Atlanta Braves star right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. may be running away with the 2023 NL Most Valuable Player award… in a literal sense. Acuna, in recent days, became the founding father of the well and truly unique 40 home run, 70 stolen bases club. And he isn't quite done yet making history for himself in what has been a triumphant return from an injury-marred 2022 campaign.

Despite suffering a 10-6 loss against the Washington Nationals on Friday night, the Braves right fielder continued his reign of terror on the basepaths. Acuna stole two bases, which now puts his total number of bag thefts thus far in 2023 at 72. And in doing so, Acuna tied the Braves' record for most stolen bases in a single season, tying Otis Nixon, the retired outfielder who tallied 72 stolen bases himself 22 years ago.

Ronald Acuna Jr. may yet add to that total, as the Braves still have two games left to go in the regular season before they shift their sights towards the NLDS, which begins on October 6. It's unclear at the moment, however, if the Braves end up sitting Acuna and their other key guys, deciding to play safe instead of chasing whatever attainable records there may be yet risking injury in the process. Perhaps the team allows the 25-year old to steal one base and then pull him from the game immediately.

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It's important to bring in these conversations as well that Acuna's baserunning may not be that much better even with his gaudy stolen base total. For starters, he has been caught stealing 14 times this season, which won't help matters at all. Moreover, he's also hit into his fair share of double plays; according to TeamRankings.com, Acuna has hit into 15, which factors into his overall baserunning value.

According to Fangraphs, the Braves right fielder's overall baserunning value in 2023 is worse than what it was back in 2019, when Ronald Acuna Jr. stole a “measly” 37 bases. Of course, Acuna's value on the bases is still overwhelmingly positive, and he's still deserving to win MVP as much as anyone, but there must be more nuance to the discussion of just how much value he brings on the basepaths.