Tag: Ronald Acuna Jr.

Ronald Acuna Jr. wasn’t happy when a Diamondbacks pitcher quick-pitched to avoid a clock violation

Acuna was NOT happy.

It’s OK, Ronald Acuna Jr.

You’ll get plenty of pitches you like in the future that you can hit a mile or use to get a hit and steal a base.

But this one? It didn’t make you happy, I get it.

Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Austin Adams was getting ready to throw to the NL MVP favorite, when he realized the pitch clock was ticking down to zero. So he came set, took a quick beat and fired a strike down the middle.

MORE: All 30 MLB stadiums, ranked for 2023

But Acuna had put his bat down. Did he figure there would be a violation? Was he out of his rhythm by that point. Was the quick-pitch too much for him?

Ronald Acuña Jr. stole third base with ease … on a Braves teammate’s walk

An MVP level base swipe right here.

You want further proof that Ronald Acuna Jr. is absolutely the leading MVP candidate in the National League?

The Atlanta Braves slugger and speedster has been doing it all this season, from hitting dingers to swiping bags, and I’d even add this to the mix: On Monday night, after his teammate Matt Olson walked against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he had the presence of mind to head right to third base because Max Muncy wasn’t paying attention. Oops. And the replay shows Acuna casually jogging to second before ZOOM, he takes off.

Now THAT’S some most valuable stuff!

Check out the clip:

Amazing play.

Ronald Acuna Jr. got struck out by Marlins catcher Jacob Stallings and couldn’t stop laughing

You’d laugh too if you got struck out by an opposing catcher.

Jacob Stallings is not a pitcher.

He is, in fact, the catcher for the Miami Marlins, and he got called in to be a position player pitcher during a 14-6 blowout loss to the Atlanta Braves.

But he’s the latest position player to get a strikeout, and this one was a biggie: He struck out … Ronald Acuna Jr., who has been known to hit bombs.

The MVP candidate stepped to the plate, watched a 46-MPH eephus pitch come in for a strike, fouled off a 78-MPH fastball, and then watched as an 85-MPH pitch caught the strike zone.

The laughter is the best:

Ronald Acuña Jr.’s third-deck HR even had the Mets broadcast completely in awe

Baseballs aren’t supposed to land there.

New York Mets broadcasters Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez have seen countless home runs at Citi Field over the years, so it really takes something special to leave them in disbelief.

Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. did just that on Monday.

Batting in the second inning of the Braves’ Game 1 doubleheader against the Mets, Acuña turned on a 91 mph four-seam fastball from John Curtiss and sent the ball somewhere nobody reasonably expected it to land: the third deck at Citi Field. According to Statcast, the ball traveled a projected 448 feet with an exit velocity of 114.5 mph and a 29-degree launch angle. Simply put, it was crushed.

But the reaction from the Mets broadcast was truly telling. They admitted that they couldn’t remember a home run being hit to that part of the ballpark. And really, Statcast might have been selling Acuña a bit short with that 448-foot measurement.

The guy who caught the ball seemed like he didn’t know how to react or what to do either. It looked like he realized he was too high up to throw the baseball back, which made the whole scene funnier.

Even the Braves dugout had to admire the homer.

MLB fans were also impressed with the majestic home run.

Ronald Acuña Jr. broke out English for a postgame interview and the Braves’ translator was so proud

How can anyone root against him?

We’re just a week into the 2023 season, but the Atlanta Braves have to be absolutely excited with what they’ve seen from Ronald Acuña Jr. thus far. The Braves star is back to looking like himself after he was somewhat limited in 2022 as he returned from ACL surgery.

And even off the field, Acuña managed to surprise Braves fans when he conducted a full interview in English.

Now, it’s difficult enough to play professional baseball at a high level without having to learn a new language. So, throughout Acuña’s MLB career, he had been joined in interviews by player relations manager Franco Garcia for translating duties. Tuesday’s win over the Cardinals was no different. That was until Acuña decided to answer the questions in English.

Just look at Garcia’s reaction.

You can tell that he was incredibly proud.

Acuña deserves a ton of credit too for giving a live English interview a try. Imagine learning a new language and practicing it on live TV — that couldn’t have been easy. He absolutely didn’t need to learn English (or do interviews in English) to be a successful ballplayer. But it was so cool to see Acuña give it a go.

MLB fans were also excited about their new bilingual superstar.

Ronald Acuña Jr. was so excited to take advantage of MLB’s new rule that limits pickoffs

Runners will love this new rule.

With the arrival of Opening Day, we’re getting our first look at MLB’s new rules in competitive games. And while the pitch clock dominated much of the preseason conversation, the pickoff limit might be one of the more overlooked (but more consequential) changes for the 2023 season.

We didn’t have to wait very long to see the new rule in action either.

During the first inning of the Atlanta Braves’ game against the Washington Nationals on Thursday, Ronald Acuña Jr. realized that Patrick Corbin had already used his two pickoff attempts per plate appearance. Acuña could be seen confirming that two were used, and he got so excited that he stumbled as he tried to steal (Matt Olson would foul off the pitch).

