It had been just about a year since Atlanta Braves fans have seen Ronald Acuña Jr. play a Major League Baseball game. The statement he made in his first game back was as loud as it could have possibly been, and has Braves fans fired up. On the literal first pitch he saw, Acuña launched a home run.
He got a fastball right down the middle from Nick Pivetta and didn't miss it. Not only did he hit it over the fence, but he crushed it, and he admired it. He then proceeded to run the bases exactly how Braves fans remembered him doing so many times before.
The Braves' offense has needed a spark, really ever since Acuña went down last season. The spark he provided couldn't have been any better.
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Ronald Acuña Jr. got Braves fans fired up in record time
It would've been understandable for Acuña to have taken some time to adjust. He did miss nearly a full season, after all. As it turns out, he didn't even need one pitch to adjust. He was ready for a first-pitch fastball and hit it 467 feet away. Again, it was a no-doubter.
Braves fans didn't really know what to expect from Acuña. Everyone knows he has a ceiling higher than just about anybody in the sport, but it's hard for players to look like their best selves after missing so much time. I mean, in his first season after his first ACL tear, he had a .764 OPS in 119 appearances. He was good, but nowhere near the MVP player he was the following year.
Seeing Acuña do that right away has to feel exciting for Braves fans because the MVP version of Acuña can lift this team to extremely high heights. The Braves have good pitching, but they rank 17th in runs scored and 13th in OPS as of this writing. Their offense has been mostly average this season, which isn't quite good enough for a team that hopes to be in World Series contention.
Getting Acuña back even close to his MVP self should get this Braves offense closer to elite status. Not only will they get his bat in the lineup, but he's a kind of talent that elevates others when he's right. He'll obviously need more than just one plate appearance to prove that he's there, but this moment is one Braves fans will enjoy for quite some time, regardless.