Scott Olsen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Florida Marlins — No. 34 | |
| Starting pitcher | |
| Born: January 12, 1984 Kalamazoo, Michigan |
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| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| June 25, 2005 for the Florida Marlins | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through June 1, 2008) |
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| Win-Loss | 27-28 |
| Earned run average | 4.67 |
| Strikeouts | 352 |
| Teams | |
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Scott Matthew Olsen (born January 12, 1984 in Kalamazoo, Michigan) is a starting pitcher for the Florida Marlins. He bats and throws left-handed. He is 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall and weighs 210 pounds (95 kg).
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
He attended Crystal Lake South High School where he was all-conference in baseball. He was drafted 173rd overall during the 6th round of the 2002 amateur draft by the Florida Marlins.
[edit] 2005 season
He played his first season in the Major Leagues in 2005. The Florida Marlins activated Olsen on June 25, 2005, when pitcher Josh Beckett went on the disabled list. He went 1-1 in 5 starts with a 3.98 ERA, but was sent to the disabled list with an elbow injury.
[edit] 2006 season
During the 2006 season with the Florida Marlins, he went 12-10 with a 4.04 ERA. With his 10+ wins and the 10+ wins of his fellow rookies Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, and Anibal Sanchez, the 2006 Florida Marlins became the first team in Major League Baseball history with four rookie pitchers with ten or more wins in one season.
With his 166 strikeouts, Olsen now holds the single-season record for the most strikeouts by a Marlins rookie. The lefty had two 10-or-more strikeout games, 11 vs. Pittsburgh on July 27 and 10 vs. the Mets on August 1. His 11-strikeout performance against Pittsburgh was the most by any of the Florida Marlins in 2006.
[edit] 2007 season
A phenomenal hitter, by pitchers' standards, Olsen began the 2007 season 6-for-14 with 2 runs batted in, even making him an option for pinch-hitting.
Olsen finished the season with 10-15 record and 5.81 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 176.2 innings. He is tied with two other Marlins starters for the most number of wins in this season.
[edit] 2008 season
With the departure of Dontrelle Willis, Olsen has admitted to reporters that he covets the now-vacant "pitching ace" role. If not for the injuries to Anibal Sanchez and Josh Johnson, he would have suffered more intense competition.
[edit] Suspensions, confrontations, and legal problems
Olsen has had a history of disciplinary problems with The Marlins and legal issues. He was given a black eye from friend and former teammate Randy Messenger during the 2006 season and shortly after that then manager Joe Girardi pulled Olsen by the collar and confronted him.
In a July 2006 7-6 loss to the New York Mets, there was an incident involving his teammate, Miguel Cabrera. While pitching to Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca, Lo Duca hit a hard grounder that glanced off Cabrera's glove and rolled into left field. A run scored and Lo Duca raced to second with a double. While the ball glanced off of Cabrera's glove, Olsen seemed to believe that Cabrera did not give his full effort to get to the ball, and as they came off the field, Olsen could be seen shouting something at Cabrera. A moment later, television cameras showed Cabrera in the crowded dugout reaching past teammates to poke his finger at Olsen as the pitcher walked past him. Olsen tried to jab back at Cabrera, who charged Olsen and tried to kick the pitcher before both players were quickly separated by teammates.
In September of 2006, Olsen said he hated the Phillies because they dominated the Marlins. His emotions boiled over in the sixth inning of a May 2007 game versus the Phillies, when he became angry at Chase Utley for calling time just before a pitch. The next pitch was ball four, and Utley trotted to first base as Olsen angrily shouted and waved his glove at him. In the bottom of the inning, the Marlins totaled four extra-base hits to rally against Cole Hamels. This led to some of the Phillies players disliking Olsen just like he dislikes them.
In June of the 2007 season, he received an unspecified fine for making an obscene gesture towards fans in Milwaukee. His second problem of the year was when making a July 15 start against the Washington Nationals, Olsen had a confrontation with pitcher Sergio Mitre in the tunnel heading toward the team clubhouse. What happened behind the scenes wasn't pretty as Olsen ripped his jersey off and tossed it in the direction of a trainer. Mitre and other Marlins, according to the source, took exception to Olsen's actions. That's when tensions got hot. As they left the dugout area, Mitre pinned Olsen against a wall before the two were separated by teammates. Olsen then received a two game suspension for insubordination, but was still scheduled to make his next start the following Friday against the Cincinnati Reds.
After serving his two game suspension and after making his scheduled July 20, 2007 start, he was arrested by Aventura, Florida police after refusing to pull over for being clocked at 48 MPH in a 35 mph zone. He fled for about a mile, at which point he stopped at his home and sat in a plastic chair in the front yard. When police arrived and tried to arrest him, he kicked at the officers who then used a taser to subdue him. Olsen failed a field sobriety test and refused a breath test, he was booked on charges of driving under the influence, resisting arrest with violence and fleeing and eluding a police officer.[1]
[edit] Career statistics
| Year | Team | W | L | GS | CG | SHO | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Florida | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20.1 | 21 | 13 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 21 | 3.98 | 1.54 |
| 2006 | Florida | 12 | 10 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 180.2 | 160 | 94 | 81 | 23 | 75 | 166 | 4.04 | 1.30 |
| 2007 | Florida | 10 | 15 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 176.2 | 226 | 134 | 114 | 29 | 85 | 133 | 5.81 | 1.76 |
| TOTALS | 23 | 26 | 69 | 0 | 0 | 377.2 | 407 | 241 | 204 | 57 | 170 | 320 | 4.86 | 1.53 | |
[edit] References
- Associated Press. "Marlins Olsen jailed after scuffle with cops", SI.com, July 21, 2007. Accessed July 21, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
- Scott Olsen: Profile on the Fish@Bat Florida Marlins Wiki
- Scott Olsen - Yahoo! Sports
- Scott Olsen - AroundtheDiamond.com
