With one weekend of the 2022 season in the books, Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson is tied atop Major League Baseball for the league lead with eight hits.
The Braves have grown accustomed to expecting production at the plate from their first baseman, and in their series with the Reds, Olson quickly proved he’s ready to step in as a reliable bat in the lineup.
“He’s absolutely killing the ball. You lost nothing in this first series. If anything, you had a big improvement just based off of one series with the way Matt Olson is hitting the ball,” 92.9 The Game’s Joe Patrick said possibility alluding to a former Braves 1B who went 2-12 in his first series with the Dodgers.
After going 0-2 on opening night, Olson bounced back with three straight multi-hit performances to close out the series, including smacking his first home run as a Brave in Sunday’s game.
Seen by many as a pull hitter, exemplified by the Reds' shift, Olson was able to find green grass during his at-bats.
“Even some of the ones that haven’t gone over the fence or have been outs have been hit really hard, and [Olson] is using all fields too," Patrick continued.
Olson’s lone RBI was the result of his solo home run as he didn’t have many opportunities to drive in runs with Eddie Rosario and Ozzie Albies combining for just two hits in the opening series. There is one facet of Olson’s game that was exposed as a bit of a shortcoming this weekend—his “speed.” Olson was thrown out at the plate twice Saturday night and pointed out postgame that he’s never been known to have wheels.
"If anybody wrote in the scouting report from Oakland that I was fast, they lied,” he said with a smile.
It’s a new era for the Braves at first base, and it got off to a hot start this weekend. Olson and the Braves will hit the road for the first time to take on the Washington Nationals.