masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgWhen the Orioles made pitcher Gregg Olson their first-round draft pick out of Auburn in 1988, he had mixed feelings. He was happy to be selected, but was hoping to land with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team that picked one slot after the Orioles.

These days, Baltimore means something different.

“When I think of Baltimore, I think of family,” Olson says. “You felt like you knew everybody’s family and friends. I never found that again (in my baseball career). It worked perfectly. I love…When the Orioles made pitcher Gregg Olson their first-round draft pick out of Auburn in 1988, he had mixed feelings. He was happy to be selected, but was hoping to land with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team that picked one slot after the Orioles.

These days, Baltimore means something different.

“When I think of Baltimore, I think of family,” Olson says. “You felt like you knew everybody’s family and friends. I never found that again (in my baseball career). It worked perfectly. I love Baltimore.”

Olson, an Orioles Hall of Famer known for a his fastball and curve, pitched six of his 14 seasons with the Orioles, converting 217 saves and pitching to a 3.46 ERA before an arm injury in 1993 changed his career. After that, he was never the same, although he tried to come back with eight different teams.

Olson’s first full season was 1989 at 22. Mark Williamson started as a closer, but early on, manager Frank Robinson gave Olson a chance. Olson had a three-inning save against Boston, and then in his second opportunity, Olson struck out Oakland’s Dave Henderson, Mark McGwire and Dave Parker to finish a game.

Olson was one of the cogs in the Orioles’ “Why Not?” run of 1989, when they rebounded from a 54-win season and went down to the final weekend in Toronto with the American League East on the line. The Orioles trailed the Blue Jays by a game and needed to win at least two of three to force a season-ending tie.

Olson saved 27 games with a 1.69 ERA, but in the first game in Toronto, he threw a wild pitch to the Blue Jays’ Kelly Gruber that allowed Tom Lawless to score the tying run in the eighth inning.

The Blue Jays won 2-1 in 11 innings and then 4-3 on Saturday to clinch the division.

With a runner on third, “I was trying to strike out Gruber and I tried to put extra tilt on my curveball. It was a stupid decision,” Olson says.

The Orioles weren’t expected to contend, but they did. Reporters asked the Orioles if they saw themselves as a surprise.

“We never thought about that,” Olson says. “We’d say, ‘Why can’t a bunch of young guys have a great season? Why can’t we compete?’ ”

In the offseason, Olson was named the AL’s Rookie of the Year, receiving 26 of 28 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Olson finished ahead of Kansas City pitcher Tom Gordon and Seattle outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., a future Hall of Famer. The Orioles’ Craig Worthington was fourth.

“It’s the answer to a fun trivia,” Olson says. “Didn’t Ken Griffey Jr. win the Rookie of the Year in 1989? Nope, that was me.”