BIG NEWS: Atlanta Braves first baseman reaches incredible milestone as he joins the great history of the last 50 years.
Matt Olson has been the epitome of durability during his career.
The Atlanta Braves lost 9–5 against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. With the setback, they are now one game behind the New York Mets for the National League’s third and final wild card slot.
Despite the setback, one Braves player, Matt Olson, accomplished an astounding achievement.
From Sarah Langs of MLB.com:
Matt Olson is playing his 600th consecutive game, dating to 5/2/21
only other streaks of 600+ to begin in divisional era (1969):
1982-98 Cal Ripken Jr: 2,632
1975-83 Steve Garvey: 1,207
2000-07 Miguel Tejada: 1,152
1978-83 Pete Rose: 745
1981-86 Dale Murphy: 740
1973-78 Rose: 678
1969-73 Sandy Alomar Sr: 661
Olson has been the definition of durable over the last few years. Since arriving in Atlanta in 2022, he’s played in every single Braves game. As Langs notes, this streak started with Oakland in 2021, when he played in 156 games that year. This streak is even more impressive considering that teams just don’t let guys play every day anymore, yet Olson has bucked the trend.
Olson has 25 home runs and 72 RBI this season, which is a long cry from his MLB-leading 54 and 139 from last season. Olson is hitting.232 this year, but he does not have the same lineup protection. Ronald Acuna Jr. has been absent for much of the season due to a torn ACL, while Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley have also lost significant time.
The Braves will face the Blue Jays again on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET.
