There was much hullabaloo among fans of the Atlanta Braves when the franchise inexplicably decided to let star first baseman Freddie Freeman walk in free agency — to rival team Los Angeles Dodgers, no less. But the Braves front office had a plan to replace Freeman by acquiring Matt Olson from the free-falling Oakland Athletics to somewhat approximate the production they'll be missing in the aftermath of Freeman's departure.

Now, Olson has vindicated that plan, and then some. Even though the 29-year old first baseman may not be as impactful of a player as a whole as Freeman, he has been an elite player in his own right — even etching his name into Braves lore in the process. Amid the Braves' stellar 2023 campaign, Olson has hit 51 home runs, tying Andruw Jones for the most in franchise history in a single season.

That is not a small feat, as the Braves have had plenty of hard-hitting sluggers ply their trade for the franchise over the years. Even Matt Olson sees just how surreal an achievement it is to see his name alongside Jones in Braves franchise lore.

“It's a cool feeling. I watched him growing up and know the kind of player he was. It's cool to be mentioned with him,” Olson said, per ESPN.

In a lineup full of dangerous hitters, Matt Olson is simply a different animal, a monster who feasts on pitchers' mistakes quite easily. The Braves first baseman leads the entire MLB in home runs, and it's not quite close, as he has seven more home runs than the second-ranked players (a tie between Pete Alonso and Shohei Ohtani).

Andruw Jones, to his credit, is very happy for Olson, especially when Jones predicted that it'd be the former Athletic who'll be tying (and more likely than not, surpassing) his crown soon enough.

“way to go @mattolson21 proud of you keep it going 60?” Jones wrote on his official Twitter (X) account.

With 17 games left in the Braves' season, Matt Olson will have plenty of opportunities to set himself apart as the franchise's all-time single-season home run king. And who knows, maybe he indeed threatens for 60 like Andruw Jones hopes he would.