As of Thursday afternoon, Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. has 37 home runs and 66 stolen bases.
He is far from the single-season home run record for Venezuelan players, established by Eugenio Suarez in 2019 with 49.
However, his next steal will break a tie with Roger Cedeño (1999) for the most steals by a Venezuelan-born player in a single campaign.
It has been a season of records for the dynamic outfielder.
He has already become the first player in MLB history with a 30-60 season.
In fact, he is the only hitter all-time to have at least 35 homers and 65 thefts in a year.
Anything he does from this point on will keep increasing the totals of his record.
He is very, very close to a 40-70 campaign, which would be outrageous.
If he keeps his current pace, he will get there near the end of the season.
.@ronaldacunajr24 is on pace to put up unprecedented stats.
(MLB x @MattressFirm) pic.twitter.com/bWDaBmfxla
— MLB (@MLB) September 14, 2023
As MLB notes above, Acuna is on pace to put up “unprecedented stats”.
He has already done that, but he could keep raising the bar for the competition later down the road and for himself.
With those totals and his .335/.416/.586 line, he is the slight favorite to win his first NL MVP award.
We use the word “slight” because, as hard to believe as it might seem, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts has been almost as good as him.
Still, at this point, it’s Acuna’s award to lose.
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