One-Year Wonder Pt. 20: John Olerud

Every once in awhile, the Red Sox pick up a veteran player for a year, or just the stretch run that was a star at one point that I become fascinated with. It's a player that is basically only a role player at that point in their career, but may show flashes of their old brilliance. It's so unusual to see them as a member of the Red Sox, that I try to find as many of their cards as possible. This series will be about some of those players.

I really have not done John Olerud yet?  Huh.  A lot of people may not remember that Olerud played for Boston.  It was brief.  Very brief.  He had been with the Yankees in the latter part of 2004 but did not play well in the ALCS against the Red Sox.  He did not get a Major League contract until May of 2005 with the Red Sox.  He actually played briefly in Pawtucket, the Red Sox's AAA team, which was, believe it or not, the first time Olerud ever played in the minors.

John Olerud was kind of a big deal in my house growing up.  He was the first baseman for the Blue Jays for his first several seasons.  My younger brother was a big Blue Jays fan at the time.  Olerud was one of his favorite players and it was his trade to the Mets that started to sour him on baseball.  It was a pretty bad trade after all.

Olerud played in 87 games for the Red Sox in 2005.  He got quite a bit of time in due to injuries to Kevin Millar, among others, and actually played quite well.  Olerud finished the season with a line of .289/.344/.451 with seven home runs and 37 RBIs.  Not bad numbers, actually pretty decent.  Given that he was 36 at the time, they are actually fairly impressive numbers.

Unfortunately Olerud only made it into the 2005 Topps Update set.  He had the parallels of those cards as well.  It's a shame there are not more cards of Olerud with the Red Sox.

It was to be Olerud's last season in the Major Leagues.  I still think he should have gotten a little more consideration for the Hall of Fame.  He may not be quite worthy, but he should not have fallen off the ballot after the first year.

Feature: From Yankees to Red Sox

The Yankees and Red Sox have been in competition for players for a long time. Even when there is a player that one team does not want, they tend to make things difficult for the other team to get him. Recent examples include Carl Crawford, Cliff Lee, and others. The teams have also often signed players away from the other team. The Yankees have had a bit more success than the Red Sox in this regard, taking Johnny Damon and Wade Boggs away from the Red Sox in the last twenty years. Some Yankees players have left that team to join the Red Sox, and here are some of the most recent such players:

MIKE TORREZ
Mike Torrez was a Yankee for part of one season, in 1977. He was part of the purge of the Oakland Athletics and was traded to the Yankees for Dock Ellis and a couple of other players. Torrez turned in a fine season, going 14-12 with a 3.82 ERA and 90 strikeouts. After the season, Torrez signed a free agent contract with the Red Sox and spent five seasons for them. His first two seasons were his best as he won 16 games in each of them. Unfortunately, injuries took their toll. Torrez delivered the pitch that Bucky Dent hit over the Green Monster to take the one game playoff in 1978.

DON BAYLOR
Prior to the 1986 season, the Red Sox and Yankees traded designated hitters with the Red Sox sending Mike Easler to New York for Don Baylor. Baylor was pretty good in 86 as he hit .238/.344/.439/.783. Baylor crushed 31 home runs and drove in 94 runs. He was also wildly popular in the clubhouse. Easler put up a better slash line, but less than half as many home runs and fewer RBIs.

RICK CERONE
Rick Cerone joined the Red Sox as a backup catcher after his second stint with the Yankees. Cerone had not been a valuable starter in several years, but he spent most of his two years with the Red Sox as a starter since incumbent Rich Gedman was suffering through injuries. Cerone hit .255/.323/.352/.675 with the Red Sox. Cerone later returned to the Yankees for a third time in 1990.

MIKE STANLEY
Mike Stanley won a Silver Slugger for the Yankees in 1993 after hitting 26 home runs and was an All Star in 1995. In 1996, Stanley joined the Red Sox and had a great year as the Red Sox catcher. He hit .270/.383/.506/.889 with 24 home runs. In 1997, Stanley also played first base and designated hitter and was again putting up big numbers. He was traded back to the Yankees late in the season for Jim Mecir and Tony Armas, Jr., who was later packaged to the Expos for Pedro Martinez. Stanley returned to the Red Sox the next year in a midseason trade with the Blue Jays, and he continued his hot hitting.

