Historic Home Run Has Atlanta Braves Superstar in Elite Company

Like he’s done so many times before, Atlanta Braves slugger Ronald Acuña Jr. circled the bases Wednesday at Nationals Park after belting a home run. He cut his now classic basketball euro stutter-step before touching third base, then crossed home plate to complete the three-run shot. Everything looked the same.

Except it wasn’t.

Acuña’s seventh inning round-tripper was historic. It was the 200th home run of the former MVP’s career, making him the fastest player in Major League history to reach 200 home runs and 200 stolen bases. Acuña accomplished the feat in just 904 games. Faster than Sammy Sosa. Faster than Bonds (Barry and Bobby). In fact, Acuña joins Alfonso Soriano (929) as the only two players to join the 200/200 club with less than 1,000 games played.

“For me, it’s an honor to be on that list with Alfonso Soriano, that superstar,” Acuña said after the Braves blasted the Washington Nationals, 9-0. “I know how much work I’ve put in to be here, to stay healthy and play with my teammates.”

It’s a milestone Acuña has been eyeing since mid-August. Since Willie Mays founded the 200/200 club in 1960, only 56 additional players have joined it. Acuña is now the eighth current Major Leaguer with 200 homers and 200 stolen bases, joining Jose Altuve, Francisco Lindor, Andrew McCutchen, Jose Ramirez, Mike Trout, Trea Turner, and Christian Yelich.

“Any time you’re first, or even top 50 on any list in this game, it’s amazing,” said Braves manager Walt Weiss. “We know Ronald’s talent. It’s freakish talent. So, he’s capable of doing unbelievable things.”

The Braves are hoping Acuña continues to tap into that freakish talent for the remainder of the year. It’s been an injury-riddled season for the Braves’ superstar, who has had two separate stints on the injured list with hamstring issues.

Before Wednesday, Acuña had struggled since his latest return from the IL in late July. In 33 games, he was hitting just .217 with a .669 OPS, six home runs and a 26% strikeout rate. In that span, Acuña recorded just a 48% hard-hit rate with an average exit velocity of 90.5 mph.

Against the Nationals, Acuña went 3-5 with his sixth inning single registering a game-best 108.6 mph exit velocity, per Statcast. His home run left the bat at 104 mph, giving the Braves encouraging signs that Acuña is starting to make hard, consistent contact again.

Also, all three hits came off fastballs, a pitch Acuña has uncharacteristically struggled with this year, hitting just .219 against heaters. Only in 2024 did Acuña have a worse average against fastballs, hitting .218 against the pitch, when he played just 49 games in an injury-shortened year.

Acuña hopes to keep rolling against the Braves’ NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies. Atlanta’s division lead over the Phillies is now four games with the two clubs scheduled to meet four times in Philadelphia this weekend, and three more times next week in Atlanta.

Traditionally, Acuña has thrived against the Phillies hitting .301 with a .903 OPS and 18 home runs in his career.