Acuña steals 60th base, eyes creating his own special club
DENVER — Ronald Acuña Jr. moved a step away from historical past as he was serenaded with MVP chants whereas serving to the Braves roll to a 14-4 win over the Rockies on Monday evening at Coors Field.
Acuña hit his twenty ninth homer within the fifth inning, stole his sixtieth base within the seventh after which elevated his MLB-leading stolen-base complete to 61 within the eighth inning. He now stands as one in every of 4 gamers to hit 20-plus homers and steal 60-plus bases in the identical season.
Acuña joins Rickey Henderson (3 times), Joe Morgan (twice) and Eric Davis as the one gamers to steal 60-plus bases and hit 20-plus homers in the identical season. Henderson had been the newest to succeed in the plateau in 1990, when he hit 28 homers and swiped 65 baggage for the A’s.
With another dwelling run, Acuña will develop into the primary participant in AL/NL historical past to report 30 steals and 60 stolen bases in the identical season. That’s a fairly good stat to strengthen his MVP resume.
“Anything he’s going to do in this game isn’t going to surprise me,” Braves supervisor Brian Snitker mentioned. “I think he’s that talented.”
Shortly after stealing his sixtieth base within the high of the seventh inning, Acuña was concerned in a probably scary incident within the backside of the inning.
A fan approached Acuña after he ran out to proper discipline apparently to take a selfie and, whereas safety rushed to the scene, one other fan approached and made contact with the outfielder, knocking him to the bottom. But the incident ended harmlessly, with Acuña giving the thumbs-up signal to the Braves dugout.
“I was a little scared at first,” he mentioned afterward, by an interpreter. “I think the fans were out there and asking for pictures. … We’re all OK, and I hope they’re OK.”
Left fielder Kevin Pillar was close by when the state of affairs unfolded.
“I don’t think they had any ill intentions,” he mentioned. “I think that was pretty evident early on.”
Bryce Elder’s six-inning effort was backed by a two-run opposite-field dwelling run from Austin Riley and a three-double evening by Sean Murphy. But it was Acuña’s four-hit efficiency that paced the Braves, who’ve tallied a double-digit run complete in every of their previous three video games towards the Rockies.
Acuña singled and tallied his second stolen base of the evening within the eighth. Then, with MVP chants rising louder within the ninth, he doubled off the left-center-field wall. He flirted with a two-homer and two-steal evening. That would have been a pleasant technique to create the 30-60 membership.
“Think about how long this game has been played and think about how many great players have played this game, and he’s on the verge of doing something that has never been done,” Pillar mentioned. “It’s pretty remarkable. He hasn’t done it yet, but I expect him to do it real soon.”
A 20-60 season isn’t fairly as uncommon as 40-40, however earlier than Acuña this season, there had been three 40-40 seasons since the newest 20-60 marketing campaign — and fewer gamers have achieved the 20-60 combo.
The solely gamers to report 40 homers and 40 steals in a season are Jose Canseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998) and Alfonso Soriano (2006). Acuña was three steals shy of becoming a member of this membership in 2019, when he was simply 21 years previous.
This is a good accomplishment for Acuña, who has spent this season reminding the baseball world of how particular he could be when wholesome. The pace he has proven this 12 months was muted final 12 months as he handled the lingering results of a serious knee damage (torn proper ACL) he suffered two days earlier than the 2021 All-Star break.
Bonds (1990) and Davis (1987) are additionally going to realize firm when Acuña hits his subsequent dwelling run. These two former gamers have lengthy stood as the one gamers to steal 50-plus bases throughout a 30-homer season.
“I think I’m just really happy and proud that I’ve been able to stay healthy for this whole season,” Acuña mentioned. “The goal is to be able to go out there, contribute and help the team win any way possible.”
Acuña may actually create historical past whereas spending the subsequent two nights enjoying throughout the offensive-friendly confines of Coors Field. If he does, these MVP chants may develop louder.
“I’m happy and really proud,” Acuña mentioned. “The goal stays the same, to keep winning and stay focused.”
