Matt Olson tied the Braves’ franchise record for homers in a single season by hitting his 51st in a 7-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on September 12, 2023.
Number 51 tied Andruw Jones’ club record set in 2005. Olson’s next home run this season will set a franchise mark of 52.
Olson’s franchise record-tying homer was the Braves’ 279th homer, which tied the NL record the 2019 Dodgers set. Acuña’s homer broke that record and Ozuna pushed the new NL record to 281 homers. The Braves are on pace for 311 HR, which is four more than the MLB record.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) September 13, 2023
Olson hit the first pitch he saw from Phillies’ starter Zack Wheeler in the fourth inning into the left-field seats. It was Olson’s sixth home run against the Phillies, breaking a tie with the Cincinnati Reds for his most against any team this season. Olson has 11 homers in 18 career games at Citizens Bank Park.
The Homecoming
All About Olson
The Atlanta-born slugger and defensive standout hit two homers a night earlier against the Phillies. Olson is the sixth player in franchise history with at least 80 extra-base hits. He had not hit more than 39 homers in a season before this year. Olson leads MLB in both home runs and RBI. No other player has more than 44 homers.
He came home from Oakland in 2021 to “pre-replace” Freddie Freeman, who was leaving after a stellar Atlanta run that included the 2020 NL MVP and a 2021 World Series win with the Braves. Freeman continues to be an effective leader and slugger with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but Olson has surpassed his impact in Atlanta.
The Braves’ current first baseman’s 128 RBI are 25 more than any other player. He is seven shy of the Braves’ modern franchise record Eddie Mathews set in 1953. Gary Sheffield set the Atlanta season record when he drove 132 runs in 2003.
Olson has eight home runs in 12 games in September and has a 10-game hitting streak. He entered the game on pace for 56 homers and 143 RBI. He is one of just 15 players since 2000 to reach the 50-homer mark and the first left-handed hitter in the NL to hit 50 since Prince Fielder did so in 2007.
Elite Company
The Braves franchise features an exceptional history of sluggers, including Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Chipper Jones, and Dale Murphy.
However, only Andruw Jones and now Olson are the only players to have topped the 50-home run mark in a season.
Big, Bad Braves
The Braves, meanwhile, set a single-season team home run record in Monday’s game. Their 281 home runs topped the 279 hit by the Dodgers in 2019. The Braves are on pace to hit 311 on the season, which would set an MLB record.
Atlanta enters Wednesday’s game at Citizens Bank Park with a chance to clinch its sixth straight National League East crown. And, with more than two weeks remaining in the regular season, more long balls are expected.
Main Photo Credits: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
