Ronald Acuña, Jr. words delivered off-the-field like his performance does on-the-field

Last weekend, I made an early morning run to a big-box retailer to pick up a couple of things. As is habit, I walked the back of the aisles, looking for clearance items that are too good of a deal to resist.

Shampoo I’ve never heard of marked down 70-percent? Sure, I’ll take one.

As I made my way through the toy section, I looked to my left and saw a new Ronald Acuña, Jr. Funko Pop. I couldn’t resist picking one up and putting it in my cart.

I’m still a kid, at heart.

I made my way to the self-check-out line. The older lady who works there every day I come in walked over to say hello. She saw the Acuña, Jr. Funko in my cart and said something along these lines:

“Oh, I picked up one of those earlier this week. I was getting a Funko for one of my grandkids and got one for myself. I love Ronnie. He’s my favorite player on the Braves.”

I am horrible at guessing ages. I’ve reached the point where I forget how old I am, so this lady is maybe 70 - if not, she’s somewhere in that general neighborhood.

And she couldn’t stop talking about how much she loves Ronald Acuña, Jr. (Especially - as she noted twice - after Freddie Freeman left.)

Earlier this week, Atlanta’s superstar outfielder - and reigning National League MVP - penned a long-form biographical editorial for The Player’s Tribune.

If you haven’t read it - take 15 minutes and do so.

Acuña, Jr. is 26 years old. He’s accrued 26.8 fWAR in 673 career game with the Braves after debuting at age 20 back in 2018. He’s been an MVP, the NL Rookie of the Year, a four-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger. He’s the first player in MLB history to hit 40 or more home runs and steal 70 or more bases in the same season.

Yet, for much of his time in Atlanta, he’s been a polarizing figure on the field.

After suffering a knee injury mid-way through the 2021 season that caused him to miss the remainder of the season, he returned in 2022 to play in 119 games but didn’t seem to be himself on the field. There were questions as to whether the issues were physical or not.

Then 2023 happened and he answered any-and-all questions as to his health, or so it seemed. During Spring Training this year, he missed some time after “tweaking” his knee. Whispers of concern transformed into sighs of relief when he took the field a later in the Spring.

Before that, though, Acuña, Jr. declared his love for the Braves and his desire to finish his career in Atlanta. Braves fans rejoiced.

Segments of the fanbase, who love to point out any-and-every flaw with players, saw one of their long-standing criticisms of Acuña, Jr. muted when he did multiple interviews in English. One less thing to feed the trolls.

English is a terrible language. I still can’t speak it correctly. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to learn it as a second language.

Since last season, there seemed to be a change in Acuña, Jr. I shudder to say a maturity, because that’s impossible to judge when you aren’t privy to the inner workings of a person or their situation, so maybe a better way to view it was more of an openness.

Then, Acuña, Jr. wrote what he wrote. And if you read what he wrote, you know what he wrote was one helluva testament to the power of the written word.

In the piece, Acuña, Jr. drew back the curtain to his youth - the pressure he put on himself - the angst and then joy of being signed. Then, in a blunt admission of the struggle he had in adjusting to a new country, a new language, and new culture and doing so at 16 years old.

Stop.

What the heck were you doing when you were 16? Did you move to a foreign country, by yourself, to work a job that you loved but were now committed to by living with strangers and eating at one of two places for half-a-year, while having difficulty with any-and-all communication? And did you send what money you made back to your family?

Maybe you have, but I have not.

Years ago, I did work an entry-level, manual-labor factory job with a couple of co-workers who were doing something similar. They weren’t 16, but they were young, and had immigrated to the U.S. from Honduras. They left their families behind - going back only once a year - while sending most of what they earned back to their families so their parents, wives and kids could have a better life. These guys hoped to return home after working in the States for a decade and run a family farm.

Their situation taught me an important lesson in humanity.

In an age where sensationalism and extremism plague all forms of media, there is nothing like direct interactions with those from different backgrounds to provide a much-needed exposure the importance of humanity.

Which brings me back to Acuña, Jr.

The story he shared - his story - was open and honest. He talked about crying because of how much he missed his family. He expressed the regret for actions and mistakes he made on the field early in his career. He was seemingly as soul-baring with his struggles and dreams as any player I can recall.

And not just any player, any person.

I’ve never been a professional athlete. You probably haven’t either. I can’t relate to the challenge and desire and work it takes not only make it to the highest level but to be one of the sport’s biggest stars.

Yet there I was, reading Acuña, Jr.’s article, and relating to many of the emotional gymnastics he has gone through.

What we witnessed last season, on the field, was one of the finest performances in the glorious history of baseball. We saw that from one of our players from our team. We saw it from a guy who should be, just now, hitting his prime years.

We also saw it from a guy we didn’t really know - or maybe we thought we knew but didn’t understand.

Now Acuña, Jr. has flipped that script on its ear. He did so by expressing his humanity.

Hank Aaron. Dale Murphy. Two franchise icons.

Fans of different generations loved both those guys for different reasons, but one of their common ties was their humanity.

Sports stars don’t have to be role models. Many of them don’t want to be. That’s okay - they are professional athletes who entertain us for a living.

But when those super stars are role models, they can have a life-time impact on generations of people.

This isn’t to say that is Acuña, Jr. - or that he wants to be one, either. But credit the Braves for not only having a number of players who seems like they are all as good of people off the field as on it - from Ozzie Albies to Austin Riley to Spencer Strider to Micheal Harris II. But it isn’t just that generation, the same could be said with Charlie Morton and Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward, whose time coming through the Braves system preceded those afore mentioned Braves start who are all under the age of 30.

Of all the current Atlanta Braves stars, it’s hard to argue that any of them are bigger than Acuña, Jr. Unlike some of his current teammates, there seemed to be blemishes in his metaphorical armor. It was full of “but” and “if” and “maybe he should” all based on people not understanding who exactly Ronald Acuña, Jr. was as a person.

But no longer.

Acuña’s gift to all of us was a parable, I suppose, on strength that comes from admitting fault and weakness.

No one is perfect. Mistakes happen. People change.

Acuña, Jr. gave us all a reminder of that this week with his article. It may not have been an intentional lesson on humanity, but it was an effective one.

We are all better for it. Whether we are seven or 70.