Hall of Fame
John G. Olerud had one of the finest careers of any Cougar athlete, in any sport, in Washington State history. During his three seasons (1987-89) in a Cougar baseball uniform, Olerud rewrote the WSU record books and became the only Cougar baseball athlete ever to be named College Athlete of the Year. Olerud was the only pitcher in NCAA history to win 15 games and hit 20 home runs as he was 15-0 in 1988 and hit 23 that year. He still holds numerous WSU records, including career batting average at .434 and single season batting average at .464. On the mound Olerud was 26-4 and posted a 3.17 ERA while throwing 241.1 innings over his three seasons. During his career he set two Pac-10 records and 10 Pac-10 North marks. His sophomore season was truly magical - he set or equaled 12 school records while being named Athlete of the Year by Baseball America. It included a 22-game hitting streak and a slugging percentage of .876. In January prior to his junior year at WSU, Olerud suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a type of brain seizure. He missed the first 28 games of the spring season, but returned to hit .359 for WSU over the final 27 games. Prior to his senior season, Olerud signed a contract with Toronto and went directly to the Major Leagues. In 1993, he became the first Blue Jay to win a batting title, hitting .363. That year he became just the ninth MLB player since 1900 to collect 200 hits and walk 100 times. Olerud played for Toronto, the New York Mets and Yankees, Seattle and Boston during his 17-year career. In 2001 he joined his father, John Sr., in the WSU Athletics Hall of Fame, and is a member of the College Baseball, State of Washington and Inland Northwest Sports Halls of Fame. The John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, given annually by the College Baseball Hall of Fame, was named in his honor.
