27 Years Ago Today: Mets Acquire John Olerud
Today is the 27th anniversary of the Mets’ acquisition of first baseman John Olerud. This article was originally published in 2020.
John Olerud only spent three years with the New York Mets, but he made the most of his time in Queens.
New York acquired Olerud and $5 million in cash from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Robert Person in advance of the 1997 season. The first baseman was a crucial piece of the Mets’ puzzle as they eventually ramped up to the organization’s run of success between 1998 and 2000. What’s interesting to note, though, is that this acquisition was about 10 years in the making.
Olerud was selected by the Mets in the 27th round of the 1986 MLB Draft. He opted to play baseball for Washington State University, which ended up being a wise choice as he was then selected by the Jays in the third round of the 1989 draft. He went straight to the big leagues from there.
His eight-year run in Toronto was impressive, but Olerud’s performance with the Mets was a step above that when looking at his numbers. And while he remained productive for a few years after leaving New York, it didn’t come close to what he did in the orange and blue.
As we continue waiting for baseball to come back — or at least have some kind of target date to circle on our calendars — I’m going to begin picking random former Mets players that I enjoyed watching. As a young and impressionable first baseman who threw left-handed, Olerud was the whole package between offense and defense, which made him must-watch material for me.
One of the Best Mets Seasons Ever
This franchise has been blessed with a number of talented first basemen since coming into existence. In an article last week, we posted an article that detailed some of the best first base seasons in Mets history.
Despite what Pete Alonso just did, the productive handful of years from Carlos Delgado, and the consistent dominance that Keith Hernandez brought to the table, the guy who topped them all was Olerud.
Obviously, this is the kind of debate that can lead to a different answer depending on which person answers the question. If we use fWAR as the determining factor, though, it’s not even close.
Olerud’s 1998 campaign consisted of a 167 wRC+ off the strength of a .354/.447/.551 triple slash, along with 22 home runs, 93 RBI, and 91 runs scored. When combining these numbers with his defensive value, his overall performance was pegged at 8.1 fWAR. That’s not only the highest fWAR by a first baseman in Mets history, but it’s also the second-highest of any position player donning the orange and blue. Only David Wright‘s 2007 season (8.4 fWAR) was better.
His 167 wRC+ is the highest number ever produced by a Mets player who has qualified for the batting title, and that .354 batting average is the franchise record Jeff McNeil may try and snatch away one day. Olerud’s .447 on-base percentage is also a single-season franchise record by a lengthy margin. The next-closest number in that department comes in at .427 by… also Olerud, but this time in 1999.
Impressive Offensive Trends
One of the things I love doing when looking at a ballplayer’s stat page is to discover any trends that carry over from year to year. It wasn’t hard to find one during Olerud’s Mets years, and mostly because it was a trend that was present throughout the majority of his career.
Olerud was an exceptionally patient hitter. He owned a career on-base percentage of .398 off the strength of a 14.1% walk rate, which paired nicely with an 11.2% strikeout rate. In 16 full seasons of play, the first baseman’s strikeout rate outpaced his walk rate on just three occasions (1990, 1991, and 2005).
The gap between these two increased in each of his three years in New York, though. His strikeout rate went from 10.6% to 11.0% to 9.1%, while his walk rate went from 13.5% to 14.4% to 17.3% (a single-season career-high mark). He was also consistent in the run production and power departments, finishing each season of his Mets career with at least 19 home runs, 90-plus runs scored, and 90-plus RBI.
The Whole Body of Work
We’ve already established that Olerud’s 1998 campaign is one of the best single-season performances by a Mets position player in franchise history. As one would imagine, the fWAR he produced in the other two years were also impressive — he sandwiched that 8.1-fWAR performance with 4.4 and 5.8 on either side.
Olerud produced nine different seasons with at least 3.0 fWAR, but when splitting his career into three parts — before the Mets, with the Mets, and after the Mets — it’s clear that his stint in Queens was the most dominant overall. Here’s a look at some key stats:
Although Olerud didn’t get any of his big individual (or team) accomplishments during his time with the Mets — he was a two-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion, an AL batting champ, and three-time Gold Glove Award winner — the unassuming left-hander made his mark in a short period of time. So much so that his name is still at or near the top of certain franchise leaderboards more than 20 years after he last suited up for New York.
That’s a pretty darn good legacy to leave.
The post 27 Years Ago Today: Mets Acquire John Olerud first appeared on Metsmerized Online.