Braves' Matt Olson evolving, matching iconic starts by Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Tris Speaker

Braves' Matt Olson remains productive, consistent, on-call

On Sunday, Olson, who hit his 300th career home earlier this season, moved past Gus Suhr and into 10th place on the list of most consecutive games played.

Here is a look at the top-10:

• 1, Cal Ripken Jr., 2,632 games (1982-98)
• 2, Lou Gerhig, 2130 (1925-39)
• 3, Everett Scott, 1,307 (1916-25)
• 4, Steve Garvey, 1,207 (1975-83)
• 5, Miguel Tejada, 1,152 (2000-07)
• 6, Billy Williams, 1,117 (1963-70)
• 7, Joe Sewell, 1,103 (1922-30)
• 8, Stan Musial, 895 (1952-57)
• 9, Eddie Yost, 829 (1949-55)
• 10, Matt Olson, 823 (2021-current)

Then a member of the Oakland Athletics, Olson has not missed a game since May 2, 2021. The Braves open a series against the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs at Truist Park on Tuesday.

At 32, Olson continues to seek ways to improve his game. His recent tinker involved making more contact against pitches and not attempting to muscle the offerings out of the park. At 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, Olson burst onto the MLB scene with 24 homers in 59 games in 2017.

After striking out a career-high 176 times last season, Olson focused on becoming more than a slugger. He wanted to become a contact hitter. Entering last weekend, the tweaks helped his contact rate rise to 79 percent, while his swinging-strike rate dipped to nine percent.

By altering his batting approach, Olson continues to prove that his brand of baseball continues to evolve.