The very next pitch, though, Acuña took off and had himself an easy stolen base.

With the new rules, runners know they can take a healthy lead off the base once the two pickoff attempts are used. The pitcher is allowed to throw over for a third attempt, but he has to get the runner out. Otherwise, the baserunner is awarded a base.

You’re going to see so many runners take advantage of that rule, and pitchers are going to need to be more strategic with their pickoff attempts.

MLB fans also had thoughts on this new rule.

Ronald Acuña Jr. had the wildest 33-second home run trot before retiring from the Venezuelan league

Imagine if he did this in an MLB game.

Ronald Acuña Jr. is already one of the most exciting and entertaining players in baseball, and his personality on the field — along with his talent — is a huge reason for that.

The guy simply knows how to put on a show, and that is especially true whenever Acuña makes appearances in the Venezuelan league during the offseason. The Atlanta Braves star had himself a viral celebration this week when his fourth-inning home run on a 3-0 count gave his hometown Tiburones de La Guaira a two-run lead.

Acuña unleashed just about every celebration you could imagine in the 33-second home run trot.

Tiburones would end up losing the game, 8-5, to go down 0-2 in the series against Leones del Caracas. But shortly after the game, Acuña announced his retirement from the league in an Instagram Story before deleting his Instagram account all together. That had some speculating that criticism over his celebration was behind the abrupt retirement. However, Acuña’s family was reportedly attacked during an altercation in the stands that game.

But if the celebration had anything to do with Acuña’s supposed retirement from the Venezuelan league, that would be a shame. There’s nothing wrong with a big-league star enjoying himself while playing for his hometown team.

Fans had plenty of thoughts on the celebration, but honestly, it was great. Baseball needs more of that.

Ronald Acuña Jr. explained why there was no way he was leaving Game 2 despite the painful HBP

Toughing it out for the team.

Following a similar script to last year’s World Series run, the Atlanta Braves bounced back in Game 2 of the NLDS after dropping the opener. But nobody in Atlanta wanted to go through another postseason run without superstar outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr.

That was a very real concern on Wednesday night.

Facing Phillies ace Zach Wheeler in the sixth inning, Acuña took a 96 mph fastball to the right arm, which was left exposed as he loaded for a swing. Acuña was in serious pain and needed extended work from the training staff. But, astonishingly, the Braves star would remain in the game.

Acuna said after the game that he had very little feeling in his arm and was initially unable to squeeze the team trainer’s hand. That was a sure sign that Acuña needed to leave the game, but having already missed an entire postseason, Acuña was not about to miss another.

He said via team translator Franco Garcia:

“They kept asking me to squeeze their hand. I kept letting them know that I wasn’t able to do that. And so then they said, ‘We gotta get you out of the game.’ I said, ‘Already missed one postseason. I’m not missing another one. I’m not getting out of the game.'”

The Braves seemed to rally around that moment, scoring all three of their runs in that half inning.

Baseball fans also had a ton of respect for Acuña’s toughness.

Ronald Acuña Jr. had the most wholesome reaction as he waited to catch NL East-clinching fly ball

Now, THAT is pure joy.

The Atlanta Braves are defending World Series champions, but it’s important to remember that they went on that remarkable run without superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. His season ended before the All-Star break last year in Miami as he was carted off the field with a torn ACL.

Fast forward just over a year to the same ballpark and same outfield, and it was a very different look from Acuña.

The Braves — who had trailed the New York Mets by 10.5 games on June 1 — clinched their fifth straight NL East title on Tuesday with a 2-1 win over the Marlins. The last out of the game was a fly ball to right field that Acuña was fittingly out there to catch. And it really didn’t take much to notice how important the moment was to Acuña.

He was hopping with excitement before the baseball even got to him. Pure joy right there.

That’s just so great.

With the division-clinching win, the Braves locked up the No. 2 seed in the National League and a first round bye. That will have them facing the winner of the Phillies-Cardinals Wild Card series and avoiding a potential Dodgers matchup before the NLCS.

Baseball fans particularly loved that wholesome moment from Acuña.

Michael Harris II incredibly directed Ronald Acuña Jr. through his breathtaking slide at home

That baseball IQ is off the charts.

Braves rookie outfielder Michael Harris II has only be in the big leagues for a couple months, and he’s already showing baseball wisdom well beyond his years. That was on display during Tuesday night’s game between the Braves and Red Sox.

Ronald Acuña Jr. wowed the baseball world with his phenomenal slide into home plate in the 11th inning to give the Braves a two-run lead. Acuña was able to evade the tag from Kevin Plawecki by sneaking a hand in on the opposite side of the plate despite the throw beating him. And real time, it simply looked like an incredible individual effort from one of baseball’s most gifted players.

But even Acuña would admit that there was much more to the slide. Just look at Harris who became a player-coach on the play, standing in Acuña’s sight line to direct him exactly where to slide. After the game, Acuña credited Harris II for pointing to that inside portion of the plate because, after all, Harris could see the direction the ball was coming in while Acuña could not.

You don’t see that situational awareness from too many rookies, and it was what made that highlight-reel play possible. Plenty of fans noticed it too.