Ronald Acuña Jr's 50th Home Run Put Him in Historic MLB Company
By Jerry Trotta
Ronald Acuña Jr. just continues to impress.
Just a few days after the budding superstar became the eighth player in MLB history to club 20 home runs and swipe 20 bases at the age of 21 (or younger,) the Braves outfielder etched his name into baseball prominence again on Sunday night.
Acuña demolished homer No. 24 on the year Sunday night, but it also stood as No. 50 of his young career. And in doing so, last season's NL Rookie of the Year became the fourth-youngest player EVER to reach that mark. Those in front of him? Tony Conigliaro, Hall of Famer Mel Ott, and Braves SHOULD-be Hall of Famer Andruw Jones.
Ronald Acuña Jr. with career HR No. 5️⃣0️⃣
— ESPN (@espn) July 22, 2019
He's the 4th-youngest player to reach that mark in MLB history. pic.twitter.com/56MNrF3wnh
What more is there to say about this dude? Not only is he parking baseballs into the bleachers on a regular basis, but he's also capable of scoring from first on doubles...after FACE-PLANTING while rounding third.
To this point in the season, the All-Star is slashing .295/.378/.510 with 24 home runs, 58 RBI, 78 runs scored, 21 stolen bases, and 119 hits. Want us to continue?
Since being deployed back into the leadoff spot in early May, RAJ has been the leadoff champ in terms of hits, homers, runs, and total bases.
Since moving back to the leadoff spot on May 10, Ronald Acuña Jr. is leading all leadoff hitters in hits (82), homers (17), total bases (142), and runs (57). pic.twitter.com/3NHreOJwg1
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) July 22, 2019
And he's only 21 years old.
Braves fans should have nothing but smiles on their faces with the thought of Acuña Jr. being the face of their franchise for the next decade-plus.