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Former $41 Million All-Star Rips Ronald Acuña Jr. After Home Run Celebration

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 10:12 AM ET

Longtime MLB first baseman Sean Casey found himself in quite the conundrum watching Monday's Atlanta Braves-New York Mets game.

On the one hand, Casey knows—and fully admits—that Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. remains one of the league's premier players. However, Casey isn't always a fan of Acuña's home run celebrations, his latest being him mimicking throwing a grenade at the Mets' dugout.

In the end, Casey made his choice, publicly advising Acuña to learn from another MVP.

"I look at Aaron Judge ... when he hits them, it looks like he's been there before," Casey said on "The Mayor's Office."

Ronald Acuña Jr. sends this one 419 feet to dead center! pic.twitter.com/2d7pFxJdcz
— MLB (@MLB) June 23, 2025

Acuña has frequently expressed himself following homers since his 2018 debut, and it caused a stir in his early years; then-Miami Marlins pitcher José Ureña incited a bases-clearing brawl after plunking Acuña in 2018.

The Citi Field crowd applauded Mets reliever José Buttó when he threw up-and-in to Acuña on Monday night.

Casey then seemingly contradicted himself, saying he had "no problem" with Acuña celebrating the home run with a "Latino flare."

It's also worth noting that Casey played alongside Ken Griffey Jr. on the Cincinnati Reds and Manny Ramírez on the Boston Red Sox. Both often flashed their personality, with Ramírez sometimes holding both arms up after smashing home runs.

"I think the standard is still the standard as far as, like, acting like you've been there before," Casey said.

We wouldn't blame Acuña if he ignored Casey's feedback. The 2023 NL MVP entered Wednesday hitting .396 with nine homers, 16 RBI, and a stellar 1.213 OPS across 122 plate appearances.

Incredibly, Acuña already has compiled 2.2 bWAR in 28 games, and he's on pace to make the All-Star Game despite not debuting until May 23.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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