The Atlanta Braves, as expected, entered the 2023 MLB playoffs as the favorite to take home the coveted World Series crown. According to odds from FanDuel, the Braves, at +250, are the odds-on favorite to win the championship. No one is surprised by this; the Braves finished the season with the best record in the league, at 104-58, and they have incredible depth up and down the roster that other teams will have difficulties matching.

However, being the favorite isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world to deal with from a mental standpoint. Other teams are always gunning for their heads, and in the Braves' case, they may end up running into the same demons they faced last year when they suffered an NLDS defeat to the underdog Philadelphia Phillies.

Nevertheless, Braves first baseman Matt Olson believes in his team's ability to hold their end of the bargain, acknowledging that while some may think that being the best team in the league adds pressure to win the World Series, he doesn't feel this way at all.

“No, I don’t think it adds pressure. I mean, people are aware of the season that we’ve had. (Opponents are) always going to bring their best. But I don’t think it puts any sort of target (on us). Especially now, in the playoffs — anything can happen,” Olson said, per David O'Brien of The Athletic.

Anything can happen indeed, which is why the Braves will have to play with what San Antonio Spurs head coach has coined “appropriate fear” — bringing just the right amount of respect against certain opponents while acknowledging that nothing is given in professional sports.

At the very least, Matt Olson is cognizant of the fact that the MLB playoffs is a crapshoot, and all they can do to invite the odds to fall kindly in their favor is to give it their all in every plate appearance and every pitch that gets thrown.

“It’s gonna be the best team, the hottest team. We’ve just got to put our heads down and do our thing,” Olson added.

The Braves' 2023 NLDS clash against the Phillies will begin on October 7, Saturday, at 6:07 p.m.