| Garrett Olson | |
|---|---|
| New York Mets | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: October 18, 1983 Fresno, California |
|
| Bats: Right | Throws: Left |
| MLB debut | |
| July 4, 2007 for the Baltimore Orioles | |
| Career statistics (through April 8, 2011) |
|
| Win–loss record | 14–22 |
| Earned run average | 6.14 |
| Strikeouts | 193 |
| Teams | |
Garrett Andrew Olson (born October 18, 1983, in Fresno, California) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball
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Olson attended Buchanan High School in Clovis, California. He played for the Anchorage Bucs in the Alaska Baseball League in 2004, going 7–0 with a 0.88 ERA, and was a Summer League First-Team All-American starting pitcher.
He attended Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo for college, where in his last year he was 12–4 with a 2.71 ERA. In 2005, he was a Big West Conference All-Star starting pitcher. Olson is just a few credits short of an engineering degree.
Olson was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles as a sandwich pick between the 1st and 2nd rounds (48th overall) of the 2005 draft.
He spent most of the 2005 season at Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds, and was named the 8th-best prospect in the New York-Penn League. He allowed one run or fewer in 10 of his 11 games. He pitched 6 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out 8, in his last start on August 15 at Staten Island. Olson then pitched for the Single-A Frederick Keys, held opponents to a .192 batting average, and was named the Orioles' 6th-best prospect by Baseball America following the season.
In 2006, he advanced from Single-A Frederick to Double-A Bowie, going a combined 10–9 with a 3.10 ERA, and striking out 162 batters in 165.2 innings. He was again named the Orioles' 6th-best prospect by Baseball America following the season, and was named the Baltimore Orioles Minor League Player of the Year.
Olson was invited to the All-Star Futures Game. He was called up by the Orioles organization to be a starting pitcher again after July 4 start in Chicago. He was mentioned, but did not participate in the 2007 All-Star Futures Game, representing the United States team.
Through 2007, in his minor league career he was 21–17 with a 2.95 ERA, and had averaged 7.37 hits and 8.82 strikeouts per 9 innings.
Olson was promoted from the Triple-A Norfolk Tides to take the place of injured Orioles starter Steve Trachsel, and he made his major league debut on Independence Day of 2007 against the Chicago White Sox. He would have earned the win in his debut, but he only pitched 4⅓ innings, falling two outs shy of the 5 innings required to qualify for a win. He earned his first career win in his next start, also against the White Sox, on July 14. He gave up 2 runs in 5⅓ innings, both on solo home runs by Jermaine Dye, and the Orioles went on to win 5–3.
Olson committed his first career error in his debut on July 4. After allowing the first batter he faced in his career, left fielder Andy González, to reach base via a walk, he made a throwing error on a pickoff attempt, allowing Gonzalez to reach second base. His first career strikeout came three batters later, as Paul Konerko was called out on a 2–2 pitch.
On June 28, 2008, Olson earned his first career hit vs. the Washington Nationals against Jesús Colomé in the sixth inning.
He went to 3–0 on 8% of all batters he faced in 2008, the highest percentage in the majors.[1]
On January 18, 2009, Olson was traded to the Chicago Cubs with a minor-leaguer for Félix Pie.[2] Just 10 days later, he was traded along with Ronny Cedeño to the Seattle Mariners for Aaron Heilman.[3]
On April 1, 2009, Olson was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma to begin the season.[4] He was called up on May 6 because of an injury to relief pitcher Shawn Kelley. Olson soon took the rotation spot from teammate Chris Jakubauskas.[5]
He compiled a 3.72 ERA in 12 relief appearances covering 19 1/3 innings. In 11 starts, he is 3–5 with a 6.49 ERA through August 10. This is why he was sent to the bull pen to become a reliever. Olson stated he felt comfortable in both roles.[6]
Olson was again optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on August 20 to clear roster space for Infielder Bill Hall.[7]
On September 13 Olson was called-up again to the Mariners. This is his third stint with the team in '09. With Tacoma, Olson went 2–3 with a 4.94 ERA and notched the Rainiers' only playoff win against the Sacramento River Cats.
On March 18, 2011, the Mariners placed Olson on waivers. He was later claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.[8] He was designated for assignment on April 17.[9]
Olson signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets on December 12, 2011.[10]
He currently resides in Clovis, California. He majored in mechanical engineering in college.
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