Braves: Ronald Acuña Jr. put umpire in a bad mood with walk-off celebration (Video)

Ronald Acuña Jr. accidentally douses home plate umpire with a water cooler during the Atlanta Braves’ walk-off celebration.

Let’s talk about Ronald Acuña Jr.’s use of the water cooler last night at the water cooler today.

It was pure joy when Sean Murphy went yard in extra innings to propel the Atlanta Braves to a 5-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Atlanta had been riding a miserable three-game losing skid to the San Diego Padres. While Bryce Elder pitched well, A.J. Minter struggled in the bullpen trying to close it out. With this being Murphy’s first big moment in Atlanta, the Braves went totally bonkers!

While there is nothing wrong with dumping a water cooler on the man who hit the walk-off homer, the home plate umpire who caught a stray was not the least bit amused.

Just a thought. Maybe get away from the players when you know shenanigans are about to ensue?

Ronald Acuña Jr. accidentally dumps water cooler on ump in Atlanta Braves win

Outside of the horrific three-game stretch vs. the Padres, Atlanta has looked like one of the better teams in baseball. Although they don’t straight-up refuse to lose like the Tampa Bay Rays, keep in mind how injury-depleted this team is already in the young season. Kyle Wright makes his 2023 debut tonight, while Max Fried, Michael Harris II, Travis d’Arnaud and others are all currently on IL.

But one player who is not is Acuña! After pretty much grinding out last season on a not-quite-right knee, Acuña is back to being himself in all phases of the game. He is locked in and finally playing some unencumbered baseball. This is why he could be a serious NL MVP candidate as the season goes along. He sets the table for the likes of Matt Olson and Austin Riley to eat while at the plate.

Even if the home plate umpire was not the least bit amused about getting drenched on a chilly April night in Atlanta, it was a cathartic win for the Braves. It was important that they took Game 1 at home over a team they are clearly better than. More importantly, it was utterly fantastic that Murphy was the best player on the field on Monday night. This was his Braves’ coming out party.

Let’s just hope this particular umpire does not hold a grudge against Acuña for the rest of the year.