Fastball

Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves is Eyeing Another Impressive Piece of the Baseball Record Books

Could Ronald Acuna Jr. finish the season with the most total bases out of the leadoff spot in baseball history?

Brady Farkas

Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves is Eyeing Another Impressive Piece of the Baseball Record Books
Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves is Eyeing Another Impressive Piece of the Baseball Record Books /
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Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. is eyeing the National League MVP award this year, but he's also staring down another piece of incredible baseball history.

Per @StatsCentre:

Enjoying an MVP-worthy 2023, Ronald Acuna Jr. went yard in a 7-6 win over the Phillies on Tuesday night. He now owns an MLB best 345 total bases and all while hitting out of 1st in his @Braves batting order, which ties for 6th on this list of magnificent seasons by a leadoff man

Acuna Jr. now has 345 total bases this season. He's behind Charlie Blackmon (383), Alfonso Soriano (368), Nomar Garciaparra (365), Darin Erstad (365) and Grady Sizemore (348) in the record books. 

With 17 games left in the season, Acuna Jr. needs 39 more total bases to move to the top of the list, which certainly seems possible. He's having a remarkable season that has seen him hit .333 with 37 home runs, 97 RBI and 65 stolen bases. He's posted an OPS of 1.001 and will be battling with Matt Olson (Braves), Freddie Freeman (Dodgers) and Mookie Betts (Dodgers) for the MVP award.

Lifetime, the 25-year-old is a .290 hitter with 157 homers and 393 RBI. He's stolen 172 career bags.

After the win on Tuesday, the Braves are 95-50 this season. They are closing in on the No. 1 seed in the National League playoffs and will play the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.

First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. ET as Spencer Strider (ATL) pitches against Christopher Sanchez (PHI).

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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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