Olson hopes to carry hot 2024 finish into '25

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.