Poised in his defensive position at first base, Toronto’s John Olerud, the American League’s leading hitter, appears ready to take another at bat – a batting helmet instead of the usual cloth cap sits atop his head. But John has his reason for wearing the helmet on the field, and it has to do with determination.
While attending Washington State University, John developed a brain aneurysm. (That’s a sac that forms on an artery wall when the wall gets weak and enlarged. If it bursts, it can be fatal.) An operation successfully removed it. John wears the helmet to prevent a ball from hitting him in the head and stimulating another one to develop.
That determination to continue playing ball is probably what has pushed John’s batting average near the magical .400 mark. Ted Williams last did it 52 years ago, hitting .406 in 1941. Most recently, Kansas City’s George Brett hit .390 in 1980.
So how does Olerud, whose best average ever was .284, suddenly hit like all-time greats Williams and Brett?
“One of the things I always liked about math was that there was a process. If you went through and did it, you would come up with an answer,” says John. “Hitting is kind of the same thing. You want to find the quickest route to the ball. You think your way through a swing.”
There are other factors:
– He’s more familiar with the pitchers and “what they’re trying to do to get you out.”
– He’s been more aggressive and going for hits during the first couple of pitches of each at bat.
– He hit well during spring training and it built up his confidence.
John didn’t set out to hit .400. But when he started doing well, he formed a plan: “There are going to be times when I won’t be swinging the bat as well as I’d like to, but I’m just going to try to keep that as short as possible.”
“I will,” John adds, “definitely have to be lucky.”
As of last Friday, John was batting .382. To get to .400, John would have to hit over .600 in his next 41 at bats.
Earlier this season, Brett got a single and John was holding him on first base.
“He was asking me how the media pressure has been going,” John said, “and he started to tell me a little about what it was like for him. Then the third-base coach put the hit-and-run play on, and he took off on the next pitch.”
If the hits keep coming, it may be time to call Brett up and finish that conversation.
