Olson attended Omaha Northwest High School in Omaha, Nebraska, where he was a pitcher and led the Huskies to four straight state titles. His father, Bill Olson, was his high school coach. Olson appeared in Sports Illustrated's "Faces In The Crowd" section for the 07-16-84 Vol 61, No. 3.
In the state championship game of his senior year, Olson threw a no-hitter.
After graduating from high school in 1985, Olson went on to pitch at Auburn University for three seasons.
Professional career
Olson was drafted by the Orioles in the 1st round (4th pick) of the 1988 amateur draft, and was given a $200,000 signing bonus[3] before making his major league debut on September 2, 1988. A reliever, he threw what baseball historian Sheldon Stewart referred to as a "blazing fastball and devastating curve".[4]
Selected to the All-Star team in 1990, Olson set a club record of 37 saves during the season and collected 31 and 36 in the next two years. On July 13, 1991, Olson combined with 3 other Baltimore pitchers in a no-hitter against the Oakland Athletics.[5] In August 1993, Olson suffered a torn elbow ligament injury that sidelined him for the rest of the year. He finished with 29 saves and a career low 1.60 ERA, but Baltimore opted not to take a risk with him and signed Lee Smith as their new closer. Olson struggled with a succession of injuries over the next years, playing for seven different teams from 1994-97.
Arizona Diamondbacks 1998 #30 Gregg Olson alternate jersey
In 1998, Olson enjoyed a fruitful comeback with the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks. He set a franchise record of 30 saves (broken by Byung-hyun Kim in 2002) and was also part of a rare feat. On May 28, with Arizona leading the San Francisco Giants 8-5, Olson began the bottom of the ninth inning by striking out Darryl Hamilton, but the Giants then loaded the bases with two walks and a hit before Stan Javier had an RBIgrounder that made it 8-6. After pinch-hitterJ. T. Snow walked to load the bases, managerBuck Showalter ordered Olson to intentionally walk Barry Bonds, forcing home a run, and bringing up Brent Mayne, who worked the count full before he lined to right field for the third out. Olson put together one of the strangest saves imaginable, working around six walks in 1.1 innings. He threw 49 pitches (not counting the bases-loaded intentional walk) and only 22 of them were for strikes. Olson's only Major League hit was a home run during his last official at-bat of the 1998 season.
Olson was replaced by new closer Matt Mantei in 1999. He finished his career as a setup man for the Dodgers.
In a 14-year career, Olson compiled 217 saves with a 40-39 record, 588 strikeouts, and a 3.46 ERA in 672 innings pitched.
On March 29, 2021, Olson announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.[9][10]
Notes and references
^"Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame at MLB.com". mlb.com. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
^"Former Orioles Closer Gregg Olson: 'Huge Honor' To Be Inducted Into College Baseball HOF". pressboxonline.com. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
^Dickson, Paul (1989). The Dickson Baseball Dictionary. United States: Facts on File. p. 66. ISBN0816017417.
^"Gregg Olson Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
^Smith, Claire (14 July 1991). "Baseball; 1 Game / 4 Arms = Orioles No-Hitter". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
^Comak, Amanda (August 9, 2008). "Closer Olson enters O's Hall of Fame". MLB.com. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
^Koblin, John (2016-09-16). "Fox and Major League Baseball Team Up for 'Pitch'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
^Ruiz, Nathan (January 25, 2021). "Orioles formalize reduced broadcast crew on MASN, radio: 'We're asking fans to embrace a lot of changes'". Baltimore Sun.
^@GreggOlson30 (29 March 2021). "Hello Friends ( in best Jim Nantz voice). I found out last week that I have Prostate Cancer. I have surgery in 3 w…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^Trezza, Joe (March 30, 2021). "O's HOF Olson reveals cancer diagnosis". MLB.com.
