Major League Baseball history was made Wednesday night when Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. recorded his 70th steal of the season, becoming the first player to hit 40 home runs and steal 70 bases in a single season.
It's the latest and rarest achievement accomplished by Acuna in what will likely end up an MVP season for the 25-year-old. He said after the game that he wasn’t sure such a season could be done.
“I’d be lying if I told you I thought I was going to get this done,” Acuña said through an interpreter, via Mark Bowman. “It was one of those numbers that wasn’t impossible, but seemed impossible. Thankfully, we were able to get it done.”
Acuna's feat was celebrated by the Braves home crowd as the star outfielder lifted the base over his head following the historic steal, channeling his inner Rickey Henderson. The Atlanta faithful continued their celebration shortly after as Acuna scored the game-winning run in the Braves second consecutive comeback win over the Chicago Cubs.
The win secured the No. 1 seed in the National League for the Braves, making it a night Atlanta fans will never forget for multiple reasons. One win in their last four games will clinch home-field advantage through the entirety of the postseason for the Braves.
Achieving the impossible
Ronald Acuna Jr.'s achievement is even more remarkable because he seems like the perfect player to attain the feat. Acuna's been on the 40-40 radar ever since he came three steals shy of joining the exclusive club in 2019.
The COVID-19 pandemic took away his chance to do it in 2020. A torn ACL midway through the 2021 season erased his opportunity to become the fifth player to hit 40 homers and swipe 40 bags in a season for not only that year but 2022 as well.
The stars aligned for him to create the 40-70 club this season. Sure he might have gotten some help with the new rules, but that doesn’t make the accomplishment any less incredible. There's a reason why he's the only one to do it, with no one else really coming close.
Acuna's popularity makes this special too. A player who not many opponents or fans have bad things to say about and one who is the embodiment of this generation of stars. Unfortunately for the 29 other teams, he just so happens to be the catalyst of a dominant Braves team that is putting together one of the greatest offensive seasons the MLB has ever seen.
This likely won’t be the last time Ronald Acuna Jr. does something otherworldly on a baseball field and perhaps someone will follow in his footsteps in the next couple of years. None of them will be the same though because the Braves frontman didn’t join the club, he created it.
Baseball fans should be applauding the accomplishment and appreciating the greatest of Acuna, not trying to tear it down because of a slightly bigger base.
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