MoxVlog

Ronald Acuña Jr.'s extra-inning heroics Wednesday did more than seal Atlanta Braves 6-5 comeback win against the Chicago Cubs. They illustrate the importance of his remarkable record-setting season.

Baseball's status as a game of numbers, especially in the era of analytics, can make it easy for even hardcore fans to gloss over statistical markers. However, the game's beauty is when an athlete of Acuña's caliber sets a record that is impossible to ignore.

Acuña recorded his 70th steal in the bottom of the 10th inning. With his team down one run, his RBI single tied the game. He went on to steal second base, setting a new milestone, and came around to score the game-winning run.

Acuña made history just last week with his 40th home run of the season. In doing so, he joined Jose Canseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998), and Alfonso Soriano (2006) as the only players to steal 40 bases and hit 40 home runs in a single season.

Even pushing aside the shadow cast by baseball's steroid era, Acuña stands apart from the rest. None of the other four reached the 50-steal milestone, let alone the 68 Acuña had at the time of his 40th home run.

Acuña is now in a club all his own.

"Very happy, mainly that we were able to win," Acuña said after the game via interpreter. "I'm thrilled to have created the 40-70 club. "It was one of those numbers that wasn't impossible but seemed impossible."

Acuña's Magical Season Explained

As the Braves leadoff hitter, teams are faced with a difficult choice when Acuña comes to the plate. Pitch to him, and you're facing a dangerous hitter who has the fourth-most extra base hits in baseball this season.

Pitch around him, and you are nearly guaranteeing he'll be in scoring position before the end of the next at-bat. Starting off the inning with a runner on second and no outs is a recipe for giving up at least one run if not more.

The problem with pitching around Acuña is his adept base-running skills and keen batting eye. In 634 at-bats, Acuña has 82 strikeouts demonstrating how Acuna uses plate discipline to wait for the pitch he wants.

The best option might be to pitch cautiously to Acuña. It's easier written than executed, given his 41 home runs and .336 batting average.

Getting the win for the Braves

Acuña's opposite-field single in the 10th against the Cubs exemplifies the right-fielder using his patience to deliver in a clutch moment. Cubs pitcher Daniel Palencia threw a slider with two strikes. Acuña capitalized on the pitch for the game-tying base hit.

After celebrating the record-breaking steal, Acuña scored the winning run on Ozzie Albies' single.

"I'm sitting there thinking, 'Oh, my God.' No. 1, just the base hit to tie the game was a nasty, nasty pitch that he hit," Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters after the game. "And to get that bag (stolen base) and score the winning run, that's about as good as it gets."

Do new rules contribute to Acuña's success?

Critics can point to new rules, such as the pitch clock, larger bases, and restrictions on the shift leading to Acuña going from his 2019 career-high 37 steals to 70 with four games left in the 2023 season. It's fair to acknowledge that steals are up in baseball, around 37 percent league-wide over last season.

Still, among current players, Acuña leads the league in stolen bases. He's third in MLB behind Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts in Wins Above Replacement (WAR). He leads the league with an 8.2 offensive WAR and an on-base percentage of .414 after Wednesday's win.

Whether or not the rules would have helped previous players, it's clear no one else in baseball balances speed and power like Acuña. He's reached base in over 40 percent of his plate appearances this season. As the year winds down, he finds his home run total at 41 for the second time in his career.

Home runs, it turns out, don't hit themselves.

What Acuña means to the Braves

Even if Acuña was on a losing team, his 70 steals and 41 home runs would be impressive. If the Braves weren't in the playoffs, leading the league in hits, total bases, stolen bases, and runs scored would be enough to start Cooperstown talk.

Combining Acuña's eye-popping numbers with Braves 102 wins, it's hard to imagine anyone else winning the 2023 Most Valuable Player in the National League. It's also hard to imagine the Braves reaching 100 wins without him. In the three games in which he didn't play this season, the Braves managed just one win and were outscored 32-15.

"He's the real MVP. He did what his dream always was to do," Albies told reporters after the Braves win. "He always talked about it, he always wanted to do it, so I'm really happy that he did it, and here at home with a big crowd."

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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