Braves: Ronald Acuña Jr. announces retirement from baseball in Venezuela following an altercation with family in the stands

Ronald Acuña

Last night, baseball fans were graced with an all-time home run celebration from Ronald Acuña in the Venezuelan Winter League.

That looks like a young man who is enjoying himself in his home country, but apparently, there were some things going on behind the scenes that turned violent. Ronald Acuña Jr’s family was attacked during the 7th inning of the game.

https://twitter.com/porlagoma/status/1618081805298733058

The translated tweet reads:

According to a source, the Acuña family was attacked with glasses of beer and soft drinks at the height of the 7th inning, the tense situation would have caused the decision of the big league not to play anymore.

The situation was also partly caught on video:

This prompted an immediate response from Ronald Acuña Jr. Just a few innings after one of the most immaculate in-game celebrations I’ve ever seen, he announced on Instagram that he was retiring from Venezuelan baseball.

https://twitter.com/porlagoma/status/1618078438342135810

It’s sad that something like this had to occur. Acuña clearly enjoys playing in front of his home country. They look at him like a king, but situations like this oftentimes cannot be avoided. There will always be people jealous of the heights Acuña has been able to reach, and with that can come some unfortunate violent situations.

We will see how things shake out. I’m sure Acuña was extremely emotional following the altercation, but at least for now, it looks like his Venezuelan baseball career has ended. This includes the World Baseball Classic, which he was supposed to compete in this March.

Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

 

Scroll to Top
%d bloggers like this: