OAKLAND -- Matt Olson is once again proving that baseball is a game filled with superstitions.
Entering Wednesday night’s 6-4 win over the Rangers in a 1-for-20 slump over his previous six games, Olson decided it was time for a change. He ditched his usual clean-shaven look in favor of a newly grown mustache. The result: a 2-for-3 game with a pair of home runs and a walk.
The facial hair campaign continued in Thursday's series finale, when Olson clubbed another homer in the second inning against the Rangers.
"I didn’t do it to look good. You know what they say: It’s never too early to hit the panic button,” Olson joked. “I was clearly searching for a couple of knocks and luckily got them."
Given the immediate success post-stache, Olson said the facial hair will have to stay, even if the new look was to the dismay of his friends and family back home in Georgia.
“It's not even a choice now. The people back home were grilling me about how bad it looked,” Olson said. “But everybody here was pretty on board after the game.”
This wouldn’t be the first time a superstition involving hair worked for an A’s player. Matt Chapman shaved his head last August following a major slump and went on a tear.
A’s manager Bob Melvin is in favor of whatever helps Olson feel good at the plate, pointing out that Olson’s attempt at a growing a mustache has gone a lot smoother than the one Chapman tried to grow during Spring Training.
“It’ll probably stick around for a while,” Melvin said. “Olson’s got a little more growth going on than Chapman. I think it would take Chapman a couple years to actually get a mustache that looks like a mustache.
“When you get off to a bit of a slow start, you’re searching for anything. If a mustache works, we’re all for it. It’s not uncommon in baseball for guys to look for a superstition. If that mustache allows him to hit two homers a game, I’m all for it.”
Of course, Olson’s breakout game might also have had something to do with a slight adjustment at the plate on outside pitches that allows him to hit the ball to the opposite field, which he said is what he does when he’s at his best.
“I feel like I’ve stayed in the zone pretty well,” Olson said. “I’m walking a decent bit, so that’s an indicator that I’m not chasing. I just haven’t been hitting the mistakes when they’ve been there. Hopefully, last night was that indication that [my swing is] coming around and I’m going to get those mistakes.”
Roster cuts
With all clubs required to trim their rosters from 30 players to 28 on Thursday, the A’s optioned right-hander James Kaprielian and outfielder Seth Brown to their alternate training site in San Jose, Calif.
Kaprielian, Oakland’s No. 13 prospect per MLB Pipeline, did not appear in a game for the A’s. Brown was at the bottom of the depth chart in the outfield and only received three at-bats over three games.
Following an agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association on Wednesday, all 28-player rosters will remain in place through the end of the season, including the postseason. Doubleheaders will allow for a 29th player to be added to the roster, and taxi squads can be increased from three players to five.