VIDEO: Braves' Phenom Ronald Acuña Jr. Demolishes 40th Homer of the Season
By Parker White
The wait is over! Atlanta Braves phenom Ronald Acuna Jr. is on the verge of a 40-40 season, and he's officially reached the tally for home runs. Acuña parked homer No. 40 in the seats at SunTrust Park off Phillies ace Aaron Nola in the bottom of the third as Atlanta took a 2-0 lead.
Number 4️⃣0️⃣ with authority!#ChopOn pic.twitter.com/EI3zyycRhE
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 19, 2019
Wasn't that pretty? That ball landed in the second deck of the Hank Aaron Terrace.
Next up for Acuña will to be to add three more steals to his resume, and he'll officially be the first player in the 40-40 club since Alfonso Soriano achieved the historic feat in 2006.
Even without 40 steals, Acuña's blast landed him in elite company in MLB history, as he joined Mel Ott and Eddie Matthews as the only players in their age 21 season or younger to reach the 40-bomb threshold.
Players to reach 40 HR in an age-21 season or younger
— Jason Catania (@JayCat11) September 19, 2019
Ronald Acuña Jr. (2019)
Eddie Mathews (1953)
Mel Ott (1929)
That's it.
Anytime you do something where the only other players have black-and-white photos, you are doing something right.
The 21-year-old will hope to get himself in the esteemed 40-40 club by season's end. With nine games left to play, the race to 40 steals will go down to the wire.