Ronald Acuña makes history and puts stamp on NL MVP season in Braves win

Ronald Acuña Jr. has just made history in the Atlanta Braves game late Wednesday night and created a whole new group of hitters.

In the Wednesday game vs the Chicago Cubs, Acuña Jr. stole two bases, including one in the bottom of the 10th inning, which was his 70th stolen base of the season to add onto his 41 home runs. He is now the first player to have a 40/70 season. But to make this event even better, the next batter, Ozzie Albies, hit a walk-off single to win the game 6-5.

Acuña has likely secured himself the NL MVP Award after this ridiculous season, and despite the resume of Mookie Betts, it's tough to argue with history.

Braves: Ronald Acuña Jr. joins the 40/70 club

At just 25 years old, Acuña has solidified himself as one of the faces of baseball. The Braves made the right decision to add him long-term, which happened in 2019 when they signed him to an 8-year, $100 million contract. Now, that seems like chump change because that also included two years of club options, making it a 10-year, $134 million contract.

In 2023, Acuña has played in 155 games and is leading the league in hits with 213 and runs with 146. But where he excels most has been stolen bases with 70. He is hitting .336 on the season and has a 168 OPS+, meaning he is 68 percent better than the average player.

The Braves now hold a record of 102-56 and are the World Series favorites, as they just can't be stopped with the lineup being one of the best in MLB history. The Braves are also on pace to set another record before the season ends, which would break the Minnesota Twins' record of 307 home runs in a season, which happened in 2019. With just a few games left, the Braves have 303.