If you’re going to have a day made for Hollywood, you might as well make it happen in Los Angeles.
Has a day like Ronald Acuña Jr.’s Thursday ever happened before – a major league superstar weds the love of his life and, hours later, reaches a standard never before achieved in the game’s history? With a grand slam, no less, against his team’s archrival.
Maybe someone once hit for the cycle and his wife delivered twins? A perfect game and a cousin’s bar mitzvah? A 3,000th hit and solving Wordle on the first guess?
All still pale to Acuña’s Aug. 31, 2023. He wed longtime girlfriend Maria Laborde in Los Angeles in the morning. The two were engaged in January and planned to marry this winter, according to an ESPN report. However, the terms of her Venezuelan visa stipulated that she would have to leave the U.S. by the end of the week and not be able to return for three months. That would have kept her and the couple’s two children away from the Braves’ postseason. Hence, a quickly arranged wedding before the opener of the team’s highly anticipated series against the Dodgers.
At Dodger Stadium that night, in the top of the second inning, in his second at-bat, the newlywed crushed Lance Lynn’s offering 429 feet over the left-center fence, a grand slam for a 5-1 lead in what would prove an 8-7 Braves victory. The home run inducted Acuña into a club of one – the only player in the game’s history to record 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a season.
None of the game’s titans have managed this combination of power and speed. Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr., Rickey Henderson and Willie Mays never pulled off 30/60, nor did the other 23,000 to wear a major-league uniform. None, save the marvel in right field for the Braves. And he has a month left to play to add to his totals.
We know what Lynn gave Acuña as a wedding gift – a 94 mph fastball over the middle of the plate. With no wedding registry to be found online, what else is there to offer the new couple in the midst of hubby’s eight-year, $100 million contract?
The less romantic among us might suggest an even bigger contract. But how about just about the best thing any newlywed could ask for – best wishes for health.
At 25 years old (he turns 26 in December), Acuña is stepping into the prime of his career. With career totals of 150 home runs and 169 stolen bases after Thursday’s game, Acuña is joined by only Mike Trout and Rodriguez in making it to 150/150 by their age-25 seasons. That’s two of the best ever to play the game (for what it’s worth, Rodriguez admitted to using steroids for a three-year period that began in his age-25 season).
Acuña’s excellence encompasses far more than his home-run power and speed on the bases. Before Friday’s games, he ranked first in the majors in on-base percentage, runs scored, hits and stolen bases and fourth in OPS. Also, he has exceptional range in right field and a cannon right arm. He is a favorite to win his first MVP for a reason.
Of the reasons that the Braves hold the best record in baseball and are a favorite to hoist the World Series trophy, the previously eligible bachelor from Venezuela is far and away No. 1.
Acuña’s path to becoming an all-time great, a Hall of Famer to join the litany of Braves legends whose plaques already populate Cooperstown, seems clear and wide. One hopes he’ll have the chance to make that journey, and his health will go far to determine how far he gets.
The game can be cruel, and it is littered with players who could not sustain early success similar to Acuña’s. Injuries and the wear and tear of playing 150-plus games a year can reduce perennial All-Stars to something more pedestrian.
Acuña’s five-tool excellence has been compared with that of Eric Davis, the former Reds star. In his age-24 and 25 seasons (1986-87), Davis posted 27/80 and 37/50 in home runs/stolen bases. The graceful center fielder drew comparisons with Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente.
Seemingly on track for the Hall of Fame, Davis sustained a most unlikely injury in the 1990 World Series, lacerating his kidney while diving for a ball. From 1991 onward, he never played in more than 131 games in a season (often far less) or was selected to play in an All-Star game.
In a case Braves fans are more familiar with, Andruw Jones was a phenom comparable with Acuña. Through his age-25 season, Jones accumulated 185 home runs and 114 stolen bases, though he had played significantly more games to that point. Jones peaked in his age-28 season with 51 home runs and MVP runner-up in 2005. He made his final All-Star appearance the following season.
Perhaps physically worn down by the pounding of his brilliant center-field play, Jones quickly declined after that. Two years after 51 homers and a .575 slugging percentage, Jones fell to 26 and .413.
A question: Would you accept the remainder of Jones’ career after his age-25 season, including five Gold Gloves, three All-Star teams and three top-15 finishes in MVP balloting and a precipitous post-30 slide, for the rest of Acuña’s?
Or what about Trout? The Angels superstar averaged 158 games played between his age-21 and 24 seasons and won two MVP awards. In the five ensuing seasons (not counting the COVID-shortened 2020 year), he continued his excellence but averaged 108.6 games per season, two-thirds of the season.
Acuña doesn’t need to be told about the perils of injury. He tore his ACL in July 2021 in the midst of the Braves’ World Series title season. Returning in 2022, he was a reduced version of himself before rebounding in breathtaking fashion this year.
Through Thursday, Acuña had played in all of the Braves’ 133 games. His 616 plate appearances led the National League. He plays with full effort defending right field. Even as he dazzles in a magical season, he accumulates wear.
The fate of Acuña’s career is to be determined. Better understanding of the value of rest, nutrition and strength-and-conditioning work have extended primes and careers and could benefit Acuña’s. He shares the Dodger Stadium field this week with a fellow star who shined brightly early on and remains at the top of his game in his age-30 season, Mookie Betts.
We know this much. In 2023, Acuña stands atop the pinnacle of baseball. He can remain there for years to come with the blessings of good health.
It would sure beat a toaster or monogrammed hand towels.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
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