Matt Olson makes Braves history with 741 consecutive games played

NEW YORK — Matt Olson made Braves history Thursday, further establishing himself as one of the great ironmen to play for an MLB team.

Olson played in his 741st consecutive game, a streak dating to May 2, 2021. He passed Braves icon Dale Murphy for the fifth longest starting streak in the divisional era. He now holds the Braves franchise record.

“I just feel like I’m playing when I’m healthy, you know?” Olson said after the Braves’ 4-3 win against the Mets in Queens, New York. “I’m sure there’s a lot of luck involved. At some point, I’m going to get hit by a pitch in the elbow or step on a base, whatever it might be. The little stuff that happens in sports. But it’s cool to see it in (perspective).”

Since 1969, the only players who’ve played more consecutive games are Cal Ripken Jr. (2,632), Steve Garvey (1,207), Miguel Tejada (1,152) and Pete Rose (745), whom Olson could pass in the coming days.

Olson began the streak with the Athletics, playing 134 straight games before he was traded to the Braves before the 2022 season. The slugger has had an illustrious career with his hometown team, including a marvelous 2023 campaign in which he set a single-season franchise record for homers (54) and the modern record for RBIs (139).

His reliability was an instrumental part of the Braves’ success since his arrival. He came with immense pressure, replacing Freddie Freeman, and he’s met or exceeded any reasonable expectations.

“You owe it to the team, the fans, your teammates, everybody; they’re paying you this money to go out and play,” said Olson, who signed an eight-year, $168 million extension after his trade to the Braves. “If you’re able to do it, if you don’t feel bad, if it’s something you can play through, you go out and do it. Nobody is 100% except for the first week of spring training. You owe it to everybody to grind it out.”

Olson credited several people in his life for stressing the importance of playing every day. He said it was “hammered” into him at Parkview High School. He gives a lot of credit to former teammate Marcus Semien, who was a veteran on the A’s when Olson was called up.

Semien himself had a 349 consecutive games played streak — which included Texas’ 2023 championship run — until last May. He’s accrued three seasons playing in all 162 games. In his 12 seasons entering 2025, he played in at least 155 games eight times.

“He was the vet when I got to the big leagues,” Olson said. “I tried to play as much as I could. When I got to the big leagues, that next step, you don’t really know what to expect with the ins and outs of the big leagues. You set the precedent there. Then when I came over here (to Atlanta), that’s already how it was. Everybody is playing every day, then obviously Snit (coach Brian Snitker) likes running guys out there and having that continuous lineup.

“I think there’s a lot of benefit to that as a team. As a unit, knowing the guys in the lineup. Some of my early Oakland days, it was a lot of mixing and matching. I think it just keeps guys on their toes a little more. … I’ve always been a fan of the continuous lineup thing we do a lot here. It’s just seamlessly worked from childhood to high school to the big leagues.”