While the quality of his bat is undeniable, one of the reasons why Matt Olson has been so valuable to the Atlanta Braves has been his constant availability. In an age where playing time is heavily regulated and teams work hard to preserve their players if they show even the slightest inclination of being banged up, Olson is a throwback to a time when some players were just written in ink every day, no matter what. Now, Olson's Iron Man streak is starting to get into crazy territory.
On Tuesday, Olson played in his 895th consecutive game, with the streak originating way back on May 2, 2021. That ties Olson with Hall of Famer Stan Musial for eighth on the all-time consecutive games played list, and second place among active players (Pete Alonso) has 372 games to go before catching up with where Olson is right now.
With Olson showing no signs of missing time anytime soon (knocks on wood), let's take a look at who is next for the Braves' Iron Man to overtake on the leaderboard and what it will take.
Matt Olson's ascent up the all-time consecutive games leaderboard is about to slow down a lot, but top 3 remains in reach for him
Before anyone gets too excited, there is basically zero chance that Olson ever catches up with Cal Ripken Jr. or Lou Gehrig. To do so, he would have to double his current streak...and then still play in several hundred more consecutive games just to catch Gehrig. If he wants to catch Ripken, he will basically have to triple his current mark.
However, the rest of the list is pretty doable over the next few years. Olson cannot catch anyone else ahead of him on the leaderboard. Here is who is left and their consecutive games played totals.
- Cal Ripken Jr - 2,632 games
- Lou Gehrig - 2,130
- Everett Scott - 1,307
- Steve Garvey - 1,207
- Miguel Tejada - 1,152
- Billy Williams - 1,117
- Joe Sewell - 1,103
That is quite the list of luminaries. With 49 games left this season, Olson should be able to pass Sewell if he "just" plays a full season next year (and that is a big IF with the CBA/lockout potentially shortening the season). After that, another season should get him past Garvey. Scott also seems attainable despite that being several seasons down the road, but the road probably ends with Olson in third place at best.
Wherever Olson ends up, this has been a remarkable run. There are so many things that can go wrong (knocks on wood again) in baseball that a player has no control over whatsoever. That Olson has been able to avoid those pitfalls AND keep himself in playing shape this long while being one of the better hitters in baseball is absolutely wild. Not too shabby for a guy that some Braves fans hated just because he was Freddie Freeman's replacement, huh?
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