Fastball

Atlanta Braves First Baseman Now Closing in on Baseball History of the Last 80 Years

Can Matt Olson grab this record before the end of the year?

Brady Farkas

Atlanta Braves first base Matt Olson (28) runs to first base after hitting a ground ball against Philadelphia Phillies during the seventh inning at Truist Park on Aug 22.
Atlanta Braves first base Matt Olson (28) runs to first base after hitting a ground ball against Philadelphia Phillies during the seventh inning at Truist Park on Aug 22. / Jordan Godfree-USA TODAY Sports
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The Atlanta Braves lost to the Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon to fall to 70-60 on the year. Despite the loss, Atlanta is still in current possession of the third and final wild card spot in the National League. They are 2.5 games up on the New York Mets, who are the first team out.

Despite the loss, Sunday was still a historic day for first baseman Matt Olson. He started his 454th straight game at first base and he is now closing in on an incredible record of the last 80 years.

Per @OptaSTATS on social media:

Today is Matt Olson's 454th consecutive team game played at first base for the @Braves.

That's the second-longest streak of team games played at 1B by any major leaguer over the last 80 seasons, behind Pete Rose (477 straight spanning the 1979 and 1982 seasons).

The 30-year-old Olson isn't having the best year by his standards, but he has been the picture of durability since getting to Atlanta before the 2022 season. He's played every single game arriving in a trade with the Oakland Athletics. Olson led the majors in homers last season with 54.

This year, he's hitting just .226 but still has provided 22 homers. He'll be leaned on more heavily as the season goes considering that the Braves are down Ronald Acuna Jr., Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies to injury. Acuna Jr. is out for the year after tearing his ACL.

The Braves are back in action on Monday night when they take on the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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