Ronald Acuña Jr. has gotten off to a tough start at the plate in 2024, but nothing has led to more criticism for the Atlanta Braves star than the mistake he made in the field on Sunday night.
Acuña committed a brutal error during the top of the fourth inning of Atlanta’s 9-1 loss to the San Diego Padres. Manny Machado hit a routine fly ball to right field and Acuña was somehow unable to make the play. The error was so bad that the reigning NL MVP looked like he was playing Little League.
Acuña 😬 pic.twitter.com/ewhtdJtaPl
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 20, 2024
Between the error and Acuña’s inability to get anything going with the bat, fans have had plenty of material to mock the Braves star.
RONALD ACUÑA IS SO COOKED LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOO BRO IS ABSOLUTELY FRIED pic.twitter.com/I9aSOSEADM
— Philly Sports Sufferer (@mccrystal_alex) May 20, 2024
He’s been a lazy baseball player for a bit. Immensely talented but sometimes his head is just not in the game.
— Marc wit a C (@Marc_wit_a_C) May 20, 2024
Why is he trying to catch the ball at his ankles on the first place
— Boothe Bets (@BootheBets) May 20, 2024
Hitting .247, just a 0.3 rWAR right now…it’s time to be worried.
— Discuss Baseball (@discussbaseball) May 20, 2024
I really think he said screw it after winning mvp… he’s having an awful start to the season
— Donovan Vogel (@Donnie_BROgel) May 20, 2024
Bro already washed
— boujee (@BoujeeOp) May 20, 2024
Acuña is known for having an extremely strong arm. He was likely trying to get into position to make the catch and prevent the runner from tagging and advancing to third, but he failed miserably.
Acuña hit .337 with 41 home runs, 106 RBI and a 1.012 OPS last season. Through 41 games this year, he's batting .242 with just 3 homers, 11 RBI and a .690 OPS. Braves fans were already concerned that Acuña has lacked focus this season, and that error is not going to change their minds.
