Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. Physically Breaks Baseball After Hitting Home Run

Ronald Acuna Jr. is off to a scorching-hot start to the 2021 MLB season. But the most surprising thing about his start is what he’s doing to baseballs. One Atlanta Braves fan obtained a home run ball hit by Acuna in Wednesday night’s game against the Miami Marlins. The ball had several dents, indicting Acuna hit the ball so hard, he physically broke it.

Auna, who was named NL Rookie of the Year in 2018, hit two home runs on Wednesday night in the Braves 6-5 loss. Currently, the 23-year-old Venezuela native leads MLB in home runs (six), extra-base hits (13) and OPS (1.500). And according to Braves.com, Acuna is tied with Hank Aaron (1959) for the most extra-base hits by a Braves player through the first 12 games of a season.

“I mean, this kid had some kind of weekend and has had some kind of start from all ends,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said last weekend. “He’s shown you all the five tools since we’ve started play. The scary part is he’s going to go continue to get better. It’s pretty special what he’s been doing.”

Despite the Braves’ slow start to the season (4-8), Acuna is taking the early lead to be NL MVP. If he wins, Acuna would be the second consecutive Braves player to win the award as Freddie Freeman won it last year. Along with that, Acuna is establishing himself as a superstar in the sport. With Acuna’s speed, power and defensive skills, he’s on pace to do big things this season and beyond.

“He is growing and getting better as a hitter,” Snitker said before the start of the season. “You look at his numbers and his body of work, he continues to get better. I think if we can keep him in right field, he is a weapon out there. He has improved defensively on his routes – even in center field. I think he is going to continue to learn the game. He is going to continue to make adjustments as [opponents] continue to adjust to him.”