The Abusador also pursues the record for the most stolen bases for a Venezuelan | Photo: EFE
Ronald Acuna Jr., star of the Atlanta Braves, is in the midst of a historic campaign in the Big leagues (MLB, for its acronym in English) in which he could become the first Venezuelan to complete the 40-40 (40 home runs and 40 stolen bases).
Acuña Jr. finished the first half of the season with a .331 batting average with 21 home runs, 55 RBIs, 79 runs scored, and 41 stolen bases in 89 games played.
Consulted by the American chain ESPN On whether he aims to achieve 40-40, El Abusador stated that setting goals is setting limits.
“My only goal is to play all 162 games of the season and all the games of the postseason. Let’s wait and see what (numbers) we have at the end of the season,” said the Venezuelan outfielder during the break for the MLB All-Star Game, which was played on July 11 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, United States.
El Abusador hit 2 home runs and stole 3 bases at the start of the second part of the season. The native baseball player needs to hit 17 home runs in the next three months in what is considered the best baseball in the world to reach an unprecedented milestone among Venezuelan baseball players.
RONALD DID IT AGAIN! ???? pic.twitter.com/7lPCCDdbTl
— MLB Venezuela (@MLBVenezuela) July 16, 2023
According to the projections of the portal Baseball ReferenceAcuña Jr. will end the season with 40 home runs.
To date, only four players have gone 40-40 in MLB history:
– Jose Canseco, Oakland Athletics: 42-40 in 1988
– Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants: 42-40 in 1996
– Alex Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners: 42-46 in 1998
– Alfonso Soriano, Washington Nationals 46-41 in 2006
Ronald Acuña Jr. and Roger Cedeño’s record
In addition to chasing 40-40, Acuña Jr. is chasing the record for most stolen bases in a season for a Venezuelan held by Roger Cedeño, who stole 66 bases in 1999 while wearing a New York Mets uniform.
Acuña Jr. surpassed his cap for stolen bases in a season in the MLB | Photo: MLB
The Venezuelan outfielder has taken advantage of both the rule that prevents pitchers from throwing more than twice to the bases to check or surprise runners and the new size of the pads of 45.72 centimeters (18 inches).
The 25-year-old Venezuelan leads the stolen base department in the entire MLB (44).
The Abuser Popularity
Acuña Jr. led the MLB poll on the potential winner of the National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
The MLB published the consultation on July 14 in which 47 journalists and analysts from the Big Top participated.
Acuña Jr. is one of the main candidates to win the National League MVP award | Photo: @MLB
Also, the Venezuelan’s number 13 jersey, which ranges from $120 to $180, is the best-seller so far this Big Show season, according to a July 10 publication by the MLB and the MLB Players Association.
The Venezuelan outfielder won the first phase of voting for the 2023 MLB All-Star Game. El Sabanero obtained the privilege of being a starter in the National League team, after receiving 3,082,600 votes, the most since the voting process began on May 31.
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2023-07-21 06:55:27
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