800 Straight

He played in his 800th consecutive game at Atlanta’s Truist Field Tuesday night and helped the Braves beat the Miami Marlins, 6-5.

If Olson plays every game for the Braves for the fifth straight year, he’ll finish this season with a streak of 944 consecutive games. Assuming a lockout doesn’t delay the 2027 season, he could rank seventh among lifetime leaders in consecutive games played. By the Memorial Day marker in 2028, he could pass Miguel Tejada (1,152 games) and move up to No. 5.

“He shows up every day ready to go,” Braves manager Walt Weiss told Mark Bowman of MLB.com. “But typically, there's always something, a nick here or there that keeps you out, or even getting sick for a day. Guys come up with a stomach flu or something for a day and can't play. This guy's played through it all and continues to do so.”

Bargain Contract

At eight years and $168 million, the durable left-handed hitter is one of the bigger bargains in baseball. And he is big: he stands 6'4" tall and tops Atlanta’s single-season home run list (54 in 2023).

Olson joined the Braves by trade immediately after the last lockout ended after four months. Uncertain they could keep incumbent first baseman Freddie Freeman – the Face of the Franchise for 12 seasons -- because negotiations were frozen during the lockout, Atlanta sent four players (including budding star Shea Langeliers) to the Athletics for Olson, then signed him a day later. He had spent six seasons in Oakland after the A’s made him a first-round amateur draft choice.

Freeman, suddenly and unexpectedly without a position, subsequently signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing him to return to his Southern California roots.

The Braves gained four years and millions of dollars by substituting Olson for Freeman at first base – even though one of those traded was slugging catching prospect Shea Langeliers. Also involved in the blockbuster swap were Joey Estes, Cristian Pache, and Ryan Cusick.

Olson hasn’t missed a game since – even though then-manager Brian Snitker benched him during a slump on Sept. 24, 2022. Even then, he played the last two innings of that game against the Phillies and has started every game since.

On a team that also has Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies, and Ronald Acuna, Jr., Olson’s ability to serve as the survivor is nothing short of remarkable.

Consistent Power

He’s batted everywhere in the lineup from second to sixth but is usually deployed as the cleanup man. There’s good reason for that: according to Baseball-Reference.com, he averages 38 home runs and 107 runs batted in per 162 games.

He led the league with 54 home runs, 139 runs batted in, and a .604 slugging percentage three years ago.

Olson has never reached the World Series but has hit four home runs in post-season play. He’s also won three Gold Gloves, one of them last year, for his defensive prowess. Few first basemen are better skilled at turning the difficult 3-6-3 double-play.

A three-time All-Star, Olson could be going to this year’s game, scheduled for July 14 at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park.

Ripken was a perpetual All-Star, both at shortstop and third base. The Hall of Fame infielder, who played his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles, finished with a consecutive games record of 2,632 games – erasing the long-standing mark of Yankees icon Lou Gehig (2,130).

Olson is no threat to catch either but did start his streak on May 2, the same date that Gehrig ended his. Because he is a tall, powerful but soft-spoken first baseman who bats left-handed, Olson has other similarities to the late Yankees star, whose career was cut short by ALS.

An Atlanta native playing for his hometown team, Olson would move into eighth place on the list of consecutive games leaders when he passes Stan Musial in August.

Still ahead of him are Ripken, Gehrig, Everett Scott (1,307), Steve Garvey (1,207), Miguel Tejada (1,252), Billy Williams (1,117), Joe Sewell (1,103), Musial (895), Eddie Yost (829), and Gus Suhr (822). Tejada’s streak is the only one to occur in the 21st century.

After breaking a tie with Nellie Fox (798) on Monday, Olson is just 21 games away from climbing into the Top 10.

Alonso Next

No other active players are even close, with Baltimore first baseman Pete Alonso, formerly with the Mets, second to Olson at 433 games in a row.

There hasn’t been much talk of consecutive games since Ripken voluntarily ended his streak in 1999. That was the longest since Garvey’s skein stopped in 1983. The Williams string ended in 1970.

Asking about his longevity, Olson had a simple answer. “I’ve always said I just want to play,” he said.

The last time he couldn’t was during the first month of the 2021 campaign, when he was still with the Athletics, his original team. He fouled a ball off the batting cage at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg and was struck in the eye. As a result, he missed three games – but had a shiner for days. He said he couldn’t even open the eye immediately after the freak injury.

“It was probably a half-inch from being a real big deal,” he admitted.