Fastball

Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves Made More Than Just 40/40 History on Friday Night

Yes, Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. made history on Friday night by becoming the fifth player ever to have a 40/40 season, but he made history beyond that as well.

Brady Farkas

Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves Made More Than Just 40/40 History on Friday Night
Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves Made More Than Just 40/40 History on Friday Night /
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The Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals on Friday night 9-6 to move to 99-55. 

With the win, the Braves are now one win shy of the 100-win threshold for the second straight year. Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, an RBI and a home run.

The home run was his 40th of the season, which makes him the fifth player ever to record a 40/40 season.

But beyond that, Acuna Jr. made even more baseball history.

Per ESPN Stats & Info:

Ronald Acuña Jr. recorded his 160th career HR tonight. 

He's the first player in MLB history to record 160 HR and 160 stolen bases at the age of 25 or younger.

It's been an incredible season, and an incredible start to the career of Acuna Jr., who is one of the most dynamic players in the game. He's a lifetime .291 hitter with 160 homers and 397 RBI. He also has 175 stolen bases. Those numbers would be even better had he played more than a 60-game season in 2020 (pandemic). He also only played 82 games in 2021 and 119 in 2022 while recovering from a torn ACL.

Because of impending weather, the Braves and Nationals were postponed on Saturday. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday with Game 1 slated for 1:35 p.m. ET. Game 2 will be played at 6:35.

No pitching matchups have been announced for either game. The Nationals will enter that first content at 68-87.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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