DAVID CONE
David Cone had transformed into a finesse pitcher while with the Yankees and won 20 games in 1998 and even pitched a perfect game. He had a horrendous year in 2000, losing 14 games with an ERA of 6.91. He left the Yankees to try to resurrect his career with the Red Sox in 2001. He went 9-7 with a 4.31 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 135.1 innings. A decent year, but Cone continued to have injury problems.

RAMIRO MENDOZA
Ramiro Mendoza was a big part of the Yankees bullpen for the dynasty years of 1998-2001. He left the Yankees for a free agent contract with the Red Sox in 2003 and spent two seasons in the Red Sox bullpen. Inconsistency and injuries were a problem for Mendoza. His ERA in 2003 was 6.75. He improved considerably in 2004 but was limited due to injuries and did not pitch in the postseason. He returned to the Yankees in 2005.

JOHN OLERUD
John Olerud was picked up late in the 2004 season by the Yankees, but he did not produce much for them. He was let go as a free agent after the season. The Red Sox picked him up in May to platoon with Kevin Millar at first base. Olerud played 87 games with the Red Sox and hit .289/.344/.451/.795 with seven home runs in his last hurrah as a Major Leaguer.

Feature: 2010 Hall of Fame Ballot

The 2010 Hall of Fame Ballot and Veteran's Committee Ballots are out there now. Obviously, I do not have a vote in these, but I wanted to look at the players that have played part of their Major League careers with the Red Sox.

Here's the Veteran's Committee Ballot:
Vida Blue
Dave Concepcion
Steve Garvey
Ron Guidry
Tommy John
Al Oliver
Ted Simmons
Rusty Staub
Billy Martin
George Steinbrenner
Pat Gillick
Marvin Miller

No Red Sox. I hope to see Ted Simmons get in from these names.

And the main ballot:
Roberto Alomar
Carlos Baerga
Jeff Bagwell
Harold Baines
Bert Blyleven
Bret Boone
Kevin Brown
John Franco
Juan Gonzalez
Marquis Grissom
Lenny Harris
Bobby Higginson
Charles Johnson
Barry Larkin
Al Leiter
Edgar Martinez
Tino Martinez
Don Mattingly
Fred McGriff
Mark McGwire
Raul Mondesi
Jack Morris
Dale Murphy
John Olerud
Rafael Palmeiro
Dave Parker
Tim Raines
Kirk Reuter
Benito Santiago
Lee Smith
B.J. Surhoff
Alan Trammell
Larry Walker

First the Red Sox:
Carlos Baerga:
I touched on Baerga a little bit earlier on this blog. After his first six seasons, Baerga looked like a potential Hall of Famer. Unfortunately, his career fell off of a cliff after that and so did his Hall chances. If he had not declined so dramatically he might have had a shot. I think he will disappear off of the ballot in this, his first year.

John Olerud:
John Olerud is a potential sneaky candidate. His 17 year career was not filled with excellent seasons, although he did have a few. He quietly went about his business, which was mostly spent getting on base however he needed. His career OBP was .398, pretty impressive. Olerud was also a very good defensive first baseman. I think his career could get lost based on the fact that his power numbers were nowhere close to typical first base numbers. He played only part of one season with the Red Sox, but he still had a lot left and played very well for the Sox. He could go either way. He could drop off after this year, or he could build in voters minds to eventual enshrinement. Time will tell.

Lee Smith:
I planned to devote a whole post to Smith, but this will do. I think Smith belongs in the Hall of Fame. What has kept him out has been the fact that the Hall voters are not sure what to do with closers yet. The only closers in are Goose Gossage, Dennis Eckersley, Hoyt Wilhelm, Bruce Sutter, and Rollie Fingers, all of whom offered more than just one inning a game saves.

Smith was at the forefront of the revolution of closers and held the saves record for years. He was an absolutely dominating closer. He racked up nearly a strikeout per inning for his career, had a 3.03 career ERA, and saved 478 games. Of course that number has been dwarfed by both Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera since, so his case suffers in comparison.

I would like to see Smith in, and I think he could get in eventually. But it may take until the Veterans Committee.

NOTES
-I predict Roberto Alomar, Bert Blyleven, and Jeff Bagwell will get in this year.

-Bagwell, Juan Gonzalez, and Charles Johnson all spent a brief time period as Boston Red Sox, though none made it into any games.

-I think Alan Trammell, Fred McGriff, Dale Murphy, Rafael Palmeiro, Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, Tim Raines, and Larry Walker will all make it eventually.

-Kirk Reuter and Lenny Harris will not get a single vote.