External links
Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
gregg, olson, this, article, about, pitcher, catcher, greg, olson, baseball, united, states, marine, corps, general, gregg, olson, author, gregg, olsen, greggory, william, olson, born, october, 1966, american, former, professional, baseball, player, coach, sco. This article is about the pitcher For the catcher see Greg Olson baseball For the United States Marine Corps general see Gregg P Olson For the author see Gregg Olsen Greggory William Olson born October 11 1966 is an American former professional baseball player coach scout and television sports commentator He played in Major League Baseball as a right handed pitcher from 1988 through 2001 most prominently as a member of the Baltimore Orioles where he established himself as one of the premier relief pitchers in the American League AL Olson was named the AL Rookie of the Year in 1989 his first full season in the major leagues and the following season was named to his only American League All Star team He set an Orioles team record of 41 consecutive scoreless innings and he holds the team record for career saves Gregg OlsonOlson with the Arizona DiamondbacksPitcherBorn 1966 10 11 October 11 1966 age 56 Scribner NebraskaBatted RightThrew RightMLB debutSeptember 2 1988 for the Baltimore OriolesLast MLB appearanceJune 22 2001 for the Los Angeles DodgersMLB statisticsWin loss record40 39Earned run average3 46Strikeouts588Saves217TeamsBaltimore Orioles 1988 1993 Atlanta Braves 1994 Cleveland Indians 1995 Kansas City Royals 1995 Detroit Tigers 1996 Houston Astros 1996 Minnesota Twins 1997 Kansas City Royals 1997 Arizona Diamondbacks 1998 1999 Los Angeles Dodgers 2000 2001 Career highlights and awardsAll Star 1990 AL Rookie of the Year 1989 Pitched a combined no hitter on July 13 1991 Baltimore Orioles Hall of FameMedals Men s baseballRepresenting United StatesPan American Games1987 Indianapolis TeamWorld Junior Baseball Championship1984 Saskatoon TeamDuring Olson s major league tenure he also played for the Atlanta Braves Cleveland Indians Kansas City Royals Detroit Tigers Houston Astros Minnesota Twins Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers In 2008 Olson was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame and in 2021 he was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame 1 2 Contents 1 High school and college 2 Professional career 3 Post retirement 4 Notes and references 5 External linksHigh school and college EditOlson attended Omaha Northwest High School in Omaha Nebraska where he was a pitcher and led the Huskies to four straight state titles His father Bill Olson was his high school coach Olson appeared in Sports Illustrated s Faces In The Crowd section for the 07 16 84 Vol 61 No 3 In the state championship game of his senior year Olson threw a no hitter After graduating from high school in 1985 Olson went on to pitch at Auburn University for three seasons Professional career EditOlson was drafted by the Orioles in the 1st round 4th pick of the 1988 amateur draft and was given a 200 000 signing bonus 3 before making his major league debut on September 2 1988 A reliever he threw what baseball historian Sheldon Stewart referred to as a blazing fastball and devastating curve 4 In 1989 Olson became the first reliever to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award Olson also set an American League rookie record with 27 saves and had a 5 2 mark with a 1 69 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 85 innings Selected to the All Star team in 1990 Olson set a club record of 37 saves during the season and collected 31 and 36 in the next two years On July 13 1991 Olson combined with 3 other Baltimore pitchers in a no hitter against the Oakland Athletics 5 In August 1993 Olson suffered a torn elbow ligament injury that sidelined him for the rest of the year He finished with 29 saves and a career low 1 60 ERA but Baltimore opted not to take a risk with him and signed Lee Smith as their new closer Olson struggled with a succession of injuries over the next years playing for seven different teams from 1994 97 Arizona Diamondbacks 1998 30 Gregg Olson alternate jerseyIn 1998 Olson enjoyed a fruitful comeback with the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks He set a franchise record of 30 saves broken by Byung hyun Kim in 2002 and was also part of a rare feat On May 28 with Arizona leading the San Francisco Giants 8 5 Olson began the bottom of the ninth inning by striking out Darryl Hamilton but the Giants then loaded the bases with two walks and a hit before Stan Javier had an RBI grounder that made it 8 6 After pinch hitter J T Snow walked to load the bases manager Buck Showalter ordered Olson to intentionally walk Barry Bonds forcing home a run and bringing up Brent Mayne who worked the count full before he lined to right field for the third out Olson put together one of the strangest saves imaginable working around six walks in 1 1 innings He threw 49 pitches not counting the bases loaded intentional walk and only 22 of them were for strikes Olson s only Major League hit was a home run during his last official at bat of the 1998 season Olson was replaced by new closer Matt Mantei in 1999 He finished his career as a setup man for the Dodgers In a 14 year career Olson compiled 217 saves with a 40 39 record 588 strikeouts and a 3 46 ERA in 672 innings pitched Post retirement EditOn March 19 2008 Olson was elected to the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame and was inducted during a pre game ceremony at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 9 2008 6 He is currently a scout for the San Diego Padres In 2016 Olson served as pitching coach to actress Kylie Bunbury who played Ginny Baker on the scripted FOX television series Pitch 7 From 2017 to 2020 Olson was a color analyst for Orioles broadcasts on MASN 8 On March 29 2021 Olson announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer 9 10 Notes and references Edit Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame at MLB com mlb com Retrieved 23 October 2022 Former Orioles Closer Gregg Olson Huge Honor To Be Inducted Into College Baseball HOF pressboxonline com Retrieved 23 October 2022 Dickson Paul 1989 The Dickson Baseball Dictionary United States Facts on File p 66 ISBN 0816017417 Gregg Olson Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac Baseball almanac com Retrieved 2020 04 06 Smith Claire 14 July 1991 Baseball 1 Game 4 Arms Orioles No Hitter The New York Times Retrieved 25 August 2011 Comak Amanda August 9 2008 Closer Olson enters O s Hall of Fame MLB com Retrieved 2008 10 22 Koblin John 2016 09 16 Fox and Major League Baseball Team Up for Pitch The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2016 12 09 Ruiz Nathan January 25 2021 Orioles formalize reduced broadcast crew on MASN radio We re asking fans to embrace a lot of changes Baltimore Sun GreggOlson30 29 March 2021 Hello Friends in best Jim Nantz voice I found out last week that I have Prostate Cancer I have surgery in 3 w Tweet via Twitter Trezza Joe March 30 2021 O s HOF Olson reveals cancer diagnosis MLB com External links EditCareer statistics and player information from MLB or ESPN or Baseball Reference or Fangraphs or Baseball Reference Minors Gregg Olson Baseballbiography comPreceded byTommy Greene No hit gameJuly 13 1991 with Milacki Flanagan amp Williamson Succeeded byDennis Martinez Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gregg Olson amp oldid 1120942381, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
