Man, it’s amazing what’s going on in Atlanta right now.
Just 24 hours after becoming the first player in MLB history to rack up 20 home runs, 40 stolen bases and 50 RBIs before the All-Star break, Atlanta Braves four-time All-Star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. broke a baseball record Tuesday night that had stood for a crazy 54 years.
During the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians, Acuña tallied a stolen base for that game’s resume, but that stolen base also set a mark for the potential NL MVP. It actually broke a Major League Baseball record for the longest streak with at least a home run or stolen base in the modern era, according to OptaSTATS.
Doing so for a consecutive 13th game, Acuña broke the 1969 record of Bert Campaneris (Oakland Athletics) where he had a streak of 12.
Today marks the 13th consecutive game that Ronald Acuña Jr. of the @Braves has either hit a home run or stolen a base.
That’s the longest streak by any MLB player in the modern era, surpassing the 12 straight by Oakland’s Bert Campaneris in 1969 (entirely on stolen bases). pic.twitter.com/Rc56LaNTak
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) July 5, 2023
I don’t care what anybody says, this is your NL MVP right here.
I know my city (Miami) is high on Luis Arráez because he’s batting around .400, which is absolutely incredible, and I love Arráez, but come on … Ronald Acuña Jr. literally just set a major feat and broke an impressive record in back-to-back nights. And then the fact that he’s helped lead my Atlanta Braves to just a dominant 57-28 record and they’re currently running away with the NL East — how do you vote against that? (RELATED: End Of An Era? Angels Put Mike Trout On IL For 4-8 Weeks, Which Could Potentially See Them Trade Away Shohei Ohtani)
He’s literally set himself up to have a potential campaign that sees him win the Most Valuable Player and World Series in the same year. And not only would I like to see that as an Atlanta Braves fan, I’d love to see that as a general baseball fan and journalist/blogger (whatever you want to call me).
And speaking of MVP … baseball totally needs to give me a vote. I’m just sayin’.