Matt Olson‘s second season with the Braves has gone far better than the first. This is what Alex Anthopoulos and company were expecting when they swung the blockbuster trade for him a couple of offseasons ago. He ranks second in Major League Baseball with 39 homers and leads the league in RBIs by a wide margin, picking up his 100th of the season in yesterday’s win over the Pirates.
Yesterday also marked Olson’s 11th straight game with an RBI, which is now a franchise record.
https://twitter.com/BallySportsSO/status/1689079286001516546
Olson’s 100th RBI, which ironically came on a walk, also tied him with Wally Berger for the fastest player in Braves franchise history to reach the mark.
Matt Olson makes history.
He has collected an RBI in 11 straight games, a franchise record. He also matched the mark for the fastest Braves player, by team games, to reach 100 RBI in franchise history, tying Wally Berger, who also drove in 100 runs in 111 games in 1935.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) August 9, 2023
Berger would end the 1935 season with 130 runs batted in. The Braves live ball era record is held by Eddie Matthews, who knocked in 135 runs back in 1953. With 51 games remaining, Olson is on pace to eclipse that mark by 10.
The Braves first baseman is also well on track to smash the Braves franchise record for home runs in a single season, which is held by Andruw Jones, who blasted 51 long balls back in 2005. Olson is sitting on 39, putting him on pace to hit 56, and with the way he’s been going lately, he could approach 60.
Olson’s put together one of the more ridiculous 41-game stretches ever in the history of the game. Since June 17th, he’s hitting .333 with 20 homers and a ridiculous 54 RBIs to go along with a 1.226 OPS.
What’s even crazier is Olson has shown no signs of slowing down. He’s been even hotter of late, with seven homers, a .395 batting average, and 1.464 OPS over his last 11 games. Olson is putting together arguably the greatest power season in Braves franchise history, and he’s not even close to the best player on his team, yet another testament to how incredible Atlanta’s offense has been this year.
—
Photographer: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire
You must log in to post a comment.