Matt Olson reveals Braves' secret motivational tool during 2022 division race
If you stay up-to-date with the New York Mets on social media, chances are you've stumbled upon a video of Barstool Sports' Frank "the Tank" Fleming losing his mind after a loss.
Apparently, All-Star first baseman Matt Olson and his Atlanta Braves teammates have as well.
Fleming, who originally rose to prominence after a news clip of him bashing NJ Transit's incompetence went viral in 2017, has developed a reputation as a negative (or realistic) Mets fan. After going viral, Barstool Sports hired him, and he has since gained over 217K followers on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, largely from his rants about the team.
Speaking on the "Pardon My Take" podcast, Olson revealed that not only did he and his Braves teammates know who Fleming was but regularly watched his postgame tirades throughout their tightly contested division race in 2022.
"I'll say that the videos were checked after some games last year," Olson said. "Especially with kind of the way it went for us at the end last year, where they had the big lead, and then we ended up winning the division. There were some dudes in the clubhouse who were pretty tuned in."
Last season, the Mets won 101 games and, at one point, owned a 10.5-game lead in the National League East over Atlanta. As Mets fans celebrated their success, Fleming repeatedly insisted it was just a matter of time before the other shoe dropped. In the end, Fleming was right, as the Mets lost a pivotal late-season series to Atlanta that cost them the NL East title.
While the Braves' consumption of Fleming's content was for entertainment -- and perhaps to reassure themselves they could pull off the impressive comeback -- Olson admitted his team found another video to provide motivation.
"I don't know if [Fleming] gave us extra motivation," Olson said. "But I remember seeing a clip of a different dude saying that the division is over or something like that. It was in July when they had the big lead. I mean, it's not like we needed any huge motivation or anything like that, but it's funny to kind of look back on it."
The video Olson is referring to is WFAN radio host and SNY analyst Sal Licata, who emphatically proclaimed that "THE NL EAST IS OVER" on May 31, 2022.
The 2023 season has obviously been drastically different from last year for the Mets but more of the same for the Braves. Atlanta holds the best record in the NL (72-41), while the Mets (52-62) held a fire sale at the trade deadline after assembling the most expensive team in MLB history last offseason.
Although New York hasn't been able to keep pace with Atlanta this season, chances are that the Braves have continued to check out Fleming's entertaining videos after some Mets losses.
And in an ironic twist of fate, New York and Atlanta begin a four-game set on Friday.
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