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A few weeks ago, I was asked how I thought John Olerud would fare in this year’s Hall of Fame vote.

“Really?” I said. “John Olerud is eligible for induction this year?”

The question had been answered with that question.

Olerud’s first-year Hall of Fame candidacy mirrors his personality as a player: quiet, content to remain in the background, unobtrusive to the point you barely can tell he’s there.

Despite Olerud’s local ties – the graduate of Interlake High in Bellevue went on to star at Washington State, and later, after making the rare jump from college straight to the big leagues, he was a key cog in the last two Mariners teams to reach the playoffs – I’ve discussed Olerud in terms of the Hall of Fame only once. And that was in Spokane, en route to the Apple Cup.

A year ago, Edgar Martinez, another unassuming sort with no ambition to see his face on a TV screen or his name in a newspaper headline, created an uncharacteristic stir when he finally became eligible for the Hall of Fame. During the days before the deadline – ballots must be submitted by Dec. 31 – voters around the country were asked which way they were leaning. Responses varied from “sure thing” to “no way.”

Such a disparity of opinions was due, of course, to Edgar’s position, or lack thereof. The debate hinged on the extent a designated hitter should be penalized by voters for not occupying a defensive position.

Martinez, who had a chance to become the first DH enshrined in Cooperstown, ended up with 195 votes from the 539-person electorate. Although his 36.2 percent total was well below the 75 percent necessary for election, it was well above the 5 percent minimum needed to keep his case alive.

Olerud inspires no such debate. His career offensive statistics, while solid, are not spectacular. There’s no magic number that jumps off the page and catches the eye.

He didn’t retire with at least a .300 batting average. (It was .295.) He didn’t finish with 500 home runs. (He finished with 255). He didn’t accumulate 3,000 hits (he had 2,239), or 1,500 RBI (he had 1,230).

Although a fundamentally flawless first baseman whose ability to scoop throws out of the dirt was unrivaled by his peers, he contributed all that stellar defense at, well, first base – during an era when first basemen were primarily valued for their power. Perhaps that’s why Olerud was named to but two All-Star Games, and received MVP consideration only twice: With the Blue Jays in 1993, when he was third, and with the Mets in 1998, when he was 12th.

Hall-of-Fame voters generally hold one of two philosophies. Some espouse a small Hall, a shrine open to only the best of the best.

Michael Bradley wrote:Even if Olerud never makes the HOF, he'll still be the answer to the trivia question "who did the Jays trade in the worst deal in franchise history?".

John Olerud and $5 million to the Mets for Robert Person. One year after losing Roberto Alomar for draft picks. Oh, how I miss the Ash era.

Schadenfreude wrote:

Michael Bradley wrote:Even if Olerud never makes the HOF, he'll still be the answer to the trivia question "who did the Jays trade in the worst deal in franchise history?".

John Olerud and $5 million to the Mets for Robert Person. One year after losing Roberto Alomar for draft picks. Oh, how I miss the Ash era.

Heh, and then we traded Person for Spoljaric, and then packaged Spoljaric with Hentgen -- who was pretty bad at that point, but still -- for:

- the comedy act that was Alberto Castillo's bat (OPS+ of 38 in 357 PAs with the Jays);
- Lance Painter (sucked and was released after half a season);
- and Matt DeWitt (who sucked, became a footnote in the Sirotka debacle, and didn't pitch in the majors past age 24).

Michael Bradley wrote:Even if Olerud never makes the HOF, he'll still be the answer to the trivia question "who did the Jays trade in the worst deal in franchise history?".

John Olerud and $5 million to the Mets for Robert Person. One year after losing Roberto Alomar for draft picks. Oh, how I miss the Ash era.

Schadenfreude wrote:

Michael Bradley wrote:Even if Olerud never makes the HOF, he'll still be the answer to the trivia question "who did the Jays trade in the worst deal in franchise history?".

John Olerud and $5 million to the Mets for Robert Person. One year after losing Roberto Alomar for draft picks. Oh, how I miss the Ash era.

