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

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

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 catch ...

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 Bro ...

in Tucson, Arizona. He was selected by

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

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

1981 Major League Baseball Draft The 1981 Major League Baseball draft took place in June 1981. The draft saw the Seattle Mariners select Mike Moore (baseball), Mike Moore first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Ba ...

. 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. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

, and

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

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 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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

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 D ...

to the Tigers prior to the

1999 Major League Baseball Draft The 1999 Major League Baseball draft, was the annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1,474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections Supplemental fir ...

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