The Atlanta Braves welcomed their new first baseman, Matt Olson, on Tuesday.
They surrendered four quality prospects to bring him to Atlanta: Shea Langeliers, Cristian Pache, Ryan Cusick, and Joey Estes.
He arrived at the Braves’ training camp with a… curious bag.
A video showed him greeting Braves’ personnel with an Oakland Athletics bag.
Matt Olson has arrived 📍 pic.twitter.com/xp23E2Ct3P
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) March 15, 2022
The replies on the original post were mixed.
Some people considered it a sign of disrespect to arrive at his new team with his old team’s bag.
Wow walks in with an As bag. That is not a good start. Does not look like he really wants to be here.
— Manasha (@manasha61) March 15, 2022
Others didn’t consider it a big deal.
I’m not worried about his bag, give that man a contract extension.
— I⚡️H 🤘🏻 (@ISH_205) March 15, 2022
The funny thing about that last tweet was that they did hand him a contract extension: eight years, worth $168 million.
A Bag Won’t Alter Olson’s Commitment To The Braves
Yes, maybe Olson’s camp should have been more attentive and bought him a regular bag before going to the Braves’ camp, but it shouldn’t be a big deal: maybe they didn’t have time between the trade and the new extension.
It was a bag from a team which he was a member of just 24 hours ago.
In the end, Olson is a local guy, born and raised in Atlanta, and has already expressed his happiness about playing for the Braves.
It was a team he grew up watching, as he said on Tuesday: he was in the stands while stars such as Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Chipper Jones were in Atlanta.
He will now showcase his considerable talent, the one that led him to hit 39 homers and finish 2021 with 5.0 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), in front of friends and family.
He is a complete player, one who can contribute on offense and defense.
He has all the tools to succeed in Atlanta, and a bag won’t change that.
