Matt Olson is having a really weird season for the Br atlanta braves shop aves

There are a few ways to describe Matt Olson's first season with the Braves. Interesting would be a nice way to say it. Weird would be a blunt but diplomatic approach. Just a tick off would be fair too.

But whichever of those descriptors you choose is just another way to say this: Olson's stats are both somehow in line with his career norms and below his averages and expectations. MLB Pajamas| Keychains Whether you're looking at traditional stats, new-ish metrics or StatCast numbers, the story is the same: Olson's 2022 season has been a mix of good to great and mediocre to bad (for him, at least) — all at the same time.

So, perhaps the best way to describe his season so far is this: Not bad, just not quite what everyone expected.

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A brief sampling:

The good to great: He leads all of baseball with 33 doubles and could potentially threaten the all-time record (63).
The mediocre to bad: His .810 OPS is more than 100 points off his 2021 season and is his lowest in a full, non-COVID season since 2018.

The good to great: His current 122 wRC+ is well abovNoah Syndergaard Phillies Jerseys e league average.
The mediocre to bad: That 122 wRC+ would be his lowest in a full season since 2018.

The good to great: His .341 on-base percentage is close his career norm (.347) and his walk rate is in MLB's 88th percentile.
The mediocre to bad: His .469 slugging percentage is around 35 points below his career average (.504).

The good to great: His .303 BABIP is the best of his career.
The mediocre to bad: His 28.5 percent whiff rate is his highest ever in a full, non-COVID season, and his 26.2 percent chase rate is a career high. Related: He's on pace to blow past his career high in strikeou atlanta braves freeman jersey ts (163).

The good to great: His 92.4 average exit velocity is in MLB's 93rd percentile.
The mediocre to bad: His 15.3 degree launch angle and 11.9 barrel percentage are atlanta braves gift shop the lowest of his career. Related: His 41.7 percent ground ball rate is his highest ever in a full season.

The good to great: With the bases empty, Olson slugs .524 Tommy Bahama with an .890 OPS.
The mediocre to bad: With runners on, he slugs .403 with an OPS of .713.

The good to great: In Braves losses, Olson's OPS is .879.
The mediocre to bad: In Braves wins, his OPS is .757.

See? Interesting. Weird. Just atlanta braves jersey riley a tick off.

Or, Not bad, just not quite what everyone expected.

But to what should we attribute this? For at least part of the season, it was mechanical. Last month, during a series against the Cubs in Chicago, Olson and hitting coach Kevin Seitzer identified an issue with his hands. He adjusted and went 3-for-4 with three doubles in the series finale. 

Since that Chicago series, Olson's OPS has been .901.

"My timing was just a little off, if felt like," Olson told Bally Sports after a two-homer game in Philadelphia on June 28. "My hands were going a little too soon. One of those scenarios where it can look right, but you're out of sync. Just kind of broke it down and got back in rhythm, and feeling better."

Olson's inconsistencies could also be attributed in part to adjusting to the National League after six seasons in the American League. It could be the X-factors of playing in his hometown and having to replace franchise icon Freddie Freeman at first base. It could be atlanta braves t shirt jersey a little of everything. Or maybe it's just baseball.

But Olson's year certainly hasn't been without big moments, the latest of which came Tuesday in the second game of Atlanta's series against the division-leading Mets. His go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning gave the Braves their first lead in the series and led to a 4-1 win.

But the homer came shortly after Olson broke a string of strikeouts in five consecutive at-bats.

The whole thing was a mini-encapsulation of Olson's entire season. The homer also showed why the Braves traded for Olson and made clear the kind of threat he provides. But making good on that threat with consistency has been a season-long struggle in his first season back home. 

It's not that Olson hasn't contributed, just that he hasn't contributed with the frequency that was expected after his 39-homer, 111-RBI, nearly 6 bWAR campaign last season in Oakland. Of course, there's still a lot of baseball to be played in 2022, and the Braves continue to surge even without massive run production from Olson.

The news gets better: Olson's MLB Shorts.892 career second-half OPS is more than 50 poi atlanta braves jersey xxxl nts higher than his first-half number, which could portend good things for the Braves down the stretch and help normalize Olson's unusual season.

If Olson consistently reclaims that tick that's had him just a bit off, if he's able to approximate his usual second-half production, the Braves' quest for a fifth straight division Addison Russell title would seemingly become a lot easier.