The Atlanta Braves welcomed back their star player, Ronald Acuna Jr., on Thursday.
They won their game 5-1 against the Chicago Cubs, but the news piece of the day was the presence of Acuna at the top of the lineup.
The dynamic outfielder went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
Perhaps the most impressive part of his stat line, however, were the two stolen bases he was able to notch.
He is coming off ACL surgery last July, and in his first game back, when everybody thought he was going to be eased back into action, he goes out there and steals to bags.
Like the folks on Twitter say, he is just “built different.”
“It won’t be easy for the Braves to convince Acuña he’s not ready to play on an everyday basis. Tonight, he said, ‘I don’t know who said the plan was for me not to play. The way I’m looking at it is that I’m playing tomorrow. So, I guess we’ll see what happens,’, Mark Bowman, who covers the Braves for MLB.com, tweeted.
Acuña seemed to be just playing around like most players would. But to make sure, the Braves told him again tonight he won't play tomorrow. https://t.co/cktnLn8KGy
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 29, 2022
Acuna Insists On Playing Everyday
Acuna sounded somewhat defiant in that specific remark, but in the end, he has to understand there is a plan for him to guarantee his knee is in tip-top shape for the entire season, and that there are no setbacks.
“Acuña seemed to be just playing around like most players would. But to make sure, the Braves told him again tonight he won’t play tomorrow,” Bowman clarified.
Stealing two bases was, perhaps, not part of the plan, but the Braves shouldn’t limit him when he is on the field.
What they can do, however, is give him some days off and alternate him between the outfield and the designated hitter spot.
We will se how this plays out, but Acuna is eager to play as much as he can.
