Fastball

Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves On Prestigious List with Stars of the 2000s

Atlanta Braves' star Matt Olson played in his 492nd consecutive game on Wednesday when the Braves beat the Boston Red Sox. While a far cry from Cal Ripken's "Iron Man" streak, this puts him alongside impressive company with other stalwarts of the 2000s.

Brady Farkas

Apr 26, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson (28) hits a RBI single
Apr 26, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson (28) hits a RBI single / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
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On Wednesday night when the Atlanta Braves beat the Boston Red Sox, Matt Olson of the Braves played in his 492nd consecutive game.

The 30-year-old has the longest active consecutive games streak in the league and hasn't sat since the 2021 season. Olson played all 60 games in the COVID 2020 season, 156 in the 2021 season and then every game since, meaning he's only missed six games in the last four-plus seasons.

Now look, 492 games is a far cry from Cal Ripken's all-time consecutive games played streak of 2,632, but for the current game, it's very impressive.

In fact, in the 2000s, only a handful of players have played more games in a row than Olson currently has.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

Matt Olson has played 492 consecutive games, dating to 5/2/21

only longer streaks since 2000:

2000-07 Miguel Tejada: 1,152
2018-22 Whit Merrifield: 553
2010-14 Prince Fielder: 547
2000-03 Alex Rodriguez: 546
2003-06 Hideki Matsui: 518
2004-07 Mark Teixeira: 507

h/t @EliasSports

There's a few reasons why it's so impressive for Olson: First, it requires good health. In order to play that many games, you have to be healthy. Of course that takes a little bit of luck, but it also takes dedication to your preparation and taking care of your body. Also, it's impressive considering that in today's game, teams are all about platoon advantages and load management for guys, and Olson has been able to buck that in Oakland, and now in Atlanta.

Last year's Major League home run leader with 54, Olson has started slow this year, hitting just .200 with three homers and 16 RBI.

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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.