Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves

Two Rookie of the Year awards for Acuna, one to go

Atlanta Braves left fielder Ronald Acuna reacts after hitting a grand slam home run with center fielder Ender Inciarte, left, in the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of a National League Division Series baseball game Sunday, October 7, 2018, in Atlanta. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Credit: Curtis Compton

Credit: Curtis Compton

Atlanta Braves left fielder Ronald Acuna reacts after hitting a grand slam home run with center fielder Ender Inciarte, left, in the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of a National League Division Series baseball game Sunday, October 7, 2018, in Atlanta. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com
By Chris Vivlamore
Oct 31, 2018

Ronald Acuna has now won two Rookie of the Year awards.

The Braves young sensation was honored by Baseball Digest in the National League on Wednesday. He was also named by Sporting News several weeks ago.

The major Rookie of the Year award, given by the Baseball Writers Association of America, will be announced on Nov. 12.

Acuna received all seven first-place votes by Baseball Digest’s panel. He totaled 21 points, ahead of the Nationals’ Juan Soto (13), the Dodgers’ Walker Buehler (7) and the Marlins’ Brian Anderson (10).

The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani was the winner in the American League with six first-place votes. The Yankees’ Miguel Andujar received the other top vote in the A.L.

Acuna, who debuted on April 25 at the age of 20, batted .293 with a team-high 26 home runs in 111 games. He set the franchise record with eight leadoff home runs.

Acuna is the fifth Braves to win the award. He joins Craig McMurtry (1983), David Justice (1990), Rafael Furcal (2000) and Craig Kimbrel (2011).

About the Author

Chris Vivlamore is the sports editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has served as reporter and editor at the AJC since 2003.

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