Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson found himself in an awkward situation as he rounded the bases on Monday for his first-career inside-the-park home run. Under normal circumstances, he’d celebrate baseball’s most exciting play. This wasn’t that.
The homer was only made possible by a gruesome injury, which in turn had some Reds fans upset with the Braves slugger.
With a runner on in the third inning against the Reds, Olson slapped a fly ball deep down the left-field corner. Reds rookie Tyler Callihan — in just his fourth big-league game — made an all-out effort at the ball and crashed hard into the wall, going down in pain.
While it initially looked like Callihan made the catch (and honestly looked like a catch in the replay), the umpires saw the ball drop to the ground and called the play live. So, Olson continued running and circled the bases for the inside-the-park homer.
Matt Olson circles the bases, but Reds rookie Tyler Callihan was in some serious pain trying to make the play. Prayers up 🙏 pic.twitter.com/UhcyaJuadG
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 6, 2025
After the play, Reds fans on Twitter/X were upset at how Olson handled the play. Many wanted him to stop at second base in the name of sportsmanship and others were calling on the Reds to intentionally hit Olson with a pitch the next at-bat.
But really, what was Olson supposed to do there? The play was still live. And as unfortunate as it was for Callihan to be down with a fractured forearm, it’s not Olson’s responsibility to blow the play dead — that’s on the umpires. The play was also reviewed to see if Callihan caught the ball, and it was somehow confirmed as a no catch.
Braves fans defended Olson and also pointed out how Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit an inside-the-park home run as Ronald Acuña Jr. was down with a torn ACL in 2021.
This was how Twitter/X reacted
i feel absolutely awful for the kid, but yall are talking to the wrong fanbase about some “how dare they keep the play going😠 matt olson must pay!” pic.twitter.com/sjvclb6cUq
— lex • fan acc (@bloopyszn) May 6, 2025
This is one of the biggest non-issues made into a big deal that I’ve ever seen https://t.co/lcshtAaKcA
— SportsTalkATL Alex (@GeauxSportsTalk) May 6, 2025
Matt Olson gets paid in the millions to run around those bases when a ball is in play. He has no way of knowing just exactly what happened out in the field and y’all would crucify him if he just stopped and took a knee with a live ball.
Let’s stop with the idiotic questions https://t.co/3fnqfs6GXc
— Becca (@beccasbraves) May 6, 2025
Dude. This is not Little League. He should keep going. https://t.co/LePhauwn4H
— Ashley Finn (@acfinn) May 6, 2025
Olson should not be blamed for running but that’s a catch https://t.co/SFTJDwxiVr
— Josh Minott Believer (@kylefarmerfan) May 6, 2025
If the umps didn’t stop the play, nothing to see here. Run til they say otherwise. This SHOULD be common sense 🤷🏼♂️ https://t.co/PZ88WaAb2q
— Beat Errrrrrrrrrrrbody (@DP_4_Bama) May 6, 2025
Its dumb that this even a debate. Live ball until the play is over, then call time and deal with the injury. This is the way, this has always been the way. https://t.co/3klTGL4TJy
— Brad Sanders (@bradmsanders) May 6, 2025
For what it’s worth, the Reds did not throw at Olson in the following at-bats.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Fans defended Matt Olson’s inside-the-park HR as Tyler Callihan was hurt
Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson found himself in an awkward situation as he rounded the bases on Monday for his first-career inside-the-park home run. Under normal circumstances, he’d celebrate baseball’s most exciting play. This wasn’t that.
The homer was only made possible by a gruesome injury, which in turn had some Reds fans upset with the Braves slugger.
With a runner on in the third inning against the Reds, Olson slapped a fly ball deep down the left-field corner. Reds rookie Tyler Callihan — in just his fourth big-league game — made an all-out effort at the ball and crashed hard into the wall, going down in pain.
While it initially looked like Callihan made the catch (and honestly looked like a catch in the replay), the umpires saw the ball drop to the ground and called the play live. So, Olson continued running and circled the bases for the inside-the-park homer.
Matt Olson circles the bases, but Reds rookie Tyler Callihan was in some serious pain trying to make the play. Prayers up 🙏 pic.twitter.com/UhcyaJuadG
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 6, 2025
After the play, Reds fans on Twitter/X were upset at how Olson handled the play. Many wanted him to stop at second base in the name of sportsmanship and others were calling on the Reds to intentionally hit Olson with a pitch the next at-bat.
But really, what was Olson supposed to do there? The play was still live. And as unfortunate as it was for Callihan to be down with a fractured forearm, it’s not Olson’s responsibility to blow the play dead — that’s on the umpires. The play was also reviewed to see if Callihan caught the ball, and it was somehow confirmed as a no catch.
Braves fans defended Olson and also pointed out how Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit an inside-the-park home run as Ronald Acuña Jr. was down with a torn ACL in 2021.
This was how Twitter/X reacted
i feel absolutely awful for the kid, but yall are talking to the wrong fanbase about some “how dare they keep the play going😠 matt olson must pay!” pic.twitter.com/sjvclb6cUq
— lex • fan acc (@bloopyszn) May 6, 2025
This is one of the biggest non-issues made into a big deal that I’ve ever seen https://t.co/lcshtAaKcA
— SportsTalkATL Alex (@GeauxSportsTalk) May 6, 2025
Matt Olson gets paid in the millions to run around those bases when a ball is in play. He has no way of knowing just exactly what happened out in the field and y’all would crucify him if he just stopped and took a knee with a live ball.
Let’s stop with the idiotic questions https://t.co/3fnqfs6GXc
— Becca (@beccasbraves) May 6, 2025
Dude. This is not Little League. He should keep going. https://t.co/LePhauwn4H
— Ashley Finn (@acfinn) May 6, 2025
Olson should not be blamed for running but that’s a catch https://t.co/SFTJDwxiVr
— Josh Minott Believer (@kylefarmerfan) May 6, 2025
If the umps didn’t stop the play, nothing to see here. Run til they say otherwise. This SHOULD be common sense 🤷🏼♂️ https://t.co/PZ88WaAb2q
— Beat Errrrrrrrrrrrbody (@DP_4_Bama) May 6, 2025
Its dumb that this even a debate. Live ball until the play is over, then call time and deal with the injury. This is the way, this has always been the way. https://t.co/3klTGL4TJy
— Brad Sanders (@bradmsanders) May 6, 2025
For what it’s worth, the Reds did not throw at Olson in the following at-bats.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Fans defended Matt Olson’s inside-the-park HR as Tyler Callihan was hurt
