Dodgers' Freddie Freeman Reveals Why He Doesn't 'Feel For' Braves' Matt Olson

Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson constantly gets compared to Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman due to his long stay in Atlanta, however Freeman stated he doesn't "feel for" the star.

“I don’t feel for him because he hits 50 home runs a year," Freeman said. “He’s doing just fine. He hits way more homers than me. Let Matt Olson be Matt Olson. He’s doing a wonderful job."

Olson is Freeman's immediate replacement in Atlanta, so comparisons are always going to be inevitable. Freeman left the Braves in free agency in 2021, and Atlanta responded by replacing him with Olson, one of the game's most in-demand power hitters at the time.

Olson has set career highs across the board with Atlanta, crushing 54 homers and driving home 139 RBIs in 2023, both of which led the National League. The three-time All-Star has hovered around the 30 home run mark since 2018, excluding the shortened 2020 season.

Freeman is a hero in Atlanta, and helped win the team's first World Series in 26 years. While Freeman doesn't have the raw power numbers Olson has, he has hovered around a .300 batting average throughout his career and has always provided the threat of a long ball. Since coming to the Dodgers, he has elevated his game to a new level and has stacked impressive seasons on top of each other since his arrival.

In his first year on the Dodgers, Freeman led MLB in hits and doubles, leading the National League in runs scored and on-base percentage. He posted a career high in hits in the season following, surpassing 200 hits in a season for the first time in his career.

Both Olson and Freeman will go down as icons in Atlanta at the end of their careers, but until all is said and done, it's nearly impossible to make a meaningful comparison.