WIAA Hall of Fame Contact
ANDY BARNES
WIAA Assistant Executive Director
abarnes@wiaa.com
(425) 282-5237 |
John Olerud
Interlake High School, 1987
John Olerud attended Interlake High School where he lettered for three years in golf and baseball. With baseball as his major focus, John led his team to the KingCo title game as a junior. Even though the team lost, John’s batting average was .435 and he pitched a record of 9-2, with an ERA of 1.54. In his senior year, John was named All-KingCo, played on the All-State Team, and was chosen the MVP Offensive Player of the All-State game.
After high school, John played baseball at Washington State University. In 1987, he batted .414 and pitched a record of 8-2, with a 3.80 ERA. He played for the United States National Team that competed in the Intercontinental Cup Baseball Tournament in Havana, Cuba, in October 1987. In 1988, John was chosen as Intercollegiate Baseball Player of the Year by Baseball America. During his junior year, John suffered a brain aneurysm and only played half the games that season while still hitting .359. During his time at WSU, he broke and set many school and PAC-10 records.
John was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989. In 1990, he was the AL Rookie of the Year and a member of the Toronto World Series Championship Team. In 1993, John won the National League Batting Championship with a .363 average, while playing for the New York Mets. He has been both an American and National League All-Star and has won Golden Glove Awards at first base for the Seattle Mariners.
John married his fellow Interlake alum, Kelly Plaisted, in 1992, and now contributes to his community through Make-A-Wish and visiting children’s hospitals. |