Ronald Acuña Jr. achieved a major milestone on Wednesday night, but the Chicago Cubs’ announcers were not too happy with the way it was celebrated.
The Atlanta Braves beat the Cubs 6-5 in 10 innings on a single by Ozzie Albies that drove in Acuña. Minutes earlier, Acuña had stolen second to put himself in scoring position.
The stolen base gave Acuña 70 on the season and made him the first player ever to hit 40 home runs and steal 70 bases in a season. Prior to Acuña joining the club, only four other players in history had achieved a 40/40 season. The highest stolen base total among the four other members is 46 (by Alex Rodriguez in 1998). Therefore, Acuña is also the first and only member of the 40/50 and 40/60 clubs as well.
After Acuña stole the base, the game was paused so the moment could be celebrated through a highlight montage. Cubs play-by-play announcer Boog Sciambi questioned the timing of the celebration, which came during a tense moment of the game, as the Cubs are fighting for a playoff spot.
“We’re really stopping the game to do a highlight montage?” Sciambi asked rhetorically.
“Can we get the base after the game? This is pretty absurd,” commentator Jim Deshaies added.
Both men appreciated the historic accomplishment but didn’t agree with the celebration taking place at that moment.
The Cubs have lost two in a row to Atlanta, dropping both games by one run.
The Cubs are battling for the final wild-card spot in the NL and had the same record as the Marlins (82-76) after Wednesday’s games.
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