After driving in his 500th run as a Brave, the iron man first baseman earns high praise from manager Walt Weiss for his overlooked elite-level versatility.
When it comes to Matt Olson, his RBI total has never really been the headline. Home runs usually get the attention. Gold Glove defense gets mentioned every now and then. Durability is almost expected at this point.
Put it all together, though, and Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss believes the conversation around his first baseman still isn't where it should be.
Wednesday night's win over the Mets gave Olson another milestone to add to an already impressive Atlanta résumé. His sixth-inning RBI single accounted for the game's only run and made him the sixth-fastest player in franchise history to reach 500 RBIs with the Braves. Afterward, Weiss used the moment to make a broader point.
"I think I said it earlier this year," Weiss told reporters postgame via Braves Vision. "I think he's become one of the better players in the game when you take everything into consideration."
Weiss wasn't talking strictly about offense. He immediately pointed toward the parts of Olson's game that don't always dominate highlight reels.
"It's Gold Glove defense, obviously plays every day, produces every time he's out there every year," Weiss said. "Yeah, he's a really good player. One of the best."
The consistency has become easy to overlook because Olson rarely makes it feel dramatic.
He drove in all three of Atlanta's runs during Wednesday's doubleheader against the Mets, first with a two-run homer in the afternoon game before delivering the lone RBI in the nightcap. The Braves split the twin bill, but Olson was responsible for every run they scored.
That's become a familiar pattern since he arrived in Atlanta.
Olson now has more RBIs than any National League player since joining the organization. It fits the role he has embraced in the middle of the lineup, one he described pretty simply after the game.
"That's my job," Olson said postgame, via Braves Vision. "Middle lineup guy, drive guys in. These guys get on base for me, and I've got to do my job and push some runs across."
There wasn't much interest from Olson in celebrating the milestone itself.
Instead, he quickly shifted the attention toward Chris Sale and a pitching staff that made one run stand up in a 1-0 victory.
"It's not easy to win a ball game in the big leagues scoring one run," Olson said. "Sale and the rest of the pitching staff is a big part of that tonight."
That answer probably explains why Olson's production can blend into the background at times.
He rarely spends much time talking about individual accomplishments, and his game isn't built around moments that generate constant national attention. It tends to look the same every season: dependable defense, everyday availability and production that quietly piles up over six months.
Weiss suggested that's exactly why Olson deserves a different level of recognition.
There are louder stars around baseball and flashier offensive profiles. Olson's case is built differently. It's the combination of showing up every day, defending one of the game's toughest positions at a high level and continuing to produce in the middle of the order year after year.
Five hundred RBIs with the Braves is a milestone.
For Weiss, it was also another opportunity to remind people that Olson's overall value extends well beyond the number attached to Wednesday night's box score.
