  john garrett olerud (; nicknamed johnny o', and big rude; born august 5, 1968), is an american former major league baseball first baseman. olerud played with the toronto blue jays (1989â96), new york mets (1997â99), seattle mariners (2000â2004), new york yankees (2004) and boston red sox (2005). a patient, productive hitter throughout his career, olerud won the american league batting title in 1993 and was runner-up for the national league batting title in 1998. also a three-time gold glove winner, he was an excellent defensive first baseman and part of sports illustrateds "greatest infield ever"sports illustrated, sept. 6, 1999 with edgardo alfonzo, rey ordÃ³Ã±ez, and robin ventura, when he played for the mets. ==career== ===washington state university=== in 1987, olerud hit .414 with 5 hr and 20 rbis. as a pitcher, he went 8-2 with a 3.00 era and was a freshman all-american. in 1988, olerud hit .464 with 23 hr, 81 rbis, 108 hits, 204 total bases, and a .876 slugging percentage. as a pitcher, he had an undefeated 15â0 season, and threw 113 ks with a 2.49 era. he was a consensus all-american as both 1b and pitcher and baseball america college player of the year. in 1989, while recovering from a brain aneurysm, olerud hit .359 with 5 hr and 30 rbi in 78 plate appearances. he threw for three wins, two losses, and a 6.68 era. he was a pac-10 north all-leagu
1968_births American_League_All-Stars American_League_batting_champions American_people_of_Norwegian_descent Baseball_players_from_Washington_(state) Boston_Red_Sox_players College_Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_inductees Gold_Glove_Award_winners Living_people Major_League_Baseball_first_basemen New_York_Mets_players New_York_Yankees_players Pawtucket_Red_Sox_players People_from_Manhattan Seattle_Mariners_players Sportspeople_from_Seattle,_Washington Toronto_Blue_Jays_players Washington_State_Cougars_baseball_players