Braves All-Star outfielder Ronald Acuna is further distanced from the wrist discomfort that interfered with his 2020 season. He’s entering the new campaign feeling refreshed.
“I’m feeling good and feeling healthy, that’s the important thing,” Acuna said via team interpreter Franco Garcia.
Acuna, one of the game’s brightest young stars, appeared in 46 of the team’s 60 games last season, but he was playing through wrist pain that made him less effective.
The regular-season numbers were below his expectations — a .250/.406/.581 line with 14 homers, 29 RBIs and eight steals — and his postseason was forgettable. Acuna hit .217 with a homer and 17 strikeouts in 45 at-bats.
“It was definitely a challenge to hit with the wrist,” Acuna said Sunday. “You need that strength to grip the bat and everything. I had to make some modifications, wear some different gear I wasn’t accustomed to, but none of those things are excuses. I have to show up and put up those numbers.”
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Conditions are somewhat more normal entering 2021. Acuna is past any ailments and MLB is preparing for a 162-game season, which will include more highs and lows than the previous 60-game edition.
Acuna’s last full season was monstrous. In 2019, he hit .280/.365/.518 with 41 homers, 101 RBIs and a league-leading 127 runs scored. He also stole 37 bases, which left him just shy of becoming the fifth player in MLB history to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in a season.
“It’s one of those things where, if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen,” Acuna said of beginning another 40-40 pursuit. “But thinking about it isn’t going to help much.”
What Acuna is thinking about: The Braves fell just short of the National League pennant last October. The expectations in the clubhouse might as well be World Series or bust.
“We’re coming in with even more hunger to reach the World Series,” he said. “We were one game away from doing it. So as far as last year, that’s in the past. We don’t need to give that any more attention, but we’re coming in with the same goal: Get to the World Series.”
A healthy Acuna would go a long way toward that goal.
