When it came down to the National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last season, Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. won the honor unanimously in an incredible season. Also up for the award was Braves teammate Matt Olson who also had an impressive season, but was losing the award hard for the slugging first baseman?
There is absolutely no love loss from Olson who stated that he “never cared too much about” winning the award or losing it to his peer in Acuna. He would even say that Acuna was always going to win MVP and frankly “he should have” according to an interview with Steve Kornacki of MLB.com.
“I mean, I’ve never cared too much about it,” said Olson. “No matter what, Ronald was winning that thing, and he should have.”
Despite Acuna winning MVP, Olson had a strong case
Acuna won the award with stats of having a batting average of .337, hitting 41 home runs with 106 runs batted in, plus he led the league in stolen bases with 73 of them. Olson on the other hand had an incredible season as he led all major leagues in four crucial categories with 54 dingers, 139 runs batted in, and a slugging percentage of .604.
What's the fourth category? It's the amount of games he played which is all 162. He talked about how important that is for Olson to be available every game and talked about the inspiration from former Oakland Athletic teammate Marcus Semien.
“I think it’s important to try to,” Olson said. “Obviously, things are going to happen. You can step on a base weird and get hurt, and there’s a lot of luck involved in doing it. But it’s part of the job to try to go out and play every day.”
“He [Semien] loved playing every day, and I was a young guy,” Olson continued. “He showed us how it’s done, and then I came over here and that’s how they’ve always done it.”
Olson believes Braves don't have to prove anything
While MVP awards are great, Olson is focused on the collective achievement than the individual awards as he looks for Atlanta to win the World series like they did in 2021. However, he would say that he doesn't believe that the Braves have “to prove anything.”
“I mean, I don’t think we have to prove anything,” Olson said via MLB.com. “Everybody in here wants to be holding that trophy at the end of the year. Every team does. We have the luxury of being able to look around and see the talent that we know makes it possible. We’re just going to keep doing our thing and see where we’re at at the end.”
Manager Brian Snitker touts Olson as a “throwback guy”
If there is anybody that enjoys the presence of Olson, it's Braves manager Brian Snitker who said he is “kind of a throwback guy.” He also touts him as “consistent” as Olson has played in every game in a season three times.
“It’s awesome,” Snitker said. “Matt’s kind of a throwback guy. He signed a contract to play the game, and he enjoys playing. Not playing is not an option. I mean, he’s had some rough spells and I tried to give him time off, but he didn’t want any part of it.
“He’s just consistent,” Snitker continued. “It’s a pleasure to have a guy like that who you know you just pencil him in. You don’t worry about him. He’s going to take care of himself, he’s going to show up to play, and I can’t say enough about him. [He’s] not going to short-change anything. Everything’s going to be on point with a guy like that.”
The Braves are looking to bounce back after a disappointing finish in the postseason where they lost in the divisional round to the Philadelphia Phillies after winning 104 games, the most in MLB.
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