{"id":2255,"date":"2026-06-03T04:35:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T04:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=2255"},"modified":"2026-06-03T04:35:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T04:35:21","slug":"matt-olson-baseballs-iron-man-stars-for-the-braves-on-lou-gehrig-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=2255","title":{"rendered":"Matt Olson, baseball\u2019s iron man, stars for the Braves on Lou Gehrig Day"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 On Lou Gehrig Day, baseball\u2019s reigning iron man came through with the biggest blow for the Atlanta Braves.<\/p>\n

Read more Woman killed in hit-and-run on North Wesleyan Boulevard: Rocky Mount police<\/a><\/p>\n

Matt Olson marked his 844th consecutive game with a tiebreaking homer in the sixth inning, giving the Braves a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.<\/p>\n

Olson\u2019s towering shot \u2014 his 17th homer of the season \u2014 got a big assist from a strong breeze blowing toward the right-field corner. The slugging first baseman thought he got under the ball, but it kept drifting and drifting \u2014 until it barely cleared the tall brick wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not\u201d think it was a homer, Olson said. \u201cLuckily, we had some wind blowing out that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Appropriately, Olson took a starring role on a day that Major League Baseball marked the 85th anniversary of Gehrig\u2019s untimely death from ALS at age 37 \u2014 a disease that is forever linked to the Iron Horse and cut short his then-record streak of 2,130 consecutive games.<\/p>\n

Olson, who also doubled and came around to score a run that gave Atlanta a 3-2 lead in the third, has played in every game going back to May 2, 2021 \u2014 the longest active run in the big leagues. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve talked about the streak,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not something I\u2019m hanging up on a pedestal. But to be able to show up and play while I\u2019m able to, I want to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Braves manager Walt Weiss praised Olson\u2019s durability and couldn\u2019t think of higher praise than being compared to Gehrig.<\/p>\n

\u201cLou Gehrig was one of my all-time heroes,\u201d Weiss said. \u201cI made all four of my sons do their fifth-grade book report on Lou Gehrig. That was mandatory in our house. What a legacy he left behind. And you\u2019ve got our iron man hitting the game-winning homer on Lou Gehrig Day, so very appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Attorneys want man accused of threatening Trump in Apex mentally evaluated before federal trial: Records<\/a><\/p>\n

Olson was acquired in a blockbuster deal with the Athletics ahead of the 2022 season after the Braves couldn\u2019t agree on a new contract with longtime first baseman Freddie Freeman.<\/p>\n

It was huge shoes to fill, but Olson has been highly productive since joining the Braves. He hit a franchise-record 54 homers in 2023, and is on pace for another big season for the team with baseball\u2019s best record at 41-20.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s rock-solid in every way,\u201d Weiss said. \u201cHe\u2019s so reliable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olson said there\u2019s a simple reason that he prefers playing every day, eschewing even the occasional day off. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just don\u2019t like sitting,\u201d the 32-year-old said with a smile. \u201cI\u2019ve had days off in the past and, man, it sucks sitting there and watching everybody else play. Sure, you\u2019re tired sometimes. But I just think you have a commitment to your teammates and the fans and yourself and the organization. If you can go, you should go.\u201d<\/p>\n

His playing streak is the longest in the big leagues since Miguel Tejada had 1,152 consecutive games from 2000-07. Of course, Gehrig\u2019s record was broken by Cal Ripken Jr., who played in 2,632 consecutive games during his Hall of Fame career with the Baltimore Orioles.<\/p>\n

Like Weiss, Olson appreciates what Gehrig meant to the national pastime and especially how he brought more attention to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurological disease that has no known cure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know people from my area who\u2019ve been affected by it,\u201d Olson said. \u201cA brutal disease. Every time we get a chance to bring some awareness to it and do something to help people who are really affected by it, we\u2019re all for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Durham County animal control respond to \u2018six woolly trespassers\u2019 to herd them out of a resident\u2019s yard<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP MLB: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/MLB<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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