Snitker: 'I'm not going to give up' on Acuña
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ATLANTA -- After meeting with Ronald Acuña Jr. before Game 2 of the National League Division Series on Friday, Braves manager Brian Snitker said he will continue to do whatever he necessary to support and mentor the 21-year-old superstar, who entertains with his tremendous talents and occasionally frustrates with youthful mistakes.
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 3 | STL 7, ATL 6 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 4 | ATL 3, STL 0 | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 6 | ATL 3, STL 1 | Watch |
| Gm 4 | Oct. 7 | STL 5, ATL 4 (10) | Watch |
| Gm 5 | Oct. 9 | STL 13, ATL 1 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: “It was a good conversation,” Snitker said. “It's not the first time, obviously. And my gist of it, I think, to him without expanding on anything, is I'm not going to give up on this kid. I mean, I'm going to go to the end of the earth trying to help this guy. And understand the responsibilities of where we're all at.”
There was absolutely nothing literal regarding possibly giving up on Acuña. The young outfielder is arguably the game’s next Mike Trout, and the Braves should hope to possibly have him around even beyond the expiration of the 10-year deal signed this year.
• Dress for October: Shop for Braves postseason gear
Instead, Snitker was simply expressing the frustration he and other members of the Braves' organization felt when Acuña admired a 335-foot fly ball that hit off the right-field wall and resulted in a single to begin the bottom of the seventh in Thursday’s Game 1.
This was not the first time something like this had occurred. Nor was it a first-time offense when Acuña was removed from an Aug. 18 game against the Dodgers for admiring what turned out to be a single off the right-center-field wall.
“I think the two things that you can control in this game is your effort and hustle, how you play the game like that,” Snitker said. “Those are controllable parts of this game.”
After watching Luke Jackson and Mark Melancon combine to allow six runs over 1 2/3 innings in the eighth and ninth, nobody in the Braves’ camp was pinning the Game 1 loss on Acuña, who made an impressive catch in the second inning and fueled the attempted ninth-inning rally with a 455-foot home run -- the fourth-longest postseason homer recorded since Statcast began tracking this data in 2015.
Nor was there any guarantee Acuña would have scored had he ended up on second base to begin the seventh. An Ozzie Albies groundout may have still moved him to third. But even if Acuña had, he still might have incurred the same fate -- being doubled up on the back end of Josh Donaldson’s inning-ending line drive.
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But it was not the first time something like this had happened, and if it were to continue, there would likely come a time when it could cost the Braves a game.
“It just goes to show you regardless of the situation, whether it's that situation or something else, every run matters,” Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader said. “Every play matters, especially when you're fighting for your life so much in this. So with that said, it's not to add any pressure to anybody, but it's just the reality of the situation. You just always have to play the game the right way. That's all I have to say about that.”
Snitker said he was also a little bit bothered when Acuña admired the 455-foot homer that cut the Braves’ deficit to two runs in the ninth. But really, Atlanta should not be bothered by the fact that their young superstar has the ability to enhance the entertainment value by showing some of his personality. The problem is he has too often subjected himself to the embarrassment of admiring singles that hit off the outfield wall.
“It's a shame that myself and his teammates have to address this,” Snitker said. “We shouldn't be talking about this. It was a great comeback. He had a great evening. We should be talking about that, not addressing this issue.”