Better than all right. Olerud has been awesome.

"No one has hit the ball harder as consistently as John has this season," Valentine said. "The unknown about him is that he's played as well defensively as anyone."

Said General Manager Steve Phillips, "He has been very, very consistent this year. And he's a stabilizer for our team. He calms everybody down."

Staying calm is a challenge in the middle of a big market, with a pennant race going on, the batting crown on the line and a baby on the way. John entered the stretch run of the season eagerly expecting the delivery of he and Kelly's first child.

"I was a little nervous," John says. "Something we prayed a lot about over the course of the pregnancy was that I'd be able to be there when the baby was born. I was confident that if it was God's will, I'd make it back. I wanted to see how the Lord would work in the situation. As it worked out, the timing couldn't have been any better."

John got word that Kelly was going into labor after a night game in Philadelphia Sept. 15. He caught the last train and was in New York in plenty of time for the arrival of Garrett John. Mother and son did great, and John was quickly back with the team.

Seemingly in celebration of the birth, Olerud went on a tear. Soon after Garrett arrived, Olerud began a streak that tied the Barry Bonds' NL record by reaching base 15 straight times. Olerud's nine straight hits during the streak equaled Jose Vizcaino's club record and was one short of the league mark.

"Kelly did so well with the pregnancy, and we kept it before the Lord in prayer, so it didn't take my mind off of the game at all," John said.

And, of course, Olerud wasn't distracted by all the attention. That went skyward to blasts of McGwire and Sosa. Olerud does have one recognizable quirk, however. He is the only non-catcher in baseball who wears a helmet on the field, a flapless variety he got in the habit of wearing after surgery for an aneurysm in 1989. He gets occasional ribbing about the helmet.

"Mainly you hear things from the fans like, ‘Hey, you forgot to take your batting helmet off,' or ‘Get a real hat.' It's mostly good-natured."

Just like Olerud, who is taking the season of successes — the .350 average and the birth of Garrett — in stride with the disappointments — barely missing the playoffs. For all his trouble, he may not be very well known compared to other successful players, but he doesn't care.

"Aside from Toronto and being in the World Series, I haven't been recognized a whole lot before," Olerud said. "That was about it. I'm a lot taller than most people, so usually people say he must play basketball