13 reasons Matt Olson is better than your favorite player

For fans of eight teams (and, for a quick minute early on, ten) the postseason is the best part of the baseball calendar. The players you’ve grown attached to throughout the regular season get to shine, and maybe even some late August call ups get to be the heroes of a tight series and be forever beloved by the fan base.

It’s a chance for electric personalities, talented players, and unlikely stars truly emerge. So for every playoff team, we’re picking one of the most exciting players to watch and explaining why we love them so much. Here’s why we love Matt Olson.

1. In spring training, he beat noted good defensive player Matt Chapman in a ground ball contest and won $20.

2. He has 13 defensive runs saved in 2018, best on the team except for Chapman’s 29. But at least he got that 20 bucks!

3. He does super basic things like go to ice bars.

4. As a rookie in 2017 Olson hit 24 home runs in just 59 games.

5. One of those 24 dingers broke up a no-hitter in the ninth inning.

6. He’s a world traveler.

7. He’ll wear a Patriots jersey ... for a price.

8. But don’t get things confused, he’s Falcons through and through. Even if it means going behind enemy lines to watch a game not too long after one of the worst Super Bowl collapses of all time.

9. When he follows through on a swing, sometimes he looks like he’s posing for a picture.

10. Okay more than just sometimes.

11. He gives good hugs.

Photo by David Banks/Getty Images

12. Really good hugs. “I will lift you off the ground” hugs.

Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

13. He makes me dislike the “Defend Oaktown” slogan like 2% less than before.