Acuña pairs with Albies as linchpins of success
When Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. returned from a knee injury last season, there were flashes of greatness.
Now feeling fully healthy, Acuña is not only back but may be better than ever.
He has gotten off to a fast start both literally and figuratively, jumping out to a National League-leading 17 stolen bases through 42 games. That puts him nearly halfway to his career-best total of 37, set when he led the NL in steals in 2019.
Acuña has also began displaying his prodigious power as the calendar turned to May. With a half-dozen home runs already this month after homering for a third consecutive game last Tuesday, Acuña became the first player in the majors to reach double digits in both home runs and stolen bases.
The Braves just passed the quarter-mark of their regular-season schedule with Acuña on pace for 39 home runs and 66 stolen bases. No player in baseball history has turned in a single season with 30 or more home runs and 60 or more steals.
That pace also puts Acuña within reach of his lofty goal of becoming just the fifth player in baseball history to join the 40-40 club, a feat last accomplished in 2006 by the Washington Nationals’ Alfonso Soriano.
While the return to form for Acuña might be getting most of the headlines, his close friend, Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies, is also looking like his old self again.
Albies missed half of the 2022 season due to a fractured foot, only to return in September and fracture his left pinky finger in his second game back. It was a snakebit season for the twotime All-Star, who then had a surgical clean-up procedure on his right shoulder over the winter.
Healthy and back on the field on an everyday basis, Albies is putting together a strong season. He belted his 10th home run Monday, a total that leads all major league middle infielders.
The Braves have utilized Albies in various spots in the batting order, and he
has responded by driving in 30 runs through the first 42 games. Albies is on pace for a career-high 39 homers and 115 RBIs.
While all of that produc
tion is a big piece of the puzzle, Braves manager Brian Snitker knows Albies’ value goes far beyond simply what he does on the field.
“There’s nobody that loves
getting their cleats dirty any more than Ozzie. That’s for sure,” Snitker said. “I just know how much he loves to play baseball. He’s that one kid that I always say,
‘If you play the game like Ozzie, then you’re going to play it right.’ Just the way he gets after it is fun to watch him when he’s out there in his element.”