This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman's Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Spring Training results don¡¯t matter unless they end up fitting the narrative.
So maybe we shouldn¡¯t make too much of the two-run homer Matt Olson hit in the first inning of Wednesday¡¯s game against the Pirates. The center field blast was hit against Pittsburgh Minor Leaguer Mike Burrows, who allowed 1.7 homers per nine innings at the Triple-A level last year.
And if we¡¯re getting excited about this Feb. 26 homer, why aren¡¯t we going crazy about Sandy Le¨®n homering in two of his first three at-bats of the Grapefruit League season?
Maybe because the 35-year-old Le¨®n has 31 career homers and Olson is just one season removed from a 54-homer campaign. Or maybe more specifically, it¡¯s because we remember how these past two Spring Trainings have evolved for the Braves' first baseman.
Olson homered eight times in 47 at-bats, once every 5.9 at-bats, during Spring Training in 2023. He led the Majors in home runs (54) and RBIs (139), while also constructing a .993 OPS that same year.
Olson homered just once in 44 at-bats during last year¡¯s Grapefruit League season. He then hit 29 homers, his lowest total in a 162-game season since 2018, with a .790 OPS.
Bad Spring Trainings don¡¯t guarantee bad seasons, the same way good Spring Trainings don¡¯t guarantee anything either. But it should be pointed out that Olson also homered six times in 49 at-bats, once every 8.2 at-bats, ahead of the 2021 regular season. He hit 39 homers with 111 RBIs that year, his final with the A's before being traded to Atlanta.
If Olson doesn¡¯t homer again before the regular season, the narrative will be he was saving his power for the regular season. But for now, we¡¯ll just say this February homer was a sign of good things to come over the next seven to eight months.
¡°[Last season] wasn¡¯t the year you set out to have,¡± Olson said. ¡°I was proud of the way I was able to battle back in the second half and I was able to help the team.¡±
Olson batted .223 with 15 homers and a .697 OPS through the season¡¯s first 106 games. He batted .293 with 14 homers and a .966 OPS over the 56 games that followed. With Ronald Acu?a Jr. and Austin Riley sidelined with season-ending injuries and Marcell Ozuna fading in September, Olson kept the Braves afloat and pushed them into the postseason with his late charge.
"I think I was trying to do a little too much early on,¡± Olson said. ¡°I found a way to do what I do, which is drive in runs and provide power in the middle of the lineup. It¡¯s the fun of it. You always get to go back to the drawing board and see how you can improve."
Olson homered once every 14.6 at-bats during that strong 56-game stretch to end last season. He homered once every 11.3 at-bats during his record-setting 2023 season.
Will he start this season like he finished the last? We might get a better idea over the next few weeks.
But if he doesn¡¯t have a good Grapefruit League season, remember that Spring Training results don¡¯t matter.