Okay, so the other day I was rummaging through some old boxes, you know, the kind stuffed in the back of the closet. Found a stack of baseball cards from when I was a kid. And right there, staring back at me, was a Greg Olson card from his time with the Orioles. I think it was an ’89 or ’90 Score card, nothing fancy.
Seeing that card got me thinking. I remembered him playing, being the catcher for the O’s back then, but honestly, couldn’t recall too many specifics. So, I figured, why not dig a little deeper? See what I could find about his time in Baltimore. Kinda like a mini-project for myself.
Starting the Search
First thing I did, pretty standard stuff, just hopped online. Typed “Greg Olson Orioles” into the search bar. Got the basic stats pages, Baseball-Reference, the usual suspects. That confirmed his years there, ’88 to ’93, I think. Solid run.
But I wanted a bit more than just numbers. I wanted to get a feel for his playing days again. So, I started looking for:
- Old game footage or highlights
- News articles or interviews from that time
- Maybe some fan memories or forum discussions
Hitting Some Roadblocks
Man, finding actual video wasn’t super easy. Olson wasn’t exactly Cal Ripken Jr. in terms of fame, right? He was a solid, dependable catcher, but those guys don’t always get the big highlight reels dedicated to them. Found some clips of Orioles games from that era, and sometimes you’d see him behind the plate or getting a hit, but finding Olson-specific stuff took some real digging.
Newspaper archives were a bit better. I spent some time scrolling through digital archives of the Baltimore Sun. Found some game recaps where he was mentioned, maybe driving in a run or handling the pitching staff well. It painted a picture of a reliable player, someone the pitchers probably liked throwing to. Found one quote about his game-calling, which was pretty neat.
What I Dug Up
After a few evenings of this, poking around different corners of the web and my own dusty memory banks, here’s kind of what I pieced together, just from my own little research dive:
- Consistent Presence: He caught a ton of games for the Orioles during his peak years there. You look at the innings caught, and he was really anchoring that position.
- Defense First: Remembered him more for his defense, and the old articles kinda backed that up. Seemed like his handling of pitchers and his durability were his main calling cards.
- The ’89 Team: Got reminded how he was a key part of that surprising “Why Not?” Orioles team in 1989. That was a fun bit of nostalgia, remembering that season.
- More Cards: Naturally, looking him up made me check out his other cards from that era online. Picked up a couple more cheap ones for the collection, just for fun. Nothing valuable, just liked the old designs.
Wrapping Up
So yeah, that was my little Greg Olson Orioles project. Started with finding an old card, went down a bit of a rabbit hole online, and ended up with a better appreciation for a solid player from my youth. It wasn’t earth-shattering research or anything, just a personal trip down memory lane. Sometimes it’s fun to look back at the guys who weren’t the superstars but were still important parts of the team. Made me want to dig through those old cards again soon.
