NORTH PORT, Fla. – Just a few minutes after noon on Tuesday, Matt Olson strode into the Atlanta Braves clubhouse looking like any other twenty-something – albeit with an undeniably athletic appearance and the perfunctory designer backpack – and met his new co-workers, a simple act necessitated by events thoroughly out of his hands.
“Matt. Nice to meet you,” he said to reliever Will Smith. Dansby Swanson, the Braves shortstop and his almost college roommate, playfully headbutted Olson and then went in for the bro hug.
This stranger in a strange land then moved to the corner of the clubhouse once occupied by Freddie Freeman.