Bill Mitchell's Minor League Ramblings

Minor League Ramblings For the week of :
April 14, 2003

Observations from the Yard
Interview with Tim Olson
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Minor League Ramblings is produced by Bill Mitchell for Minor League Watch.

Olson overachieves as a ballplayer through hustle and hard work
April 18, 2003

Tim Olson is the classic overachiever.

Tim Olson

While it's obvious that the Arizona Diamondbacks' fourth-year minor leaguer possesses a tremendous amount of athletic ability, it's also quite apparent that Olson gets more out of his ability than many players through hard work and sheer hustle.

Olson's aggressive approach to the game paid off in a big way, as the North Dakota native turned in one of the most surprising performances of any player in the 2002 Arizona Fall League.

After the regular season, in which he hit .273/.337/.406 with 10 homeruns and nine stolen bases for Arizona's AA affiliate in El Paso (Texas League), Olson showed up for his second stint in major league baseball's premier development league with something to prove.

The 24-year-old shortstop proceeded to hit .374/.429/.477, with six stolen bases, for the division-winning Scottsdale Scorpions. It turned out to be Olson's "coming out party" as a legitimate major league prospect.

"I feel like the Fall League rejuvenated me," said Olson about his 2002 post-season performance, "not only in my mind, but also in a lot of other people's eyes. I feel like I had been 'just there,' but it (his AFL season) hopefully put me on the map a little more."

Olson certainly proved that he was more than just a fringe prospect, justifying the 2000 seventh round pick invested by the Arizona organization after his junior year at the University of Florida.

His 2002 performance also earned the right-handed hitter an invitation to the big league spring training camp. The personable Olson couldn't say enough about what he learned from his time with the major league Diamondbacks.

"It gave me the confidence that I can play with those guys, something I've been dreaming about my whole life," commented Olson about his seven weeks with the big club. "It was a positive experience just being around all of those guys ... just seeing how they went about their business every day. They were relaxed all of the time, but they got their work done day in and day out."

The 6'2", 200 pound right-handed hitter is now playing for Arizona's AAA Pacific Coast League team in Tucson. After 15 games, Olson is batting .275, spending time at shortstop, second base and outfield.

Tim Olson

Olson reiterated that the confidence he gained from his play in the Arizona Fall League and in spring training has been the biggest reason for his vast improvement as a player. He has had to prove himself at every level since entering the professional level three years ago.

"I had pretty good accolades coming through college ... I always had good numbers," Olson remarked. "When I got to pro ball, I struggled. I almost feel like I was in the fire. Starting out in the Midwest League (Low Class A level), it was a pretty tough league to come into from (using) metal bats. It kind of shot my confidence down. I really didn't get it back for another year and a half. I was always messing with my swing. Finally, I just went back to the swing that I was comfortable with. It really paid off for me."

Despite his improvement since joining the Diamondbacks' organization, Olson concedes that he still has a lot more work to do to get to where he needs to be.

"I'm going to need to be more consistent," stated Olson, "staying back ... seeing good pitches ... my plate discipline needs to improve."

As for his development on defense, he stated, "I want to be an all around better fielder ... just being consistent with the routine play. There's definitely some room to improve there."

The discussion on Olson's defense begs the question as to where he'll eventually wind up on the field. He's had professional experience at shortstop, second base, third base and the outfield. Is a career as a utility player in Olson's future?

"To get to where I want to be, which is obviously the big leagues, I'll play as many positions as I can to get to the next level," answered Olson. "I think playing more positions is valuable."

"Once I get to the big leagues and establish myself somewhat, I'd like to play one position and have that locked down," Olson continued. "I don't really want to be a lifetime utility guy fighting for a job every time they come into spring training. But for right now, I'll do whatever it takes."

Olson is also not partial to any one position.

"I like shortstop ... you're always in the game," he stated, but then added, "I really like centerfield, too. Centerfield's a lot of fun. They (centerfield and shortstop) are almost identical ... the reads are the same."

In the end, Olson really doesn't care where he plays, as long as it gets him to the big leagues.

"Truthfully, I like to mix it up every once in a while," continued Olson. "Playing a couple different (positions) is fun every once in a while."

"Like everybody else, I'd like to get a taste of the big leagues," Olson concluded. "If it's this year or net year or the year after, I'll just have to be patient."

--- Bill Mitchell