The Atlanta Braves won Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, improving their record to 27-13 nearly a quarter of the way into the regular season. It was an emotional day for the franchise, as the victory came on the same day that legendary manager Bobby Cox passed away. The team honored his memory with a strong performance, but the night also belonged to first baseman Matt Olson.
Olson has built a reputation as one of baseball’s true iron men throughout his 11-year MLB career. He has been one of the most durable and reliable first basemen in baseball, and his availability has become a defining part of his value.
Across his first five seasons in Atlanta, Olson has not missed a single game, an impressive streak that now sits at 688 straight appearances with the Braves.
That streak extends even further when including his time with the Oakland Athletics, the team that drafted him and later traded him to Atlanta ahead of the 2022 season.
On Saturday, Olson reached a milestone that placed him in elite company. “Matt Olson will play his 822nd consecutive game today, dating to 5/2/21, tying Gus Suhr for the 10th-longest streak in MLB history,” reported Sarah Langs on X.
Despite playing every day, Olson has not seen his performance dip. In fact, he is once again a National League MVP candidate in 2026. The 32-year-old first baseman entered Sunday hitting .297 with a .380 on-base percentage and a 1.025 OPS, which leads the entire National League. He has also scored 35 runs and hit 15 doubles, the most in MLB.
His production has been a major reason the Braves have opened the season as one of the best teams in baseball and have firmly established themselves as World Series contenders once again after missing out on postseason play in 2025.
Olson’s consistency has been huge for Atlanta's lineup, especially considering the early struggles of third baseman Austin Riley. It has also been huge considering superstar right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. is also sidelined with a left hamstring strain and has also been inconsistent this season. The Braves have elite depth, but it is hard to imagine the team in this position without Olson.
On Sunday, assuming he is in the lineup for the series finale in Los Angeles, Olson will stand alone in 10th place on the all-time consecutive games list, adding yet another chapter to one of the most impressive streaks of the modern era.
