Ronald Acuña made an incredibly difficult catch look routine on Sunday at the World Baseball Classic in Venezuela’s win over Puerto Rico.
The Atlanta Braves star plays corner outfield for his MLB team these days due to a lesser risk of injury, while Michael Harris II patrols center. That’s the right decision for the team long term, but it doesn’t mean that Acuña still can’t play a mean center.
To end Venezuela’s victory over Puerto Rico, which moved the team to 2-0 and essentially clinches a spot in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic, Acuña rocketed through the outfield grass and made a difficult catch look incredibly simply.
MLB’s Sarah Langs put that catch into perspective. While watching Acuña go full sprint is nothing new to casual and expert MLB fans alike, the ground he covered was borderline other-worldly.
Could Ronald Acuña play more center field for Braves?
Thankfully, Atlanta has two outfield positions covered for years to come. Ronald Acuña in right field and Harris II in center feels like the right combination, though the former could play center if called upon, obviously.
The Braves made the right decision. Acuña is a play who regularly puts his body on the line — it’s why fans love him, and team executives have a heart attack every time he runs back to the warning track.
As for the left field spot, expect Alex Anthopoulos to nail that down relatively soon. Marcell Ozuna is a huge void who, when acquired, was expected to provide a powerful compliment to the likes of Acuña and the rest of the Atlanta lineup. Instead, he’s been anything but consistent in a Braves uniform.
But Acuña will live on in Atlanta lore forever. He’s a World Series champion (though he was an injured member of that team) and frequently mentioned as one of the budding NL MVP candidates in our game today.
He’s showing why at the WBC.