If Ronald Acuna Jr. is going to be one of the faces of Major League Baseball for years to come, he should probably study up on some of the faces of the past.
Acuna, a 20-year-old outfielder who lit it up in his first season in the majors this year, became the youngest player in MLB history to hit a grand slam in a playoff game when he belted one during Sunday night’s win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The youngest before him was Mickey Mantle, who accomplished the feat when he was 21 back in 1954.
When asked about supplanting Mantle, Acuna indicated he had never heard of the New York Yankees legend.
Ronald Acuña Jr. said he had never heard of Mickey Mantle.
“I wasn’t even born,” he said.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) October 8, 2018
We thought it was bad when someone hadn’t heard of Cal Ripken Jr., but that person didn’t even play the same sport as Ripken!
Acuna batted .293 with 26 home runs and 64 RBI in his rookie season. His grand slam on Sunday proved that the postseason is not too big of a stage for him, so he could be breaking a lot more records going forward. He might want to grab a baseball encyclopedia after the playoffs and get to work.