Heh, and then we traded Person for Spoljaric, and then packaged Spoljaric with Hentgen -- who was pretty bad at that point, but still -- for:

- the comedy act that was Alberto Castillo's bat (OPS+ of 38 in 357 PAs with the Jays);
- Lance Painter (sucked and was released after half a season);
- and Matt DeWitt (who sucked, became a footnote in THE SIROTKA DEBACLE, and didn't pitch in the majors past age 24).

Hoopstarr wrote:Ash made the three worst trades in Jays history. Olerud for Person, Wells for Sirotka, and Michael Young for Loaiza.

Michael Bradley wrote:

Hoopstarr wrote:Ash made the three worst trades in Jays history. Olerud for Person, Wells for Sirotka, and Michael Young for Loaiza.

Don't forget trading David Cone to a pre-Dynasty Yankees squad for the great trio of Marty Janzen, Jason Jarvis and Mike Gordon. The three of them combined to throw 98.2 innings with a 6.38 ERA, 20 home runs allowed, and a blistering 51/64 BB/K ratio over the span of their MLB careers (all thrown by Janzen). Cone of course went on to help lead the Yankees into their late-90's dynasty.

Schadenfreude wrote:

Michael Bradley wrote:

Hoopstarr wrote:Ash made the three worst trades in Jays history. Olerud for Person, Wells for Sirotka, and Michael Young for Loaiza.

Don't forget trading David Cone to a pre-Dynasty Yankees squad for the great trio of Marty Janzen, Jason Jarvis and Mike Gordon. The three of them combined to throw 98.2 innings with a 6.38 ERA, 20 home runs allowed, and a blistering 51/64 BB/K ratio over the span of their MLB careers (all thrown by Janzen). Cone of course went on to help lead the Yankees into their late-90's dynasty.

Definitely not in the same ballpark, but he had many other head-scratching deals. Woody Williams + two minor leaguers for Joey Hamilton was brilliant...Woody would go on to throw another 1600 league-average innings as a starter, while Hamilton would flame out. Shawn Green for Raul Mondesi and Pedro Borbon, with Mondesi later getting punted for nothing, was another good one.

Michael Bradley wrote: I believe Mondesi had two option years in 2002 and 2003 which Ash promptly picked up at the time of the trade. So instead of having Mondesi for two years/~$20 million, we had him for four years/~$45 million. No need to explain what happened there, except Steinbrenner saved the Jays by taking Raul's contract away in 2002.

Ash just made a huge amount of blunders during his time here, and amazingly he was still closer to making the playoffs in 1998-2000 than at any other time during Toronto's post-93 playoff drought. Imagine if he was actually making some good moves.....

Hoopstarr wrote:In 2000, I think we were first place at one point in June or July and there was legit hope. In 2001, they started 16-7 or something and that sticks in my mind because all 3 Toronto teams were peaking together (Leafs and Raptors were on a roll in the playoffs) and Dick Schaap's final comment on Sports Reporters that week was about just that. That was the last time there was excitement about sports in Toronto. Sigh.

Michael Bradley wrote:
Agreed on Williams/Hamilton. Woody was already a better pitcher than Hamilton at the time of the trade, and that was with Williams in the AL (East) and Hamilton in the NL. I don't know what Ash expected Hamilton to turn into once he switched leagues. Williams of course did better in the NL, as expected. Hamilton was promptly signed to a big contract before throwing a pitch for the Jays, and ended his Jays career with a 5.83 ERA in 253 innings pitched.

Schadenfreude wrote:

Hoopstarr wrote:In 2000, I think we were first place at one point in June or July and there was legit hope. In 2001, they started 16-7 or something and that sticks in my mind because all 3 Toronto teams were peaking together (Leafs and Raptors were on a roll in the playoffs) and Dick Schaap's final comment on Sports Reporters that week was about just that. That was the last time there was excitement about sports in Toronto. Sigh.

There was a bit in 2008, when we ran off that ten-game win streak to get within 6.5 of the Sox and the Wild Card, with a four-game series against them in Fenway, and three more at home the next week (of course, we went 2-5). It's really the only point since 2000 where you could actually game the final weeks out to produce a possible playoff berth without sounding like a total crazy person.

Though if memory serves, I did tell anyone on this board who did so that they were a total crazy person.