All Helmet, All the Time
The Red Sox signed John Olerud to a minor league deal today. It would be his first stint in the minors since he went directly into the Toronto Blue Jays, platooning with Cito Gaston. As you can imagine, Dave McCarty is less than thrilled, but understands the need for a left-handed bat. Whenever I think of Olerud, I think of this story, which is funny, but unfortunately apocryphal:
Rickey Henderson, who played with John Olerud with the Blue Jays and Mets, knew the first baseman wore a batting helmet in the field. When the two played together again later in Seattle, Henderson said it was funny, he knew another guy in who did the same thing. Olerud replied, “That was me. We were teammates.”
One of my friends is a Seattle Mariners fan, and Olerud was one of her favorites. He’s fairly solid, but his offensive production precipitously dropped between 2002 and 2003, and the Mariners released him in July 2004. I recall that Joe Morgan would go into paroxysms of pleasure over Olerud’s swing and playing. Let’s see if he does the same when he plays for Boston.
(Spell checker wants me to replace Olerud with “Older.” One of his nicknames on baseball message boards is “Olderdude.”)
Comments
that rickey henderson/john olerud story is not true...
It has been debunked several times, both player deny it.
the reason it is funny is that Henderson and Olerud were teammates on three different teams.
mike levine ∙ 28 May 2005 ∙ 12:57 AM
click the "apocryphal" link dude.
It is one of baseball's biggest rumor.
Maybe he should have used smaller words for the sox fans...
I'm a yankee fan trapped in "Red Sox Nation"
I want olerud back on the yanks. Sox are lucky to have him.
Tino's not bad though, but I like the helmet.
arod ∙ 28 May 2005 ∙ 1:05 AM
What does your therapist say about you liking helmets, arod?
Empyreal ∙ 29 May 2005 ∙ 1:51 PM