Andruw Jones had s strong hunch when the Atlanta Braves brought Matt Olson over from the Oakland Athletics in 2022, then immediately signed him to a $168 million, eight-year contract, that his season home run record would not hold up.
“I thought Matt would be the guy to break the record,” Jones said last weekend in Atlanta when his number was retired. “He’s just got that swing. I’m pulling for him, and hopefully he can break it.”
One more long ball this year, and Olson will be all by himself in Atlanta’s record book.
Olson can set the franchise mark of 52 on Wednesday should he leave the yard when the Braves play the Philadelphia Phillies and try to clinch their sixth straight NL East title with a victory. The Braves are already guaranteed a playoff spot.
For at least one night, he is even with Jones at 51. Olson hit a solo shot in Atlanta’s 7-6 win over the Phillies in 10 innings on Tuesday, tying the team record Jones set 18 years ago in 2005.
“way to go @mattolson21 proud of you keep it going 60?” Jones wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Olson is one of Atlanta’s favorite sons and grew up a fan of Jones and the Braves.
“It’s a cool feeling,” Olson said. “I watched him growing up and know the kind of player he was. It’s cool to be mentioned with him.”
Olson did not waste any time and hit the first pitch he saw from starter Zack Wheeler in the fourth inning into the left-field bleachers. The fan who caught the ball threw it back onto the field. It was Olson’s sixth longball against the Phillies, breaking a tie with the Cincinnati Reds for his most against any team this season.
Olson has 11 homers in 18 career games at Citizens Bank Park.
“He’s a tough at-bat,” Olson said about Wheeler. “So, to be able to get one off him is good.”
Olson hit a pair of homers Monday night against the Phillies, and the milestone 50th had to be retrieved from a fan so he could put it in his trophy case.
Olson, the sixth player in franchise history with at least 80 extra-base hits, has 128 RBIs on the season. He has experienced a significant uptick in the power department, never hitting more than 39 homers in a season prior to this year.
Hard to believe, but for a franchise that boasted Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Chipper Jones, Dale Murphy and a host of other prodigious sluggers, Jones and Olson are the only Braves to hit 50 home runs in a season.
Olson, who also has a 10-game hitting streak, entered the game on pace for 56 homers and 143 RBIs. He is one of just 15 players since 2000 to reach the 50-homer mark and the first left-handed hitter in the NL to hit 50 since Prince Fielder in 2007 with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Olson has been red hot in the month of September launching eight home runs in 12 games.
