New York Mets' Olerud had understated 1998 Season
1998 is one of those hallmark years in baseball history. It will forever be remembered as the year Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa captured the nation’s eyes with their chase of Roger Maris’ single-season home run record, then chase themselves for the all-time title. But one player for the New York Mets get’s frequently overlooked.
Maybe you’ll also remember it as the year an incredible Yankees team chased the regular season wins record. Sure, they ended up with 114 — two shy of tying the record for most regular season victories– but they steamrolled through the playoffs and won a World Series title regardless.
Amidst these rare colossal feats that somehow took place in the same season, it’s very easy to forget the guys who came to the field day in and day out and not only did their jobs, but did them exceptionally well. The ones who didn’t “wow” folks with massive 500-foot home runs or play for a particularly notable team.
That’s where John Olerud comes in.
In 1998, Olerud was the everyday first baseman for the Mets, who made a wild card push but fell short to the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants, finishing with an 88-74 record.
Olerud was, to put it mildly, phenomenal in ’98. He was overshadowed by the mid-season acquisition of Hall of Famer Mike Piazza, and wasn’t much of a home run hitter — 22 in ’98, a far cry from McGwire’s 70 — but one can argue he was the most consistent and integral part of the Mets’ successful season.
For example, take a look at the WAR rankings for all of baseball in 1998, according to Fangraphs:
For the record, Sosa’s WAR, which was a full win less than Olerud’s, won him an MVP. Juan Gonzalez won the American League MVP award with a 4.9 WAR, which puts him 38th on the list.
The reason Olerud was so underappreciated at this time was because every other name around him on that list had a minimum of 34 homers on the year and many surpassed 40. His 22 pales, but his high WAR was aided by doing everything exceptionally well.
Olerud was arguably the best overall hitter of the 1998 season, slashing .354/.447/.551 with 307 total bases, 36 doubles and 93 RBI. And he was patient; he walked 96 times in contrast to his 73 strikeouts, playing a significant role in that sparkling .447 OBP. He ranked third in the entire league in wRC+ (167) and fifth in wOBA (.430).
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He was also very good with his glove that season. Stats like UZR don’t date back that far, but per FanGraphs, Olerud logged a 5.8 dWAR in regular duty at first base. Far from elite, but when you’re hitting as well as he did that season, even good defense is a nice bonus, and that’s what he gave.
Olerud finished 12th in the MVP voting in 1998. Only Bonds and McGwire were better through fWAR, while only Bonds (8.1) ranked higher than Olerud (7.6) in bWAR–the difference being Fangraphs’ calculation versus Baseball Reference.
What’s funny is, for as remarkable as it was, 1998 wasn’t even Olerud’s best season.
Olerud was the everyday first baseman for the 1993 World Series champion Toronto Blue Jays, where he also posted an 8.1 WAR. During that season, he hit .363/.473/.599 with 24 home runs, and he walked 114 times while striking out only 65. Olerud’s wRC+ (179) and wOBA (.454) were second in all of baseball, behind Bonds in both.
He got a little more love for his ‘93 campaign than ‘98; Olerud finished third in the MVP vote, behind Frank Thomas (6.3 WAR) and teammate Paul Molitor (4.8 WAR). Playing for the repeating World Series champion is a benefit he didn’t have with the Mets in ’98.
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