Matt Olson on track for another MVP-worthy season. How is he still underrated?
Years into his Braves tenure, it’s evident Matt Olson’s steadiness is often overlooked nationally, his remarkable reliability assumed rather than appreciated.
The first baseman is an Atlanta native who holds the Braves’ single-season record for homers and RBIs. He hasn’t missed a game since joining the franchise in 2022. He’s contributed to four playoff teams during the Braves’ second-most successful era in Atlanta. He’s been the team’s best player in 2026.
Why, then, does Olson still feel underappreciated?
“Honestly, my best answer is I don’t really care,” Olson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It doesn’t matter what is being said or what isn’t being said. Everybody is going to have an opinion and whatever it is, it’s fine. It doesn’t change when the game starts and us trying to win games. I just don’t really have a stance on it.”
It’s the story of Olson’s career. Scour the internet archives and you’ll find headlines about Olson’s underrated status as far back as seven seasons ago. It was understandable then. He was unestablished on a nondescript A’s team that received no national publicity.
One would think his performance would get more credit by now, after essentially going from Triple-A to the bigs. Olson is a historic figure in Braves history, after all. His current pace could make his candidacy for Cooperstown a bit more compelling than once perceived.
He’s one of the most illustrious power hitters employed by a franchise that’s featured Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Chipper Jones. And he knocked soon-to-be Hall of Famer Andruw Jones down a notch in the single-season record books. In that 2023 campaign, Olson became the first Braves player to lead the majors in homers and RBIs since Aaron, in 1957.
He’s also the premier ironman for a franchise that’s featured Dale Murphy, who holds the franchise record for consecutive games played. Olson owns MLB’s longest-active run by playing in 817 straight games as of this writing, dating back to May 2, 2021.
Consider the rarity: Since 2000, there have been only five other consecutive-games-played streaks that exceeded 500; the longest such run came from Whit Merrifield, whose 553 games pale in comparison to Olson’s continuing achievement.
“(He’s) big-time (underrated),” third baseman Austin Riley said. “It’s the consistency he shows every day, that’s really hard to do. The consistency you see (offensively), he’s going to drive in 100 (runs), hit around 30 homers or more, and the No. 1 thing is postability. He’s showing up every day.
“The consistent at-bats, then from a third-baseman standpoint, all I have to do is throw it over there and he’ll catch it. He takes ground balls with Ozzie (Albies) every now and then, to me, he’s very athletic and understands his body and knows how to move. I wouldn’t be surprised if he could go play shortstop.”
Riley compared perception here with Cleveland All-Star José Ramírez, who’s assembled an excellent career as the face of a small-budget franchise that’s constantly overachieved. He was saying Olson’s and Ramírez’s routine excellence almost bores outsiders, though it’s appreciated by those in the game.
“They just post every day; you know what you’re getting,” he said. “They’re going to be in the lineup every day and they’re going to produce. That sometimes gets lost in the works a little bit. I love throwing to (Olson), that’s for sure. I love being his teammate.”
Numbers don’t lie
Overall, Olson has twice been an All-Star as a Brave (plus another in Oakland). He has two top-10 MVP finishes in his career. He’s a three-time Gold Glover, well renowned for his exceptional defense. Not to mention his charitable works, which don’t always get the recognition they deserve but have only added to his Braves legacy.
No, he doesn’t show a vibrant personality. But he’s doing all this for one of the most popular teams in America. Surely he feels like a more noted player now than he’d been in the past?
“Eh, I don’t really know,” Olson said before a lengthy pause and chuckle. “I don’t really have a good answer for you other than I really don’t know. I just go and play baseball.”
Olson isn’t the chatty type, but the whole just-go-play-baseball thing is working well for him. He’s hitting .300 with a 1.047 OPS. He has 12 homers and 32 RBIs in 36 games. These counting stats are all-important when it comes to awards like, well, National League MVP.
His 2.3 bWAR is the best mark on baseball’s best team. League wide, only Angels breakout ace starter José Soriano has been more valuable (2.6 bWAR). Olson is finally getting nationwide applause right now, after smashing his 300th homer Monday (158 of those have come with the Braves).
Olson, 32, is the youngest active player with 300 home runs and — given his power prowess, sweet swing and everyday presence — joining the 500 club won’t be impossible (just 28 players have reached that mark).
Note, he also leads all first basemen in defensive runs saved over the past five years. And if there’s concern about him wearing down, this season and/or down the road, it’s worth mentioning his career .919 OPS in September (plus October) is his best of any month.
In recent weeks, it seems Olson has built momentum in the macro view. It’s somewhat a laughable suggestion that’s just started occurring, given how he’s played since March, but he was nonetheless a footnote in a bustling season.
Olson was lost among myriad early storylines. Injuries. Drake Baldwin’s ascending stardom. Michael Harris II being anything but a slow starter. Riley’s woes. Manager Walt Weiss’ tackling. Signee Mike Yastrzemski’s disappointment. Mauricio Dubón’s thriving.
‘A superstar’
All the while, Olson was stationed at first base every single day. He’s there playing the same marvelous defense while his offense is sometimes lost in this beautiful mix of efficiency.
See how Weiss — who was a teammate of talents like Jones, Reggie Jackson and Mark McGwire, and has worked with so many other standouts through the years — speaks on Olson.
“I want to be careful saying this is as good as I’ve seen him, because ’23 was ridiculous, but he’s swinging the bat really well,” Weiss said after Olson hit his first walk-off homer for the Braves in the last homestand. “He’s a really good hitter. He’s one of the better players in the game, really, when you start looking at the whole package. What he does on defense — Matt Olson is a superstar.”
Then why isn’t he always presented as such?
Is it his businesslike approach that lacks the flair of a marketer’s dream? Olson is a funnier, more playful guy than some might assume, even if he isn’t always animated in the public eye. (Riley: “You know Ozzie talks a lot of smack — Matty is right up there with him. He picks and chooses his time, a little subtle stuff here and there, but he can hold his own when it comes to the smack talking.”) But he isn’t faking anything for attention.
Is it because Olson is among a crowded roster of big-name players, so it’s harder to stand out? Is it because one simply can’t escape the status of being an Oakland A unless he departs for New York or Los Angeles?
Is he just forever in the shadow of Freddie Freeman, his future Hall of Fame predecessor whose exit — no matter how good Olson is — is a scar on this franchise? Take a look at that comparison this season, by the way, while also factoring in that Freeman turns 37 in September.
Olson will be 32 throughout this campaign.
Perhaps this is the season, with Olson spearheading what appears to be the next great Braves offense, that he’s lauded as a franchise-changing talent. The wins and homers should continue piling up. The defense will remain sterling. The MVP discussion will accelerate in summer and draw more eyeballs to his production.
Maybe this is finally when his excellence demands due credit. Or maybe that perspective will come with more time.
Either way, Olson will continue standing at first base. He’ll keep smacking home runs. He’ll remain unfazed by the accolades and attention he either receives or doesn’t. And he’ll remain indifferent that any stories like these are ever written.
After all, Olson just wants to play as well as he can for as long as he can. The rest of us will watch and enjoy. Maybe that’s all the appreciation he needs.
About the Author
Gabriel Burns is a general assignment reporter and features writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After four years on the Braves beat, he's expanded his horizons and covers all sports. You'll find him writing about MLB, NFL, NBA, college football and other Atlanta-centric happenings.
