being name College Player of the Year.
Prior to the 1989 season he collapsed while running and it was found that he had a brain aneurysm and had surgery. He still played baseball that spring and wore a batting helmet while playing the field which famously stuck with him throughout his career. The Blue Jays drafted him that year in the third round of the draft. He had planned to go back to school but the Blue Jays enticed him to sign.
Olerud had some really great years in just about every place he went. He made the All-Star team twice (in 1993 with the Blue Jays and in 2001 with the Mariners) and won three Gold Gloves. He won a batting title in 1993 with a .363 average. That wasn’t the only time he hit over .350. He did it again in 1998 with the Mets when he hit .354. He was also a big part of the Blue Jays back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and 1993.
Olerud retired following the 2005 season with the Red Sox. In 2007 he was inducted in to the National College Baseball Hall of Fame and in 2016 he was name Pac-12 Player of the Century. This year he was name to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Score on John Olerud – 9
John is well known as being one of the nicest ballplayers ever. He’s always seemed to be accommodating as a signer and really does a great job on your cards. I don’t have many cards from this era so it’s great to get them signed. The Fleer Tradition card is really classic Olerud to me with the batting helmet, plus it’s just a great picture.
Thanks Mr. Olerud! I’m giving this return a 9 (I’m sure some Mets bias plays into this some).
>>> READ MORE ABOUT MY AUTOGRAPH SCORING SYSTEM <<<
Thanks for visiting BravestarrCards.com: Card Collecting and TTM Autographs.
Information gathered using Wikipedia and Baseball Reference.