BIOGRAPHY
Matthew Kent Olson was born on March 29, 1994, in Atlanta, Georgia. He is an infielder in the MLB.
Olson attended Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the first round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. He had committed to play college baseball at Vanderbilt University, but he chose to sign with Oakland rather than attend college.
Olson made his professional debut that season for the Arizona League Athletics and also played for the Vermont Lake Monsters that season. In total, he played in 50 games and hit .282/.352/.521 with nine home runs and 45 RBIs. In 2013, Olson played for the Beloit Snappers. In 134 games, he hit .225/.326/.435 but with 23 home runs and 93 RBIs.
Olson played the 2014 season with the Stockton Ports. Throughout the season he was among the home run leaders in Minor League Baseball, as during the season he batted .262/.404/.543 with 37 home runs and 97 RBIs in 138 games, and he led all minor leaguers with 500 or more plate appearances with a walk percentage of 18.5%. He played the 2015 season with the Midland RockHounds where he hit .249 with 17 home runs and 75 RBIs in 133 games. Olson played the entire 2016 minor league season with the Nashville Sounds. In 131 games, he batted .235 with 17 home runs and 60 RBIs.
The Athletics purchased Olson's contract on September 12, 2016, and he was called up to the major league club. In 2017, Olson split time between Nashville and Oakland. In 79 games for Nashville, he batted .272 with 23 home runs and 60 RBIs, and in 59 games for Oakland, he hit .259 with 24 home runs and 45 RBIs. With Oakland, he hit 13 in September (a rookie record) and one in five straight games. It was tied for third-most home runs in a player's first 65 career games in MLB history.
Olson spent all of 2018 with Oakland. On April 18, Olson hit his first career walk-off, an RBI single to secure a 12-11 comeback win over the Chicago White Sox. On September 26, he hit his first career grand slam in a 9-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Olson finished his 2018 campaign batting .247 with 29 home runs and 84 RBIs. He won his first Gold Glove Award, leading all AL first basemen with 14 defensive runs saved and an 11.6 ultimate zone rating.
In 2019, he batted .267/.351/.545. On defense, he had a 13 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) rating, the best in the major leagues among first basemen. On November 3, 2019, Olson won his second consecutive Gold Glove Award.
In 2021, Olson led the team in games played (156), hits (153), home runs (39), RBIs (111), walks (88) ranked second for batting average (.271) and on-base percentage (.371) and led the team in slugging percentage (.540). Olson was also selected for the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game to represent the American League and participated in the 2021 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby. Olson was a finalist for the Silver Slugger Award and for the Gold Glove Award.
On March 14, 2022, the Athletics traded Olson to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Cristian Pache, Shea Langeliers, Joey Estes, and Ryan Cusick. The next day, Olson signed an 8-year contract extension worth $168 million. At the time it was announced, the extension was the largest contract in team history, surpassing an eight-year deal worth $135 million signed by Freddie Freeman in 2014. Its length and total value were exceeded by a contract given to teammate Austin Riley later that season. Olson primarily wore the number 28 jersey with the Oakland Athletics, and used the same number upon signing with the Braves. Olson started wearing number 28 upon his 2017 major league promotion to Oakland because his preferred number (21), which he wore to honor Jeff Francoeur, was then being used by Stephen Vogt. Olson was one of two players in Major League Baseball to appear in all 162 games of the 2022 season, alongside teammate Dansby Swanson, who made 162 starts.
