Kasey Olenberger

Kasey Garret Olenberger

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 235 lb.
• School Long Beach State
• High School Piner High School

• Born March 18, 1978 in Santa Rosa, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Kasey Olenberger has had a winding career. Before he made it to Organized Baseball, he had pitched in NCAA Division I, the independent leagues, Taiwan, Italy and the Olympics. His father Larry Olenberger has been a manager and coach.

College, Solano and Taiwan

Olenberger went 6-2 with a 4.02 ERA for Long Beach State in 1999, but was undrafted out of college. He signed with the Western Baseball League's Solano Steelheads for 2000 and was 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA.

Olenberger returned to Solano for part of 2002 and went 5-2 with a save and a 3.16 ERA, striking out 42 in 42 2/3 innings. He also spent time with the Kaoping Fala of the Taiwan Major League, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) in 5 innings and going 0-1.

Italy

Olenberger joined the Italian national team for the 2003 European Championship (1-0, 0 R in 8 IP) and 2003 Baseball World Cup (0 R in 7 IP). He spent the 2003 regular season in Italy, pitching for Cantine Ceci - Parma. He was 5-7 with a 3.13 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 106 1/3 IP.

Kasey was 5-6 with 3 saves and a 2.94 ERA for Parma in 2004; he won his only playoff game. He went 0-1 with a 7.45 ERA in the 2004 Olympics while with Italy. He allowed one run in one inning in a 12-0 loss to Japan. Against the Dutch national team, he got the start and was shelled for 6 runs in 5 2/3 IP on 8 hits, including a Sharnol Adriana homer. Olenberger lost to Patrick de Lange. His best outing was in relief against Gold Medal winner Cuba, allowing one run in 3 innings of relief in a 5-0 loss.

Minors

After having bounced around the baseball world with a 16-18 record in the indies, Taiwan and Italy, Olenberger was signed by the Los Angeles Angels prior to 2005. He went 9-7 with a 3.71 ERA for the 2005 Arkansas Travelers and finished 8th in the Texas League in ERA in a fine Organized Baseball debut.

In the 2006 World Baseball Classic, the California native pitched for Italy once more. He entered against Venezuela, relieving Phil Barzilla with a 2-0 deficit in the 4th and a runner on third. He let the inherited runner score on a Val Pascucci error before retiring Omar Vizquel. In the 5th, he got Edgardo Alfonzo on a grounder and Bobby Abreu on a fly. Miguel Cabrera homered, then Olenberger retired Victor Martinez on a fly. Marc LaMacchia relieved him to start the 6th. Italy went on to lose 6-0.

The Long Beach State alumnus went 7-5 with a 5.10 ERA for the 2006 Salt Lake Bees. In the Venezuelan Winter League, the globetrotting hurler was 6-4 with a 4.12 ERA for Occidente. In 2007, he was 10-7 with a 5.25 ERA for Salt Lake. He led the Pacific Coast League in innings pitched (180) and hits allowed (205) and led Salt Lake in strikeouts (116).

In his 3rd season at Salt Lake, 2008, Olenberger went 4-6 with a 4.81 ERA in 13 starts and 23 relief appearances. In 2009, he pitched for the Jacksonville Suns, going 7-1 with three saves and a 1.10 ERA in 52 appearances. He slumped in 2010, going 2-3 with a 5.75 ERA in 47 games for the New Orleans Zephyrs and Reno Aces.

Sources

• 2000-2008 Baseball Almanacs
• 2008 Angels Media Guide
• Defunct IBAF site
• Italian Baseball and Softball Federation
• 2003 European Championship Stats
• KT Choi's Taiwan baseball database
• SABR Minor league database
• Sportsline
• Wiki Baseball (Chinese)