Timothy Lane (Tim) Olson ... he graduated in 1997 from St. Mary's Central High School in Bismarck, ND, where he makes his off-season residence ... he first attended Hutchinson Community College in Kansas through 1999, earning Academic All-America honors with a 3.89 GPA ... he then attended the University of Florida prior to being drafted in the seventh round of the 2000 June draft.
2005
Olson joined the Rockies organization this season after spending his entire career with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who drafted him in 2000...appeared in just 3 major league games over 2 brief stints with the Rockies in June, and spent the rest of the year with Triple-A Colorado Springs...his season was cut short by a shoulder injury in late July...was with the Rockies from June 6-11 and June 17-19, going 0-for-2 with a walk in 3 games...was initially purchased on June 6 when Clint Barmes went on the disabled list...walked as a pinch-hitter in Rockies debut on June 8 vs. Chicago (AL), only appearance of his first stint with club...was optioned to Triple-A on June 12 and recalled on June 17...struck out on both June 18 and 19 at Baltimore, only games and at-bats of his 2nd stint...was designated for assignment on June 20 and outrighted to Colorado Springs the following day...other than his brief time with Rockies, spent rest of the season with the Sky Sox, batting .298 with 12 home runs and 51 RBI in 89 games for Colorado Springs...appeared at 6 different positions; every infield position as well as left and right field...ranked among club leaders in home runs (2nd), doubles (T2nd, 26), steals (T2nd, 9), RBI (3rd), hits (4th, 96), runs (4th, 53), and games (T5th)...was above or around the .300 mark all season, never going more than 2 consecutive games without a hit...posted 31 multi-hit games...hit at least .286 in every month at Triple-A...batted .302 (74-for-245) against right-handers and .286 (22-for-77) vs. lefties...hit better on the road (.310) than at home (.285)...batted .356 (31-for-87) with runners in scoring position...was 9-for-16 in stolen base attempts...had a .337 average with 20 RBI over his first 23 games through May 3...hit 6 home runs in May, including his lone multi-homer game of the year on May 31 at Las Vegas...hit 2 homers and had 3 RBI in that game, matching his season high, one of five 3-RBI games on the year...did not homer over final 23 games after last long ball on June 30 at Tacoma...sustained a separated right shoulder on July 26 at Round Rock and would end the year on the disabled list...was trying to beat out a bunt when he tripped over an opposing player...led the Sky Sox in homers and total bases at the time of the injury...batted .389 (7-for-18) with 3 home runs and 10 RBI in just 11 games as a non-roster invitee for Colorado this spring.
2004
Missed the first month of the season after an Adam Eaton pitch fractured the fifth
metacarpal in his left hand during a spring training contest on March 13 vs. the Padres...had surgery performed
by team hand specialist Dr. Donald Sheridan to insert a plate at the point of the break...was reinstated
from the disabled list on May 11 and opened the season at Tucson (AAA)...hit safely in his first seven
games for the Sidewinders and batted .362 (25-for-69) during the month of May with 6 homers and 19
RBI...had his contract purchased by Arizona on May 30 and made his major league debut as the club's
starting second baseman that night in Los Angeles, going 0-for-3...went hitless in his first 15 at-bats in the
big leagues covering seven games...collected his first major league hit-along with his first RBI-via a game-tying, pinch-hit single in the ninth inning June 11 in Toronto...that hit began a 14-game stretch in which
Olson batted .355 (11-for-31) until June 28...connected on his first career home run off Yankees' pitcher
Bret Prinz in the ninth inning on June 16...batted .125 (4-for-32) over a 17 game stretch before being
optioned back to the Sidewinders for good on Aug. 19...showed versatility at the big league level, making
appearances at third base (19 games, 11 starts), second base (17 games, 10 starts), center field (2 games,
1 start) and in both left and right fields (1 game each)...played in 37 games at Triple A, batting .299 with 11
2B, 7 HR and 25 RBI...saw action at every position in the field for Tucson except for first base, catcher and
pitcher...played winter ball for Mazatlan of the Mexican Pacific League, hitting .244 (32-for-131) with 8
homers and 24 RBI in 39 games.]
2003
Set career highs in games played (129) and at bats (453), while hitting a combined .254
with 24 doubles, 8 homers and 48 RBI...spent the majority of the year with Tucson (AAA) but also played
in 14 tilts for El Paso (AA)...saw most of his time at shortstop (116 games) with limited action at second
base (seven games) and outfield (10 games)...matched his career-high with 4 hits on Aug. 3 against Iowa
and again Aug. 30 vs. Fresno...he batted .419 (13-for-31) during an eight-game hitting streak from Aug. 12-
19...posted a .303 average (59-for-195) in 54 games at Tucson Electric Park.
2002
Tim was a regular in the El Paso (AA) lineup, followed by the opportunity to participate in the Arizona Fall League ... among the Diablos leaders, he tied for third home runs (10), fourth in games (126) and ranked fifth in at-bats (433), runs (61), hits (118) and RBI (64) ... his team-high 19 hit-by-pitches actually topped the Texas League and tied for second among all Double-A players ... he torched Round Rock in the season-opening series, hitting safely in all 5 games while batting .500 (9-for-18) with 8 runs, 3 doubles and 6 RBI, including a pair of 3-hit games ... he had a .469 average (15-for-32) with 8 runs, 4 doubles and 9 RBI while hitting in 8 of 9 contests to open the year ... he was perfect at the dish on April 13 vs. San Antonio, going 4-for-4 with a walk ... Tim batted .500 (7-for-14) over a 4-game stretch from June 10-13, clubbing 3 home runs with 7 RBI ... he had a 13-game hitting streak from June 29-July 13 with a .400 average (20-for-50), 10 runs, 10 RBI and 4 doubles ... the extended hitting streak kicked off a stretch in which he hit safely in 18 of 19 contests from June 29-July 19, batting .342 (25-for-73) with 13 runs and 13 RBI ... from August 7-18, he hit .344 (11-for-32) during a 9-game hitting streak ... he posted his best monthly average of the season in June, hitting .315 (23-for-73) with 12 runs, 4 homers and 15 RBI ... his home and road statistics were complete opposites, as he hit .318 (68-for-214) with 43 RBI in 65 games at Cohen Stadium in El Paso while batting .228 (50-for-219) with 21 RBI in 61 road contests ... although he played shortstop in 107 games, Tim displayed flexibility on defense, playing all 3 outfield positions, total 22 games, and once at second base ... a member of the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League, he was selected by the league's managers and coaches to the AFL All-Prospect Team and named to USA Today's AFL All-Star Team ... he posted the league's second-highest batting average at .374 (40-for-107), the fourth-best on-base percentage (.429) and fashioned a 9-game hitting streak.
How obtained:
Signed as Arizona's 7th round selection in the June 2000 free agent draft.
2001
He hit a combined .371 (69-for-186) with runners on base ... he missed the season's first month with a broken right thumb ... he hit safely in 11 straight games from June 12-27 ... he belted his second grand slam of the year on June 17, the third of 3 consecutive games with a home run ... he was promoted to El Paso (AA) on July 11 and hit .378 over his first 12 games ... after the season, he hit .241 in 26 games for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League. 2000bHe joined the parent club for the Hall of Fame Game in Cooperstown, NY, on July 24 ... stole 6 bases in 6 games from August 6-12.
