ATLANTA — Matt Olson set franchise single-season home run and RBI records in 2023 for a Braves organization that had the legendary Hank Aaron in its lineup for 21 years, had Chipper Jones for the entirety of his 19-year career, and another first-ballot Hall of Famer, Eddie Mathews, for 15 seasons. Not to mention two-time NL MVP Dale Murphy and other luminaries.

“Yeah, I know — it speaks volumes to what (Olson) accomplished,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said Monday, on a day when the Braves honored the late Aaron on the 50th anniversary of his 715th home run that broke Babe Ruth’s career record. “I remember feeling that last year. It’s like, man, you’re in some kind of great company right here, with the guys that have come through, the storied players that we’ve had in this organization over the years.”

Ask baseball fans to name the best power hitters in today’s game, and few outside of Atlanta and Oakland are likely to include Matt Olson in their top five. Many in those cities wouldn’t, either.

But the statistics say that he is, and Braves past and present have seen enough to know their first baseman belongs near the top of the current power-hitter rankings.

“Yeah, he’s elite of the elite, when it comes to swinging the bat,” Atlanta third baseman Austin Riley said of Olson, who broke those Braves records last season when he led the majors with 54 home runs and 139 RBIs.

Olson did that while playing all 162 games for the second consecutive season and for third time in the past five full seasons. He also played all 60 games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Olson, who turned 30 on Opening Day — and had three doubles in that win at Philadelphia — expects to play every day, and usually does.

He plays more than just about anyone else in baseball, and produces power numbers few can touch. Now in his ninth MLB season, Olson has averaged 42 home runs and 112 RBIs per 162 games in his career, including three homers and eight RBIs in the Braves’ first eight games this season before Monday night’s series opener against the New York Mets.

“He’s a dude,” Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer said, using the term that, for Seitzer, amounts to highest praise. “He’s a great player. There’s no doubt. We love having him, that’s for sure.”

Jones, who stood behind the cage to watch the Braves take batting practice before Monday’s game, was asked what impressed him most about Olson since the Braves traded for him before the 2022 season. They got him from the Oakland Athletics to replace Freddie Freeman, when it became clear they weren’t going to meet Freeman’s free-agent contract price.

“Consistency,” Jones said of Olson. “We can say that about so many stars that have come through here. There might not be the charisma and the splash of a Ronald Acuña (Jr.) or Andruw Jones in some of these guys, but the fact of the matter is they have a confidence about them that rubs off on their teammates. They become part of the winning culture that is very infectious around here. And they’re more concerned with the success of their team than they are the personal success. And that’s a nice quality to have.”

Olson is longer and leaner than most power hitters, at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds. He doesn’t have massive arms or legs, but unquestionably has huge power.

“I think he uses those limbs and creates leverage,” Braves left fielder Adam Duvall said. “I mean, I don’t know this, because I’m not 6-5 or long-limbed, but for the majority of players it seems a little harder to kind of sync everything up the bigger that you are. But I think when you do sync it up, it can be special.”

“He’s very strong,” Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud said. “It’s long limbs. Just crazy rotational power, too, which I noticed this year when he was working out in the spring. There’s an exercise he was doing, and I jokingly said, ‘Hey, I bet you can’t get to 1,800.’ It’s a machine that rates your power. And he got up to 2,400, and just looked at me and said, ‘Sit down.’”

Did we mention Olson, who comes across as subdued and a bit vanilla in interviews, is known for being one of the funniest guys in the clubhouse? He’s a “sneaky” buster of chops, teammates say, constantly going back and forth with second baseman Ozzie Albies and taking subtle, good-natured shots at just about anyone else, too.

“Yeah, he keeps you on your toes,” Duvall said, smiling.

“He jokes with the Latinos all the time,” said Marcell Ozuna, who had a two-run homer Monday in the third inning to give the Braves a 4-0 lead against the Mets, after Albies’ two-run double earlier in the inning off Mets starter Julio Teheran. “We’ve got a good relationship, talking to (Olson). He’s a nice guy. We make some funny comments to him, like, ‘Don’t be late.’ Things like that. He just sits there, takes it. He’s good. He’s one of the best.”

He gives as good as he gets, Ozuna and other Braves agree. Albies said the “sneaky buster of chops” label fits Olson perfectly.

