The Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. has been making headlines for his eccentric celebrations in the Venezuelan Winter League this offseason. Most recently, Atlanta’s outfielder had his family berated and disrespected in the stands following a home run, resulting in Acuna retiring from baseball in his home country.
One of his harshest critics is fellow countryman and former MLB shortstop Alex Gonzalez, who, according to Sportskeeda, trashed him by saying, “Acuna withdrew, withdrew and could not take the pressure.” And the Braves youngster fired back over the weekend with a powerful shot:
https://twitter.com/ronaldacunajr24/status/1619125653579923456?s=20&t=BcLJ3pA7oH026RyyhmGWAw
Translated, the message says, “Alex Gonzalez, life must be difficult after retirement. When talking about the best SS in Venezuela nobody mentions you, your numbers are not impressive and now you want to use my name to appear. I keep playing making history and you keep criticizing from the sofa at home,” with a peace sign emoji to end it.
It’s extremely easy to criticize Acuna for his behavior when you’ve never been the face of baseball for an entire country. Ronald Acuna is oozing talent; he’s arguably the most exciting player in baseball when he’s healthy, which always brings haters. He makes baseball fun for everyone, and it’s amusing to see elder statesmen of the game get riled up over his antics.
Acuna does more for the game than anyone in Venezuela right now, and it’s a shame that he can’t play the sport he loves in his home country without his family being harassed. For Ronald Acuna, who is considered by many to be a fun-loving individual, to send out a message like that shows how passionate he is about the decision to step away.
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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