Matt Olson Bio: Family, Net Worth & Stats

Matt Olson is an American professional baseball first baseman of MLB for the Atlanta Braves. He is a left-handed batter who first started with an interest and is slowly marking his way up.

Matt attended Atlanta Braves’ Mercer’s First Pitch Classic on January 18, 2023.

Olson was traded to the Braves before the 2022 season from Oakland Athletics while signing an eight-year contract extension.

He previously played for the Oakland Athletics of MLB. In 2021, he won two Gold Glove Awards, three Fielding Bible Awards, and was an All-Star. 

He is also a right-handed pitcher whose focal point is his power and success with his versatility.

He first started his gameplay in the 2012 MLB Draft and has only gone uphill, re-focusing his arm strength and being one of the most disciplined.

Today, this article will disclose all his information, like Matt Olson’s family, early life, childhood, career, personal life, and many more.

So get ready to know more about Matt Olson, and stick with us till the end. Let’s start with his quick facts.

Quick Facts

 Early Life, Family & Education

Matthew Kent Olson was born on March 29, 1994, under Aries’ star sign to his parents, Scott Olson and Lee Olson.

Matt is the youngest son of his parents, and he grew up with his older brother, Zachary Olson, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Besides, his father always encouraged them to play the game and even went the extra mile to make them practice in the field.

When they were little, Scott Olson would take his son to a local park and make a goalpost out of trash cans to practice hitting.

Also, he used to drive his children over the southeast and parts of the U.S. to partake in games.

As his hard work paid off, Olson’s older brother, Zachary, pitched for the Harvard University team, and Matt, himself, has appeared in the Major League.

Amateur Career

Since his high school days at Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia, Olson started his baseball career.

He played as a first base and pitcher during his first years, contributing to the back-to-back state championships in 2011 and 2012.

Furthermore, he bagged the Parkview High School and Gwinnett County records for wins and RBIs during his high school tenure.

Olson was featured as a number 21 jersey, and before high school graduation, he had recorded a .431 batting average, 44 doubles, 45 home runs, 168 RBIs, and a fielding percentage over 0.980.

His school retired his jersey no. 21 in February 2019.

He planned to enroll in Vanderbilt University for the Commodores baseball team; however, he dropped it to enter the Oakland Athletics.

Oakland Athletics first drafted him in the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft in the very first round.

Professional Career

Minor League

The Year 2012

Olson’s foremost professional career commenced with the A’s affiliate in the Arizona Rookie League and Short Season Single-A Vermont Lake Monsters.

In the first season, he appeared in 50 games where he batted .282 with nine home runs and 45 RBI.

In the Arizona League, Olson stood second in home runs and fourth in doubles and RBI.

He posted his season-best 10-game hitting streak from August 12 to 25; hence, by the end of the season, Baseball America had named him the A’s No.10 prospect.

The Year 2013

Olson commenced the year at Single-A Beloit, maintaining .225 hits with 23 home runs and 93 RBI in 134 games.

He also stood second in the Midwest League in home runs and RBI, third in extra-base hits, fifth in walks, and tied for 10th in doubles.

Matt was titled ML Midseason All-Star Team, and even Baseball America named him the best defensive first baseman.

Moving further, for the week of August 19-25, Olson managed to gain the Midwest League Player of the Week as he had eight runs, five doubles, five home runs, 12 RBI, and four multiple-hit games in seven games.

The Year 2014

In 138 games for the season, Olson recorded .262 with 37 home runs and 98 RBI for the Stockton Ports.

He had 117 walks recorded as the most in the minor league, while his home run stood in third place behind Kris Bryant and Joey Gallo. 

As for the season, his other achievement was to lead CL first basemen in fielding percentage with .993.

The Year 2015

Matt made his Double-A with the Midland RockHounds, where he was successful in hitting .249 with 17 home runs and 75 RBIs in 133 games.

He, alongside his teammate Colin Walsh stood second in minor league baseball for the same walks.

Besides, Olson was selected for the Texas League Midseason All-Star Team and the All-Star Futures Game, where he had a .995 fielding percentage, .974 as an outfielder 11 outfield assists.

From April 20 to May 12, he recorded safe walks consecutively for 21 games, and till June 14, he took a season-high four walks in five plate appearances.

He starred as a designated hitter for the South All-Stars in the Texas League All-Star Game at Corpus Christi on June 30.

At the end of the season, Baseball America ranked him as the A’s sixth-best prospect.

Oakland Athletics

The Year 2016

At the start of the season, Oakland Athletics called up Olson for the Major league on September 12, as he played 11 games for them.

He was selected from Triple-A Nashville, where he made his debut in Kansas City.

Matt was the first player drafted by the A’s out of high school to reach the majors following Trevor Cahill.

The Year 2017

At the commencement of the next season, Olson started to divide his time between Oakland and Nashville, where he recorded 79 games for Nashville and 59 games for Oakland.

