Braves coach discloses Matt Olson, Austin Riley's major distinction from teammates

Braves coach Tim Hyers recently revealed the secret behind stars Austin Riley and Matt Olson's difference from their teammates. The two-time World Series champion coach sang the praises of Riley and Olson for their openness and resiliency in approaching the game.

Hyers had just been hired by Atlanta on October 24, 2024 making him one of the newest faces in the duguout. He officially started coach in the major league level in 2016 when he was named as the assistant hitting coach for the Dodgers. Since then, he has bounced around to other powerhouse teams such as the Boston Red Sox and more recently, the Texas Rangers.

"I think Austin Riley is the guy. He has ups and downs sometimes in the batter's box, but [what's] funny is that he can turn that off and go play incredible defense at third base," Hyers said. (12:43-12:50)

The newly-minted Braves coach further stated in an interview with "Baseball Isn't Boring" that a veteran guy like Olson easily shakes off ruts and patches of rough form.

"Matt Olson, you know, no matter the ups and downs — and he ran into some terrible luck the first three weeks of the season. I mean, I think he got robbed of two homers the first week of the season. It's funny as his ability to go in there and work, and kind of clear the emotion because he's a veteran. He's been there — go work, be honest with himself." (12:51-13:20)

"It's two class acts. The emotional part gets to them but they're able to cut it, come in the next day, and you can't tell. They're just men at work and you know what, they got a job to do and they're going to go out there and compete and give it their best effort." (13:21-13:34)

At the time of writing, Riley and Olson have been leading the charge in the banged up Braves offense. Riley is batting .276/.326/.433 with eight home runs and 28 RBI. Olson, on the other hand, has 11 homers and 28 RBI to go with a .25/.357/.483 clip.

Braves swept by lowly Nationals

After seemingly turning a new leaf following a calamitous start to the year, the Braves surprisingly dropped both games in their quick two-game series against divisional adversaries — the Washington Nationals.

Expand Tweet

The series was actually scheduled for three games but the middle fixture was postponed to a later date due to inclement weather. The Nationals drew first blood on Tuesday as they comfortably beat the visitors, 5-3.

Then in the game yesterday, extra innings were required as Amed Rosario's walkoff single lifted the hosts past the Braves as Washington extended its win streak to five.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

Know More

Edited by Daniel Santiago