After Ronald Acuña hit the sweet spot on a walk-off home run, the Braves outfielder celebrated with a classic Vince Carter declaration.
“It’s over,” Ronald Acuña mouthed to the camera after his walk-off home run on Wednesday night.
Indeed it was as Acuña’s blast off the first pitch of the ninth inning lifted the Braves over the Mets, 5-4.
Complete with hand signals, the celebration that followed was a perfectly timed impression of NBA great Vince Carter after his epic dunk contest victory in 2000.
Need a refresher on the original?
It’s cool enough to hit a walk-off at home. Channeling Vince Carter afterward takes it to another level of cool.
That’s Acuña for you. That same swagger has led him to a Rookie of the Year Award, an All-Star appearance and two Silver Sluggers in his young MLB career. He’s on track for more this season.
The Braves can rely on Ronald Acuña to deliver the hits and the swagger
The outfielder only just made it back from an ankle injury. While he was lucky to avoid any serious damage, Atlanta opted to hold him out over the weekend as a precaution. His impact was minimal at the plate in his first two games back in the lineup. He went 0-for-7 as the Mets grabbed control of the series.
Things went better for Acuña on Wednesday. He walked twice, scoring a run in the process, then finished out his night with the decisive homer. He’s now up to 13 home runs on the season and still very much in the running for the league lead in that stat.
The Braves are hoping to turn that production into victories more often. It worked out this time, at least.
They’re now at 20-23 on the year and in third place in the NL East.