Gregg Olson

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American baseball player (born 1966)

title: "Gregg Olson" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1966-births", "arizona-diamondbacks-players", "atlanta-braves-players", "auburn-tigers-baseball-players", "baltimore-orioles-players", "cleveland-indians-players", "detroit-tigers-players", "houston-astros-players", "kansas-city-royals-players", "los-angeles-dodgers-players", "minnesota-twins-players", "american-league-all-stars", "major-league-baseball-rookie-of-the-year-award-winners", "living-people", "major-league-baseball-pitchers", "baseball-players-from-nebraska", "people-from-scribner,-nebraska", "hagerstown-suns-players", "charlotte-knights-players", "richmond-braves-players", "omaha-royals-players", "buffalo-bisons-(minor-league)-players", "indianapolis-indians-players", "san-bernardino-stampede-players", "san-diego-padres-scouts", "albuquerque-dukes-players", "20th-century-american-sportsmen", "all-american-college-baseball-players", "baseball-players-at-the-1987-pan-american-games", "medalists-at-the-1987-pan-american-games", "pan-american-games-silver-medalists-for-the-united-states-in-baseball", "major-league-baseball-broadcasters", "baltimore-orioles-announcers"] description: "American baseball player (born 1966)" topic_path: "science/astronomy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregg_Olson" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American baseball player (born 1966) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox baseball biography"]

Field	Value
name	Gregg Olson
image	Greg_Olson (Pitcher).jpg
caption	Olson with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1999
position	Pitcher
bats	Right
throws	Right
birth_date
birth_place	Scribner, Nebraska, U.S.
debutleague	MLB
debutdate	September 2
debutyear	1988
debutteam	Baltimore Orioles
finalleague	MLB
finaldate	June 22
finalyear	2001
finalteam	Los Angeles Dodgers
statleague	MLB
stat1label	Win–loss record
stat1value	40–39
stat2label	Earned run average
stat2value	3.46
stat3label	Strikeouts
stat3value	588
stat4label	Saves
stat4value	217
::

Baltimore Orioles (–)
Atlanta Braves ()
Cleveland Indians ()
Kansas City Royals ()
Detroit Tigers ()
Houston Astros ()
Minnesota Twins ()
Kansas City Royals ()
Arizona Diamondbacks (–)
Los Angeles Dodgers (–) |highlights =
All-Star (1990)
AL Rookie of the Year (1989)
Pitched a combined no-hitter on July 13, 1991
Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame |medaltemplates=

Greggory William Olson (born October 11, 1966) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, scout and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher from 1988 through 2001, most prominently as a member of the Baltimore Orioles where he established himself as one of the premier relief pitchers in the American League (AL). Olson was named the AL Rookie of the Year in 1989, his first full season in the major leagues and, the following season was named to his only American League All-Star team. He set an Orioles team record of 41 consecutive scoreless innings and, he holds the team record for career saves.

During Olson's major league tenure, he also played for the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2008, Olson was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame and, in 2021 he was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.

High school and college

Olson attended Omaha Northwest High School in Omaha, Nebraska, where he was a pitcher. He was named to the ABCA High School All-America Baseball Team in 1985. He led the Huskies to four straight state titles. His father, Bill Olson, was his high school coach. Olson appeared in *Sports Illustrated*s "Faces In The Crowd" section for the 07-16-84 Vol 61, No. 3. In the state championship game of his senior year, Olson threw a no-hitter.

After graduating from high school in 1985, Olson attended Auburn University, where he played college baseball for the Auburn Tigers for three seasons. He was a decorated pitcher for the Tigers, earning First-Team All-America honors from Baseball America in both 1987 and 1988. Olson was a two-time SEC ERA leader, including a 1.27 mark in 1987, when he won back-to-back SEC Tournament games to lead the Tigers to their first NCAA Tournament since 1978.

Professional career

The Baltimore Orioles selected Olson in the first round, with the fourth pick, of the 1988 MLB draft, and he signed for a $200,000 signing bonus before making his major league debut on September 2, 1988. A reliever, he threw what baseball historian Sheldon Stewart referred to as a "blazing fastball and devastating curve".

In 1989, Olson became the first reliever to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award. Olson also set an American League rookie record with 27 saves, and had a 5–2 mark with a 1.69 earned run average (ERA) and 90 strikeouts in 85 innings.

Selected to the All-Star team in 1990, Olson set a club record of 37 saves during the season and collected 31 and 36 in the next two years. On July 13, 1991, Olson combined with 3 other Baltimore pitchers in a no-hitter against the Oakland Athletics. In August 1993, Olson suffered a torn elbow ligament injury that sidelined him for the rest of the year. He finished with 29 saves and a career low 1.60 ERA, but Baltimore opted not to take a risk with him and signed Lee Smith as their new closer. Olson struggled with a succession of injuries over the next years, playing for seven different teams from 1994 to 1997.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/ARI1998A30OLSON.jpg" caption="via=newspapers.com}}"] ::

Olson was replaced by new closer Matt Mantei in 1999. He finished his career as a setup man for the Dodgers.

In a 14-year career, Olson compiled 217 saves with a 40–39 record, 588 strikeouts, and a 3.46 ERA in 672 innings pitched.

Post-playing career

On March 19, 2008, Olson was elected to the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame, and was inducted during a pre-game ceremony at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 9, 2008. He is currently a scout for the San Diego Padres.

In 2016, Olson served as pitching coach to actress Kylie Bunbury, who played "Ginny Baker" on the scripted FOX television series Pitch.

From 2017 to 2020 Olson was a color analyst for Orioles broadcasts on MASN. He additionally covered a series for MASN in 2023 when the O's took on the Blue Jays May 19–21.

On March 29, 2021, Olson announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

References

"Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame at MLB.com". mlb.com.
"Former Orioles Closer Gregg Olson: 'Huge Honor' To Be Inducted Into College Baseball HOF". pressboxonline.com.
(24 October 1985). "Remsen St. Mary player wins All-American recognition". [[Sioux City Journal]].
"SEC Baseball Record Book". Southeastern Conference.
Dickson, Paul. (1989). "The Dickson Baseball Dictionary". Facts on File.
"Gregg Olson Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com.
Smith, Claire. (14 July 1991). "Baseball; 1 Game / 4 Arms = Orioles No-Hitter". [[The New York Times]].
"Home Run in Last At-Bat".
(April 20, 1998). "Arizona Diamondbacks 15, Florida Marlins 4".
Comak, Amanda. (August 9, 2008). "Closer Olson enters O's Hall of Fame". MLB.com.
Koblin, John. (2016-09-16). "Fox and Major League Baseball Team Up for 'Pitch'". The New York Times.
Ruiz, Nathan. (January 25, 2021). "Orioles formalize reduced broadcast crew on MASN, radio: 'We're asking fans to embrace a lot of changes'". Baltimore Sun.
(29 March 2021). "Hello Friends ( in best Jim Nantz voice). I found out last week that I have Prostate Cancer. I have surgery in 3 w…".
Trezza, Joe. (March 30, 2021). "O's HOF Olson reveals cancer diagnosis". MLB.com.

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