Ozzie Albies celebrates with Matt Olson after hitting a solo homer against the Phillies on Sept. 18, 2023. (Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

“But it’s just fun,” Albies said. “Enjoying the moment. Go play good baseball, and that’s it. There’s not a single pitch where we don’t look at each other. When it’s serious, or not serious, it doesn’t matter, we look at each other always. We’ll say, ‘Hey, I’m playing deeper,’ or, ‘I’m playing in,’ or, ‘If he bunts, you’ve got it,’ or, ‘‘Ball on the line, you go to first.’ We’re always communicating.”

And having fun?

“Oh, a lot of fun,” Albies said. “We have fun every day.”

Olson produced those majors-leading homer and RBI totals last season while batting a career-best .283 with an NL-leading .604 slugging percentage. But he finished only fourth in NL MVP voting, behind superstar teammate Acuña — understandable given Acuña’s own historic season — and also behind the Dodgers’ pair of Mookie Betts and Freeman.

“And frankly, I don’t really care,” Olson said of his fourth-place finish. “You know, it’s never been why I got out and play. The guy on our team was going to win it the whole way through. So I don’t read into it much. You know, everybody is going to have their own opinion. But like I said, it’s never been a worry of mine.”

Count Olson among those thrilled and satisfied when Acuña was a unanimous MVP winner after an unprecedented season in which the leadoff dynamo hit .337 with 41 home runs and 73 stolen bases, leading the majors in steals and on-base percentage (.416) and the NL in OPS (1.012).

Betts’ second-place finish also was easily justified, given his 8.3 WAR and a 163 OPS+ to go with his defensive versatility and 80 extra-base hits including 39 homers.

But Freeman ahead of Olson? They play the same position, and while Freeman hit .331 and led the majors with 59 doubles, he had 29 homers and 109 RBIs to Olson’s 54-139, and a .976 OPS and 161 OPS+ to Olson’s .993 and 162.

“If anybody else would have done that, they probably would have won MVP,” Braves reliever Tyler Matzek said of Olson’s franchise-record homer and RBI stats in 2023. “But I mean, we’ve got another guy (Acuña) that’s a stud on this team, too. So maybe there’s something that voters didn’t want to have two guys that high up on the MVP from the same team?”

But the Dodgers had the players who finished in second and third.

“He just slides under the radar, does his thing, works hard,” Matzek said of Olson. “I think he’s a superstar, for sure. But, you know, if guys don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. They can choose to do that. But I think he’s a superstar and I think he deserves that spotlight for sure.”

Riley is another who probably doesn’t get as much attention as he should, considering he averaged 36 homers and 99 RBIs during the past three seasons while hitting .286 with a 134 OPS+ and playing one of the most important positions on the field, third base, where he’s become a well-above-average defender. He’s had one sixth-place MVP finish and came in seventh twice over that span.

It can be difficult to stand out on a Braves team that led the majors in virtually every major offensive category in 2023 and is off to a similar start this season.

“I think when you’ve got guys like Ronnie and — I mean, 1 through 9 is just so talented that I think a lot of a lot of guys get kind of (overlooked),” Riley said. “We’ve got a really good group of very talented players, and I think (Olson) is one of those guys who’s quiet and doesn’t want you to talk about him. Just goes about his business and always looking to get better. And I think that’s what’s really cool about him.”

When it’s mentioned to Olson that he probably gets overshadowed because of the lineup he’s in, Olson smiled and said, “That’s good. I just play baseball, you know.”

Freeman, 34, remains one of, if not the best all-around pure hitter in baseball. But Olson is nearly five years younger, is signed to an eight-year, $168 million contract that runs through 2029 — Freeman got a six-year, $162 million deal with the Dodgers — and since the beginning of the 2021 season, Olson had 130 homers, 361 RBIs and a 146 OPS+ in 488 games before Monday. In that same span, Freeman had 82 homers, 292 RBIs and a 151 OPS+ in 491 games.

“I’ve said that before, I hated to see Freddie go, I love him like my own son,” Seitzer said. “But if there was going to be one guy that I’d want in his place, we got him. Matty’s solid, for sure.”

“Freddie is a damn good player, but so is Matt Olson,” Jones said. “Yeah, I guess if you were going to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to replace one of the best first basemen in the game,’ Matt Olson would be at the top of the list of guys to go out and get to replace him.”

(Top photo of Matt Olson: Bill Streicher / USA Today)