Oakland

Olson Played for the first time in the season for Oakland on April 21 against Seattle and appeared in another game during June 3-4 against Washington.

He hit his first league home run at Chicago on June 24 while he had another two-run homer in the seventh inning for the team.

Matt had his first career multi-homer game, followed by being the only rookie in Major League history with 15 home runs over a 21-game stretch.

However, nearing the end of the season on September 24, he strained his hamstring; therefore, he couldn’t attend any other games for the season.

Nashville

Matt played 79 games for the team; Olson had batted .272 with 23 home runs and 60 RBI, gaining the title of A’s Organization Hitter of the Year.

He also recorded his first two four-hit games against New Orleans and had a season-best 10-game hitting streak from May 15 to 25.

The Year 2018

Olson had his first full Majors this year as he featured in all 162 games; he batted .247 with 29 home runs and 84 RBI.

He claimed his award as a first baseman titled the American League Gold Glove Award. After being ranked third in the majors, he was selected for the Sporting News AL All-Star Team.

On March 29, against Los Angeles, Olson started the opening day at first base on his birthday as he had 1-for-5 with a home run.

From May 31 to June 7, he induced a career-high seven-game hitting streak, followed by his career-high five RBI against the Royals.

The Year 2019

On March 21, Olson appeared in a match of the Opening Series in Tokyo, Japan; however, he had to move out as he had pain in his right arm.

Olson underwent successful surgery to remove the hamate bone from the hand and returned healthy to the lineup on May 7.

Before his injury, he maintained 36 home runs and drove in 91 runs while batting .267 in 127 games while his home runs scored a career-high.

He made his way through his second consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove for American League first basemen as he was ranked third in the majors and seventh in Oakland.

Furthermore, he also bagged his second Fielding Bible Awards by ending the season with career numbers .311, .233, and .221. In September, he posted his three straight games for the fifth time.

He hit his first Opening Day walk-off grand slam since 1986 on 24 July 2020. Olson struggled in the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, batting .195.

He led the team in games played (156), hits (153), home runs (39), RBIs (111), walks (88) and ranked second for batting average (.271) and on-base percentage (.371) by leading the team in slugging percentage (.540) in 2021.

He was selected for the 2021 MLB All-Star Game to represent American League and participated in the 2021 MLB Home Run Derby. Matt was also the finalist for the Silver Slugger Award.

Olson is in fantasy baseball; he is quite popular there. You can watch Olson’s fantasy baseball news, rankings, projections, and stats on the website of Fantasypros. You can also visit Fangraphs to watch Olson’s MLB statistics.

Atlanta Braves

Matt Olson attended Mercer’s annual baseball First Pitch Classic on January 18, 2023, as he was a lead spokesperson. The event also featured a cash bar, a silent auction, and an opportunity to win $5000 or $10,000 in a raffle.

Olson has been ranked sixth among Major League first basemen by MLB Network in its Top potential rankings for the 2023 season.

He was among the two players in MLB to play in all 162 games of the 2022 season, alongside teammate Dansby Swanson, who made 162 starts.

Playing Style And Awards

Olson has a unique batting stance as he stands as a total package with his loud bat and strong starting pitching.

As we talk about his hitting style, he relies on his quick hands and strong wrists, which is a total feast on fastballs. Although he has a short swing, it is compact with tremendous power.

His defense has a good range of versatility with good reflexes and agility, and he wins his game through his raw power.

• 2× Gold Glove Award (2018 & 2019)
• 3× Fielding Bible Award (2018–2020)
• All-Star (2021)

Stats

Age, Height & Body Measurement

Being born in 1994 makes Matt’s age 30 years old. He has an impressive personality and physical features. 

The talented player Olson has an athletic body with a rectangular face and fair skin type. He stands 1.96 meters tall and weighs 229 lb.

Besides, he has brown hair with a light beard appearance, and his eyes are light brown.

Net Worth

The total information about Olson’s earnings is enclosed; however, he is reported to earn $5,000,000 as his average salary annually.

In 2022, Olson signed an 8-year contract extension deal with Atlanta Braves for $168 million, the largest contract in team history.

Only Freddie Freeman was the player to signal a deal of $135 million in 2014.

His baseball career income as of 7 seasons is $22,720,715.

Unfortunately, his other details about his earnings and property are also unknown.

Relationships And Children

Olson is married to his long-time blonde girlfriend named, Nicole Kidder. The duo shares a healthy relationship and does not have any kids right now.

They are seen going on vacations and having the time of their lives.

Social Media Presence

Matt Olson is quite active on social media. You can follow him via these links. He shares about his career and family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Matt Olson (@matt_olson21)

Popularity Graph 

Matt Olson is a professional baseball first baseman for the Atlanta Braves of MLB.

The above graph shows Olson’s popularity over the past twelve months.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)