Last month, I listened to a podcast show and in the show, the host and a guest were discussing the potential MVP winners in the coming season. And, someone mentioned that Matt Olson would win the award. Well, it’s always interesting to see whether someone can correctly predict the MVP award winners. I don’t know if Matt Olson will win the MVP award. However, I was thinking about a question after listening to the show.
A year ago, the Braves acquired Matt Olson from the Oakland Athletics. Not so long after the trade, the Braves and Matt Olson agreed to a contract extension. At the same time, Freddie Freeman didn’t return to the Braves. Freeman decided to join the Dodgers in mid-March 2022. Well, Olson moved from the AL West to the NL East. In the meantime, Freeman moved from the NL East to the NL West. Hence, I was wondering whether the Braves made a great decision, which is to use Matt Olson to replace Freddie Freeman.
Looking back at the 2022 season, Matt Olson played all 162 games for the Braves, hitting .240/.325/.477 with 34 home runs and 103 RBI. Olson’s first season with the Braves wasn’t a bad one because it was a season with 30+ home runs and 100+ RBI. Nonetheless, Freddie Freeman’s first season with the Dodgers looked even better. In 2022, Freeman slashed .325/.407/.511 with 21 home runs and 100 RBI. Freeman didn’t crush as many home runs as Olson did in 2022. At the same time, Olson collected more RBI than Freeman did. However, Freeman’s OPS was over .900 and he led the majors with 199 hits. And, very interestingly, Freeman stole 13 bases, which are his career-high in a single season.
Freeman’s first season with the Dodgers was a great one. He led the majors in hits and he was selected to the All-Star game. Nonetheless, Olson finished his first season with the Braves with an OPS over .800 and he led the Braves with 103 RBI. It wasn’t a bad start.
Matt Olson will turn 29 later this month and Freeman turned 33 last September. It was reasonable that the Braves decided to ink a long-term deal with Matt Olson. However, we can’t ignore that Freeman did have a better season in 2022. The 2023 spring training games just began a few days ago. Matt Olson and Freddie Freeman used to be selected to the All-Star games and they certainly know how to prepare for a long baseball season. In the 2023 season, they will surely make an impact on their teams. Moreover, it will be interesting to see which players will have a better season. Will Matt Olson finish the 2023 season with 30+ home runs and 100+ RBI as he did in 2022? Can Freeman crush 30 home runs for the Dodgers as he did for the Braves in 2021? In 2022, Freddie Freeman finished 4th in the NL MVP voting. Perhaps, these 2 great first basemen will each receive some votes in the 2023 NL MVP voting?
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