Everyone knows who Ronald Acuña Jr. is — the MVP frontrunner and Venezuelan superstar for the Braves. Lesser known little brother is quickly climbing the ranks of the minor leagues, though. The Mets acquired Luisangel Acuña from the Rangers in exchange for Max Scherzer, and he’s already one of the best prospects in New York’s farm system.
However, he’s a bit of a way from where his older brother is — on pace to break multiple league records if he reaches 40 home runs. Still, that doesn’t stop the brotherly rivalry. Tim Heasley, a Mets beat writer, shared via Twitter that Ronald and Luisangel Acuña have a bet for whoever can steal more bases, with the winner receiving $5,000.
Big update from Luisangel Acuna: He and his brother, noted Braves MVP candidate Ronald Acuna, have a bet going over who can steal more bases this year. The winner gets $5,000, he said.
(Luisangel has 43, Ronald 53.)
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) August 8, 2023
With the increased sizes of the bases, stolen bags have increased, and Ronald leads all of baseball, but Luisangel isn’t far behind. It obviously doesn’t translate exactly like this, but Luisangel’s 43 steals would rank third in the MLB, behind his brother and A’s speedster Esteury Ruiz.
$5,000 might hurt Luisangel’s wallet a bit more than Ronald’s, but it’s still entertaining to see the pair continue their rivalry, which surely began on the dirt fields of Venezuela. At some point, baseball fans will soon see them on the same field in the majors with a new rivalry — Braves and Mets.
It might be hard for Atlanta fans to see Ronald’s little brother succeed with the Metropolitans, but I can guarantee Ronald won’t be. Like every big brother, he wants his little brother to succeed, regardless of which team it is for.
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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