Tyler Krieger remembers the conversation happening organically.
It went something like this:
“Let’s look at these swings. And I really think that you have the chance to do something special because I think there’s a lot of ways you can improve your swing. And you’re already a good player.”
Krieger was talking to his longtime friend Matt Olson, the Braves’ star first baseman. In 2022, Olson had experienced some struggles at the plate – by his standards, at least. And in the offseason, Krieger and Olson began working together on a full-time basis, which has been beneficial for both men.
The two always had hit together during the offseason. But Krieger, who had been playing in the minor leagues, had just retired. He had time on his hands.
This was the start of a philosophical change for Olson. Whereas he used to just hit, he now uses video, data and technology to break down his swings and understand why he does each component of them.
But Olson, of course, was one of baseball’s top hitters before this.
Why change?
“Well, I just felt like I’d have a good year, then I’d have a bad year, then I’d have a good year,” Olson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I guess the way to put it is, I was always, like, a feel hitter. I would do different things without truly knowing the outcome that I’m trying to work to. Just kind of being able to dig a little deeper into it and really cracking down into how I want the swing to look and what moves I’m trying to make, I feel like, should lead to some better consistency.”
Coincidentally – or maybe not – Olson had a career year after working with Krieger. The early results were, um, encouraging: In 2023, Olson blasted 54 home runs to set a new Braves franchise record. He led all of MLB in home runs and RBIs (139). And within that, he achieved more consistency. He found ways to limit his slumps.
When Olson would hit with Krieger during the offseasons, he would notice Krieger taking video of his own swings. “Why are you doing that?” Olson would think to himself.
“Early on in my career, I just kind of hit, you know?” Olson said. “I guess the joke’s on me now because I’m doing that five years later.”
Krieger and his friend, Sean McLaughlin, own Maven Baseball Lab – a state-of-the-art facility where they use their technology, and their past experiences in the game, to educate players and maximize their talent. Krieger doesn’t want or need credit for helping Olson, but it seems Olson has benefited from working with Krieger. (Among the names who have stopped by Maven: Byron Buxton, J.D. Martinez and Cedric Mullins.)
From a young age, Krieger was interested in the below-the-surface aspects of hitting. “I wasn’t that talented of a player, so I always had to figure out a way to get an edge,” Krieger told the AJC. For him, that was understanding his swing mechanics.
Krieger’s father spent 30 years with Mizuno. His father gave him every resource to improve his game. When Krieger was younger, he became connected with Robert Van Scoyoc and Craig Wallenbrock, who are prevalent in Southern California. Van Scoyoc now is the Dodgers’ hitting coach, and Wallenbrock is a private instructor who’s known as a hitting savant.
“I think the way we approach, if that’s different, is we look at principles, we don’t care about style,” Krieger said. “We care about the key principles that make up good hitters, and then we let hitters have their own style to make those principles come to life. And I think what we’ve done a good job of is, at Maven, we’ve identified them, we’ve learned how to measure them and then we’ve learned how to communicate them.”
Those principles are, well, a secret. The work comes in the batting cage, where Krieger’s observations and instruction are key.
In Olson’s case, he used to sway back when swinging, to the point where he wasn’t putting himself in a good position to hit the ball. When he would sway back, he would reach his foot too far out in front of his front hip. He would try to re-center himself, he would be out of whack.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
With Krieger, he’s solved this. The two have worked to put Olson in a position to swing naturally.
“So, he’s one of the smartest hitters that I’ve ever worked with,” said Krieger, who has other major-league clients. “I think what makes him special is he has – maybe our verbiage and the way we say things isn’t always the same, but I can tell him something, and he can do it. That’s his gift. He has great body control, he has great body awareness to where, when you show him something, he’s able to do it right away.”
The first time Krieger sat down with Wallenbrock, the coach told him: “If I do my job right, my goal is to become obsolete. I teach you the principles and then you become your own best coach.” Olson, Krieger said, is his own best coach.
“He really understands his body, so he can make adjustments quick,” Krieger said. “And the great thing about him is if you can show him something – that, like, ‘Hey, maybe this a little off here from a couple weeks ago’ – his ability to make just make that adjustment quick and then go find the barrel a couple times, get back on track, is what separates him, it separates everybody, from good to great.”
In 2023, Olson never went more than 18 games without a homer and never went more than seven without driving in a run. He never had a hitless streak span more than four games.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Consistency.
“It’s the ultimate goal, right?” Olson said. “You don’t want to have a bad month, you want to have a bad two or three games and figure out what you need to do to get back. And to me, the more you know about yourself, the easier it’s gonna be, and that’s kind of like my whole thought process behind it.”
Would Krieger be surprised if Olson hit 54 home runs again?
“Uh, no. No,” Krieger said. “He’s got a lot of power, he’s really gifted. Obviously that’s a special season. I don’t think you ever go out and say, ‘I’m gonna hit 54 home runs.’ I think you just go try to put good at-bats together and then you look up in August, September, and you’re like, ‘Wow, what a season.’ I think that’s what he’s really good at. He’s super even-keel, so he doesn’t ever let any of that stuff get in his head. He’s pretty good at staying the course. When he is in a slump or when he’s got a week of (homers), he’s the same guy, and that’s what makes him the best.”
And if you know Olson, you know that, even in spring training, he wasn’t thinking about last season. It’s over.
Time for the encore.
“I think it’s a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business all the way around,” Olson said. “Everybody starts with zeroes this year. It was a good year last year, but that’s not gonna do anything for us now, so you gotta continue to try to fine-tune what you do and keep progressing.”
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