Alden GonzalezESPN Staff Writer Aug 31, 2023, 11:07pm ET2 minute read
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. threw his bat and beat his chest as he enjoyed the silence of a stunned opposing crowd. His grand slam in the second inning at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night had extended the Atlanta Braves’ early lead against the only team that comes close to matching their dominance in the National League.
It also brought him into the story in a powerful way.
Acuna’s recent home run against Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Lance Lynn made him the first player in baseball history to hit at least 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a single season. He did it on the last day of August, even though there was still a whole month ahead of him. And he did that when he went up against Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, the two men who challenged him for the NL MVP award.
Acuna could still have some catching up to do.
Ronald Acuña Jr.’s long grand slam in the second inning makes him the first player in MLB history with 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases in the same season.Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
The Braves’ 25-year-old right fielder’s 6.5 FanGraphs wins above replacement was third-most in the NL. Betts (7.5) and Freeman (6.8) were slightly ahead of him thanks to a stellar performance in August that matched a Dodgers team that won 24 of its first 28 games that month. But Acuna started the highly anticipated four-game weekend series from Dodger Stadium leading the majors in on-base percentage (.416), steals (61), hits (178) and runs scored (119).
Acuna now has 150 career home runs, becoming the second player in Major League history to record 150 home runs and 150 steals at age 25 or younger.
The only other player to do that was Mike Trout.