Tag: Ronald Acuna Jr.

Ronald Acuña Jr. channeled Conor McGregor in his postgame response to HR celebration

Amazing.

The Atlanta Braves took Game 1 of Tuesday’s National League Division Series matchup with the Miami Marlins, and as we’ve seen in previous Braves-Marlins games, baseball’s unwritten rules came into play.

When Ronald Acuña Jr. opened the first inning with a leadoff home run off the second deck at Minute Maid Park, the Braves outfielder gave the ball a long watch as he walked out of the box and tossed his bat before starting his trot.

The Marlins responded to that moment as many expected … in the lamest way possible. They hit Acuña on the backside with a 98 mph fastball in his next at-bat.

Well, Acuña had himself the final say following the Braves’ 9-5 win. He went full Conor McGregor with an Instagram post.

Acuña wrote in the caption, sharing a photo of the bat flip:

I’d like to take this time to apologize to absolutely NOBODY

This was, of course, a reference to McGregor’s epic octagon interview following UFC 205 in 2016.

But really, it’s great to see that Acuña has no intention to change the way he plays (and how he celebrates). He’s had a few dustups with the Marlins, but as we saw on Tuesday, throwing at Acuña only fired up the Braves. Atlanta outscored Miami, 8-1, following Acuña’s hit-by-pitch.

Acuña shouldn’t apologize. It’s the postseason, after all.

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The Marlins had the lamest answer to Ronald Acuña Jr.’s monster leadoff home run

Come. On.

This MLB postseason has seen some truly entertaining reactions to home runs. There was Fernando Tatis Jr.’s fantastic bat flip. There was the Braves’ Marcell Ozuna taking a fake selfie 45 feet down the first-base line.

But don’t celebrate the demise of baseball’s antiquated unwritten rules just yet. They appeared to be well on display during Game 1 of the National League Division Series between the Braves and Marlins.

The controversy started when the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. led off the game with a massive, opposite-field home run off the second deck. Acuña knew it was a home run immediately, and he had just about the coolest reaction to it: Watching the ball leave the park and tossing his bat.

Another look at the celebration:

In the third inning, the Marlins broke ahead for a 4-1 lead. And when Acuña stepped to the plate, he was hit by a 98 mph fastball on the backside. He was not happy and understandably so.

While, situationally, it would make little sense for Sandy Alcantara to hit Acuña intentionally with Freddie Freeman and Marcell Ozuna due up, the Marlins and Acuña have a history. So, it’s tough to give them the benefit of the doubt.

The umpiring crew clearly thought something was amiss too and issued warnings to both dugouts.

The moment seemed to fire up the Braves as they scored two runs in the inning to cut the deficit to one. Intentional or not, the unwritten rules remain incredibly lame. Let the players have fun.

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