James Bentley Olander (born February 21, 1963) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

and currently a baseball scout. Olander attended

Sahuaro High School Sahuaro High School is a public high school located in Tucson, Arizona, United States, part of the Tucson Unified School District. It is located on the far east side of the city at 545 North Camino Seco, just north of Vicksburg Street between Br ...

in Tucson, Arizona. He was selected by

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in the 7th Round (175th overall) of the

1981 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players *Darrin Jackson, 2nd round, 28th overall by the Chicago Cubs *Mike Gallego, 2nd round, 33r ...

. Olander played in the minor leagues from 1981 to 1994 with the Phillies,

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

, and

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

organizations. He was successful in the minor leagues: in 1986 he was named to the Eastern League's All-star Team and was viewed by the Phillies organization as a prospect likely to play in the majors. However his following seasons were shortened by injury and he eventually left the Phillies organization and signed as a free agent with the Astros who soon after traded him to the Brewers. Olander was named the Most Valuable Player of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

in 1991. That same year he was a "September call-up" and joined the Brewers for 12 games. Olander was expected to fight for a spot on the Brewers 1992 40-man roster but he broke his leg in early May. He never played another major-league game. In October 2007, the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

promoted Olander from national crosschecker to big league scout, a job he still holds. He was responsible for recommending

Cody Ross Cody Joseph Ross (born December 23, 1980), nicknamed "Toy Cannon" and "Ross the Boss," is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 12 seasons with the Detroit Tigers (2003), Los Angeles Do ...

to the Tigers prior to the

1999 Major League Baseball Draft The 1999 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

References

External links

Profile from The Greatest 21 Days: 1990 CMC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olander, Jim 1963 births Living people Charlotte Knights players Chicago Cubs scouts Cleveland Indians scouts Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Denver Zephyrs players Detroit Tigers scouts Helena Phillies players Indianapolis Indians players Maine Guides players Maine Phillies players Milwaukee Brewers players Peninsula Pilots players Portland Beavers players Reading Phillies players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Spartanburg Traders players Tucson Toros players American Association (1902–1997) MVP Award winners Sahuaro High School alumni