Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. Makes History With MLB-Best 40th Stolen Base

Acuña’s combination of power and speed has him on a record pace.

Through the first half of the season, no player has garnered more attention than Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who does something that’s never been done before in baseball seemingly on a daily basis. But over in the National League, Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. is doing more than his part to make some history in his own right.

Acuña’s scorching first half continued Monday night, with the 25-year-old swiping his MLB-leading 40th base of the season. In doing so, he became the first player in the history of the American or National Leagues to have at least 20 home runs, 40 stolen bases and 50 RBIs before the All-Star break.

Acuña also became the fastest player to reach 20 homers and 40 stolen bases, needing just 84 games to reach those benchmarks. He’s currently on pace for 41 home runs and 77 stolen bases.

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Acuña is spearheading a Braves offense that has blitzed the rest of the competition in the NL, leading the league in runs and homers. Atlanta heads for the All-Star break on a tear, winning 24 of its past 27 games following Monday’s 4–2 victory over the Guardians to improve to 57–27 on the season.