Gregory William Olson (born September 6, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher from 1989 to 1993 for the Minnesota Twins and the Atlanta Braves. Olson was selected to the 1990 National League All-Star team and appeared in the 1991 World Series with the Braves.

Baseball career

Olson was born in Marshall, Minnesota attended Edina High School. He later attended the University of Minnesota and, was drafted in the 7th round of the 1982 Major League Baseball draft by the New York Mets. In 1992, Olson was having a career year until a collision with Ken Caminiti of the Houston Astros broke his right leg. Olson played one more year for Atlanta before being released in the off season to make room for rising prospect Javy López. Olson signed with the New York Mets for the 1994 season but was released following spring training, leading to his retirement.

In 414 games over five seasons, Olson posted a .242 batting average (309-for-1275) with 132 runs, 20 home runs, 131 RBI and 137 bases on balls. Defensively, he recorded a .992 fielding percentage as a catcher. In 16 postseason games, he batted .278 (15-for-54) with 6 runs, 4 doubles, 1 home run, 5 RBI, 2 stolen bases and 9 walks.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet, or SABR Biography Project, or Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League), or Tripod