Sports are better when the best players are on the field. This isn’t a hot take, and one of baseball’s brightest stars is currently sidelined. Braves superstar outfielder and reigning MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. tore his ACL earlier in the season, and Bryce Harper made no bones about how he feels about the situation — he wants him back.
I asked Philadelphia Phillies All-Star Bryce Harper about Braves Ronald Acuńa Jr…
“I want him back in this game because the game is a better place when he’s leading off for the Atlanta Braves” pic.twitter.com/FybxQ4wF3l
— Zach Klein (@ZachKleinWSB) July 15, 2024
Atlanta and Philadelphia have a special rivalry. Not only is there true hatred between the fan bases, but the two ball clubs are also two of the best in Major League Baseball.
Regardless of the animosity between the Braves and Phillies fans, the players have the utmost respect for each other. Baseball is better with Ronald Acuna Jr., and it’s better with Bryce Harper, who missed some of the last two seasons with an elbow injury.
This shouldn’t be controversial. Braves fans should want to see Bryce Harper, along with every rival’s stars playing, and those fans should feel the same about the Braves. More than just enjoying the game at the highest level, it’s better to beat your most hated rivals at full strength.
Much like Acuna, the game misses one of its best pitchers in Spencer Strider, who, like his teammate, went down with a season-ending injury early in the year.
The Braves currently sit 8.5 games back of the division-leading Phillies at the All-Star break, and it will be a tall task to chase them down without Ronald Acuna and Spencer Strider, but stranger things have happened.
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David John Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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