It’s worth pointing out that Matt Olson plays every game. I mean. Every. Game. Traded to Atlanta in the 2021 offseason, Matt Olson has played in every single game since becoming a Brave. That’s 642 as an Atlanta Brave, and his current streak of 757 is good since May 2, 2021. 2025 has been his second-best in Atlanta, behind only his monstrous 2023 (oh, the good ole’ days) when he hit 54 home runs. He’s currently hitting .271/.367/.460 (good enough for a 131 wRC+) along with being one of the best defensive
first basemen in MLB, and that’s been good for about 3.5 wins to this point. He’ll probably get somewhere in between 4-5 by the end of the season, depending on how September plays out. In terms of the actual MLB list, Cal Ripken’s 2,632 is basically impossible to match, but Olson’s current streak is 12th on the all-time list (hat tip to Daniel Hutchinson-Kausch for pointing me to this), and he’ll get close to Nellie Fox (798) by the end of the season. Getting to 8th on the all-time list (Stan Musial at 895) is within reach with another healthy season, but 7th is Joe Sewell at 1,103. That’s a bit further away.
Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia’s resident DH, is the only Phillie to play all of their games this season, also 136. If he’s able to play all 162 games, this would be his first season to do so. The co-lefty is having his best season, hitting .247/.368/.580 (156 wRC+) has been good for nearly 4.5 wins. It’s also weird because my wife grew up with him, and her brother played against him at various times. So therefore, I also know him (I do not). Schwarber is an interesting guy because he’s mostly been seen as just a slugger who hits a lot of home runs, takes walks, and can’t play defense. All of that is true, but he’s been worth over 20 wins in his career and is about to make A LOT of money this offseason as a free-agent. That’s quite a slugger who only hits home runs and takes walks.
