Ivy Olson, baseball player, 1911-1924

Ivy Olson

Born: 10/14/1885 in Kansas City, MO, USA

Died: 9/1/1965 in Inglewood, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1911-04-12 | Final Game: 1924-07-21

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 175 lbs

Full name: Ivan Massie Olson

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Biography

Ivy Olson was a professional baseball player who made his mark in Major League Baseball from 1911 to 1924. Born in 1885, Olson played primarily as a position player and became known for his solid defensive skills and versatility on the field. Over the course of his career, he appeared in 1,574 games, during which he amassed 1,575 hits, contributing to a batting average of .258. His offensive contributions included 13 home runs and 446 runs batted in, while also showcasing his speed on the bases with 156 stolen bases. Olson's playing career spanned a transformative period in baseball, as the sport was evolving into a more dynamic and competitive environment. His ability to consistently get on base and create scoring opportunities made him a valuable asset to the teams he played for. As a player who navigated the early years of the live-ball era, Olson's contributions were part of a broader shift in baseball strategy that emphasized both power and speed, helping to lay the groundwork for future generations of players.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1574 6111 730 1575 191 69 13 446 156 285 301 0.258 0.295 0.318 0.613 -12976.1

Career AVG .258 vs. league average .267 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .295 vs. league average .330 across their career seasons — 10.8% below league average.

Career SLG .318 vs. league average .358 across their career seasons — 11.2% below league average.

Career OPS 0.613 vs. league average 0.689 across their career seasons — 11.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1911 CLE AL 140 545 89 142 20 8 1 50 20 34 56 0.261 .266 (-2%) .336 (-7%) .356 (-7%) .693 (-7%) -868.9
1912 CLE AL 125 467 68 118 13 1 0 33 16 21 23 0.253 .268 (-6%) .335 (-13%) .358 (-21%) .694 (-17%) -1572.6
1913 CLE AL 104 370 47 92 13 3 0 32 7 22 28 0.249 .259 (-4%) .325 (-9%) .345 (-13%) .670 (-11%) -773.5
1914 CLE AL 89 310 22 75 6 2 1 20 15 13 24 0.242 .255 (-5%) .322 (-15%) .339 (-16%) .661 (-16%) -890.8
1915 CIN NL 63 207 18 48 5 4 0 14 10 12 13 0.232 .250 (-7%) .318 (-14%) .332 (-11%) .651 (-13%) -483.3
1915 BRO NL 18 26 2 2 0 1 0 3 0 1 0 0.077 — — — — -483.3
1916 BRO NL 108 351 29 89 13 4 1 38 14 21 27 0.254 .248 (+2%) .314 (-5%) .326 (-1%) .640 (-3%) -272.9
1917 BRO NL 139 580 64 156 18 5 2 38 6 14 34 0.269 .248 (+8%) .312 (-7%) .323 (+1%) .635 (-3%) -485.1
1918 BRO NL 126 506 63 121 16 4 1 17 21 27 18 0.239 .255 (-6%) .318 (-10%) .326 (-10%) .645 (-10%) -1019.7
1919 BRO NL 140 590 73 164 14 9 1 38 26 30 12 0.278 .262 (+6%) .322 (-2%) .347 (-3%) .670 (-3%) -361.9
1920 BRO NL 143 637 71 162 13 11 1 46 4 20 19 0.254 .271 (-6%) .331 (-16%) .363 (-14%) .694 (-15%) -2014.2
1921 BRO NL 151 652 88 174 22 10 3 35 4 28 26 0.267 .286 (-7%) .344 (-13%) .395 (-13%) .739 (-13%) -1830.2
1922 BRO NL 136 551 63 150 26 6 1 47 8 25 10 0.272 .285 (-5%) .345 (-11%) .397 (-13%) .743 (-12%) -1469.2
1923 BRO NL 82 292 33 76 11 1 1 35 5 14 10 0.260 .282 (-8%) .344 (-14%) .390 (-19%) .734 (-17%) -933.7
1924 BRO NL 10 27 0 6 1 0 0 0 0 3 1 0.222 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
12 41 3 12 1 1 0 2 5 3 0.293

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1920 WS BRO 7 25 2 8 1 0 0 0 3 1 0.320
1916 WS BRO 5 16 1 4 0 1 0 2 2 2 0.250

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 34 0 295 18 9 20
2B 288 0 651 938 72 136
3B 155 0 223 296 36 10
OF 10 0 17 1 0 0
SS 1054 0 2389 3313 417 425

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1911 CLE 3B 1 0 0 2 1 0
1911 CLE SS 139 0 293 428 72 51
1912 CLE 2B 21 0 47 64 9 6
1912 CLE 3B 36 0 62 74 8 2
1912 CLE OF 3 0 3 0 0 0
1912 CLE SS 56 0 118 180 27 10
1913 CLE 1B 21 0 206 10 8 17
1913 CLE 2B 1 0 5 3 1 1
1913 CLE 3B 73 0 97 145 12 7
1914 CLE 1B 3 0 17 1 0 0
1914 CLE 2B 23 0 62 72 2 5
1914 CLE 3B 19 0 42 32 5 1
1914 CLE OF 6 0 14 1 0 0
1914 CLE SS 31 0 58 89 9 14
1915 CIN 1B 7 0 65 7 1 3
1915 CIN 2B 39 0 88 125 14 17
1915 CIN 3B 15 0 17 34 4 0
1915 BRO 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1915 BRO 3B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1915 BRO OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1915 BRO SS 7 0 16 14 3 2
1916 BRO 1B 1 0 2 0 0 0
1916 BRO 2B 3 0 7 4 1 0
1916 BRO SS 103 0 234 303 47 28
1917 BRO 3B 6 0 4 7 6 0
1917 BRO SS 133 0 283 431 45 53
1918 BRO SS 126 0 265 388 58 42
1919 BRO SS 140 0 349 445 44 57
1920 BRO 2B 21 0 51 78 7 20
1920 BRO SS 125 0 275 404 47 48
1921 BRO 2B 20 0 36 65 7 12
1921 BRO SS 133 0 343 465 49 71
1922 BRO 2B 85 0 193 283 20 39
1922 BRO SS 51 0 139 149 13 43
1923 BRO 1B 2 0 5 0 0 0
1923 BRO 2B 72 0 161 244 11 36
1923 BRO 3B 4 0 1 1 0 0
1923 BRO SS 2 0 1 0 1 0
1924 BRO 2B 2 0 1 0 0 0
1924 BRO SS 8 0 15 17 2 6

Career Games by Position

Position Games
First Base 36
Second Base 284
Third Base 165
Shortstop 1053
Left Field 8
Right Field 2