Brian Snitker’s quote on Ronald Acuña Jr.’s speed sums it up perfectly
By John Buhler
Brian Snitker gave us a quote of a lifetime on Ronald Acuña Jr.’s speed.
Ronald Acuña Jr. is a five-tool player for the Atlanta Braves, as he can do everything.
On Tuesday night vs. the Toronto Blue Jays, Acuña sprinted home from third base, scoring on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Freddie Freeman to give Atlanta a 3-1 lead. It wasn’t exactly like Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez stealing home, but Braves Country erupted watching this live at home. It was a sign of Acuña’s budding greatness, giving us one of the best quotes of the year.
Braves manager Brian Snitker offered this after Atlanta’s 10-1 blow out victory over Toronto. “I told him today, ‘If I could run like you, I’d sell my car.'” Well, when you have wheels like Acuña, you can get anywhere very quickly. Who else in baseball is going from third to home in a manner like this? Who else would have even thought this sprint and slide home was even possible?
https://twitter.com/Braves/status/1290847626137665536
Can Ronald Acuña Jr.’s elite speed propel the Braves on a deep playoff run?
Atlanta is 8-4 on the year and is off to a great start. Given the expanded postseason field, going from five teams to eight in the National League, Atlanta stands a great chance to qualify after a 60-game, coronavirus-shortened season. Though the Braves are one of the better teams in the National League right now, there is a glaring hole regarding their starting rotation.
With ace Mike Soroka out for the season with a torn right Achilles’ tendon, it’s Max Fried and a bunch of guys. Look for Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos to orchestrate a trade to give the Braves’ rotation some viability in the final four-fifths of the 2020 MLB regular season. It may be a short year, but Atlanta has a great shot to win its first World Series title since 1995.
Related Story. Great angle of Ronald Acuña Jr.’s slide shows just how fast he is (Video). light
If you don’t think Anthopoulos can get it done rebuilding a lackluster rotation on the fly, think again. He did a similar thing with a leaky Braves bullpen last year by trading for Shane Greene, Chris Martin and Mark Melancon. It took a few trade deadline deals, but Atlanta’s once pedestrian bullpen is now a strength. Maybe he can rebuild the rotation to help give Atlanta a championship?
As long as Acuña can perform this kind of magic on the field, the Braves will be a terrific watch.