Thursday night at Dodger Stadium, the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers opened a four-game series featuring baseball's two powerhouse teams (GameTracker). The Braves entered the series with baseball's best record at 87-45. The Dodgers have the second best record in the game. They're 83-49.
This series is loaded with stars -- Mookie Betts! Matt Olson! Freddie Freeman! -- none brighter than Braves wunderkind Ronald Acuña Jr. Acuña has been the NL MVP front-runner most of the season, and he seems to do something historic every other week. On Thursday, Acuña swatted his 30th home run and became the first 30/60 player in history: 30 homers and 60 steals.
Here is Acuña's 30th homer, a mammoth grand slam off Lance Lynn:
As noted, Acuña is the first 30/60 player in baseball history, and the Braves still have another 29 games after Thursday. He has a legitimate chance to go 40/60. Heck, he might go 40/70. You can't put a ceiling on Acuña. He seems capable of anything on a baseball field.
Here are the most stolen bases by players with 30 homers in a season:
| Team | Stolen bases | Home runs | |
|---|---|---|---|
Ronald Acuña Jr. | 2023 Braves | 61 (and counting) | 30 (and counting) |
Barry Bonds | 1990 Pirates | 52 | 33 |
Eric Davis | 1987 Reds | 50 | 32 |
2012 Angels | 49 | 30 | |
Alex Rodriguez | 1998 Mariners | 46 | 42 |
Acuña, still only 25, entered Thursday's game with a .334/.416/.567 slash line. Those 61 stolen bases have come in 72 attempts for an outstanding 85% success rate. MLB enacted several rule changes intended to promote stolen bases this year (limit on pickoffs, larger bases, etc.) and Acuña is taking full advantage.
This is the fifth guaranteed season on Acuña's eight-year, $100 million contract. The contract includes club options for the eighth and ninth years at $17 million apiece. He is one of the game's best players and the single biggest bargain in the sport.
