Braves’ Matt Olson joins list that includes Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Willie Mays originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Atlanta Braves have continued to dominate Major League Baseball in its early stages, and a big part of that is because of what first baseman Matt Olson has done on both sides of the ball.
Olson, one of the better defensive players in baseball, has been ridiculous offensively, hitting 14 home runs and posting a .294 batting average on the year. From the look of things, Olson has a real opportunity to not only guide his Braves team to the postseason but also potentially be the National League MVP if he continues to hit a ton of home runs and Atlanta continues to win games.
He also has an opportunity to make some ridiculous history, and he recently did so by joining a list that Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and Willie Mays are a part of.
“Olson is just the sixth player to accumulate at least 28 extra-base hits, score 35 runs and tally 33 RBIs through his first 37 games of a season, joining Nap Lajoie (1901), Lou Gehrig (1927), Babe Ruth (1928), Willie Mays (1965) and Lance Berkman (2008). Before Olson, only eight players had ever led the majors in doubles, runs and RBIs at any point in May, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau.
"This month also saw him crank his 300th career home run, sparking conversation about whether 500 is possible and, if so, whether a Hall of Fame induction could follow,” Alden Gonzalez of ESPN wrote.
While this is somewhat of a random stat, it also goes to show the type of year that Olson has had early on.
Joining any list with Gehrig, Ruth, and Mays always has to make guys feel good, but the wins have been even better for a Braves team that had a lot of questions entering the season.
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