Appreciation For The Sometimes Underappreciated Matt Olson

I wouldn’t say that Matt Olson is as polarizing, on AN, as legendary icons such as Jack Cust and Daric Barton, but suffice it to say that opinions seem to differ as to what Olson is and what he can reasonably be expected to be.

Here are the A’s, somehow 74-49 and tied for 1st place in the AL West with a Houston Astros team whose starting rotation and on field talent and athleticism is pretty daunting. How do you explain that the A’s have been able to go toe to toe with such a good team over a 123 game sample? How do you account for Oakland having a record tied for 3rd best in all of baseball? Matt Chapman is great but he is not quite a 40 WAR player.

Answers to the question of why are the A’s…