Braves bench Ronald Acuna Jr. for lack of hustle

Ronald Acuna Jr. may be one of the most heralded young stars in Major League Baseball, but that doesn’t make him immune to discipline when he makes a mental error.

Acuna watched a fly ball he hit in the bottom of the third inning as if it was a home run, but it ultimately hit off the right field wall. What should have been an extra base hit turned into a single, and Acuna was ultimately thrown out trying to steal second.

Manager Brian Snitker wasted no time pulling Acuna from the game, presumably for his lack of hustle on the fly ball.

Ronald Acuña Jr. has been taken out of the biggest game yet for watching a potential HR turned single. This will be a GOOD LESSON for a young player with TONS of talent. Snitker Cares about Ñ, THE TEAM & sends a message to everyone about playing the game the right way. #ChopOn pic.twitter.com/ysPYnUczfE

— Paul Byrd (@PaulByrd36) August 18, 2019

Acuna is young and he will make mistakes. As long as he learns his lesson, this will all be forgotten fairly quickly, and it’s a lesson worth learning. After all, you need only look at one of last offseason’s big free agents to realize what can happen to a player if he’s saddled with the perception of being a player who doesn’t care to give full effort.