Matt Olson and Freddie Freeman will likely be compared for the rest of their careers. Each superstar first baseman has earned the love from their new fanbase with each player's spectacular play on the diamond.
Freeman in particular had his greatest moment as a Dodger in game one of the 2024 World Series last night. Sadly, every time Freeman does something amazing that spurs a contingent of angry Braves fans who disregard all the great things Matt Olson has done for the Braves.
Freddie Freeman is great...but so is Matt Olson
While some of the comments from Braves country are flat out wrong with "Matt Olson sucks, Braves should have never let Freddie go," most of the comments generally recognize Olson for being a productive Brave. However, most comments feel a little backhanded, "I love Matt Olson BUT...Freddie blah blah blah."
Let me start by saying, I LOVE MATT OLSON…
— Dano in the Braves Hat (@DanoBraves) October 25, 2024
…but Freddie should have been a Brave for life. https://t.co/TmjMmUNwst
Every fanbase is going to have a few fans that are mad about everything though so you can't lump all of these takes into one. Freddie has done some amazing things, but every time he has a moment we don't need to drag Matt Olson down because of it. We're talking about the same guy who set the Braves franchise record for home runs in a single season.
I think since Freeman has been the model of consistency in MLB career fans get up in arms with Olson's hot and cold streaks. However, when you look up at the end of the year Olson always has respectable numbers. Olson has been good for 12.2 fWAR and 117 home runs in his three seasons with Atlanta.
On top of that fans are getting away from one of the biggest positives from the Freeman to Olson transition. Each players age. Freddie Freeman is thriving at 35 years-old, but who's to say his power starts to decline in the next year or so?
Meanwhile Olson is firmly in his prime at just 30 years-old. Yes the production since 2022 probably favors Freeman, but by the end of each players contract the pendulum could swing completely in the other direction.
Of course this all speculation, and a conversations we'll probably have a few more times before we actually get to the end of these contracts. At the end of the day both are great players and should be celebrated by all baseball fans. Just because one has an awesome moment doesn't mean the other guy needs to be mentioned every single time.