Ronald Acuña Jr. went on social media Wednesday night to shoot down the translation of some comments he supposedly made about Freddie Freeman.
Acuña Jr. joined Dominican Republic-based baseball reporter Yancen Pujols for an interview that was posted on Pujols’ Instagram Live account Wednesday night. The interview was only available for those who happened to be watching at the time, though Pujols has plans to publish it on his YouTube page later.
The interview took place in Spanish. Between the foreign language and inaccessibility of the interview, which is not available publicly, many people couldn’t verify what Acuña said in the interview.
However, a summary of some of what Acuña said was shared by a Braves fan on Twitter. The fan shared that Acuña essentially said he would not miss Freeman and that they had some friction.
https://twitter.com/gifs_baseball/status/1511893038108483587
A separate summary of the interview was shared by Reddit user Wilcrest on the Atlanta Braves forum. That user echoed the summary shared by the Braves fan on Twitter.
“Then, he was asked about Freeman and he said he won’t miss him because he was too cocky and one time Ronnie painted eye black on and Freddie came and wiped it off and said we don’t do it like that. I guess complaining about the design Ronnie drew. They were just teammates Ronnie said. No friendship,” Reddit user Wilcrest wrote about the interview.
We would love to watch the interview to hear for ourselves exactly what Acuña said. But it’s not currently available.
However, the comments receiving attention online was enough for Acuña to chime in. He denied making those comments and shared a few clown emojis.
I NEVER SAY THAT
— Ronald Acuna Jr (@ronaldacunajr24) April 7, 2022
Pujols, the host of the interview, stood by the summary shared by others.
https://twitter.com/YancenPujols/status/1511941871987089415
Acuña had some issues with the NL East rival Marlins over the years, especially when they kept hitting him. We have one story on record where Freeman said the Marlins’ actions were “gutless.” And in 2019, Freeman called out Acuña for not hustling during the playoffs. Beyond that, anything else Acuña supposedly mentioned in the interview would have been stuff that occurred behind the clubhouse doors.
Freeman spent his entire career with the Braves before leaving to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason. Acuña has played four seasons with the Braves and has developed into one of the best players in baseball. He’s currently recovering from a knee injury that limited him to 82 games last season.
We’ll find out the truth about the interview when the video is published.
Photo: Sep 20, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) reacts against the San Francisco Giants in the third inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
