Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. equals HOFer with this latest feat
Amid an MVP-caliber season, Atlanta Braves star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. continued his historic season by equaling Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson with his latest feat Sunday against the New York Mets.
Acuna tallied stolen base No. 55 on the year, making him only the fifth player in MLB history to have 25-plus home runs and 55 or more stolen bases in the same season and the first since Henderson in 1990.
A season like Acuna's has happened only eight times in baseball history, with Henderson (1986, 1990), Joe Morgan (1973, 1976) and Cesar Cedeno (1973, 1974) doing it twice and Eric Davis (1986) accomplishing it once, per Stathead.
While Acuna has reached several MLB firsts this season, his latest accolade is a good omen for his MVP hopes, as Henderson and Morgan earned the award in at least one of those historic seasons.
The 2018 Rookie of the Year and a two-time Silver Slugger award winner, Acuna could soon add more hardware to his collection. The 25-year-old is having one of the most well-rounded seasons in recent memory and is unsurprisingly the frontrunner to win National League MVP honors.
According to Oddschecker, Acuna (-500) is the odds-on favorite, followed by Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (+500) and teammate Matt Olson (+3200).
Entering play Sunday, Acuna led the league in stolen bases (54), on-base percentage (.422), and runs scored (106), batting .336 with a .575 slugging percentage, 26 home runs and 71 RBI. However, Acuna's big year has rubbed off on his Braves teammates.
Acuna, along with teammates Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley and Matt Olson, have combined for 124 homers on the year, more than eight teams in the majors. Meanwhile, the Braves' offense ranks first in runs per game (5.8), home runs (225) and OPS (.846).
More must-reads: