Acuna counts on Perez's throws in HR Derby
Mark Bowman
@mlbbowmanATLANTA -- Braves infield instructor Tomas Perez remembers playing catch with Ronald Acuna Jr. a little more than a decade ago. He now draws the honor of pitching to the Braves’ 21-year-old superstar during the 2019 T-Mobile Home Run Derby, which will take place on Monday at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
“I’m going to be a little nervous because I’ve known him and his family for a long time,” Perez said before the Braves’ 4-3 win over the Marlins on Sunday afternoon at SunTrust Park. “I told him don’t feel any pressure. We’re just going to go do what we can do.”
When Perez crossed paths with Ronald Acuna Sr. while playing in the Venezuelan Winter League, the Braves’ current center fielder was just a young kid, who enjoyed coming to the ballpark to see his dad play.
“He was just a 10-year-old kid who enjoyed the stadium because his dad brought him around to throw the ball around and catch ground balls,” Perez said. “He was an infielder back then. This is going to be a special day for us.”
This will be a memorable week for Acuna, who will be in the National League’s starting lineup for Tuesday night’s MLB All-Star Game. He’ll be the youngest Braves player to ever start an All-Star Game and will have a chance to become the youngest player to ever win a Home Run Derby.
Christian Yelich (56), Hunter Renfroe (46) and Khris Davis (43) are the only MLB players to hit more home runs than Acuna (40) dating back to last year’s All-Star break.
Per Statcast, Acuna entered Sunday leading the Majors (minimum of 15 tracked homers) with an average home run distance of 421 feet.
“I’m honored and proud to be representing Venezuela on that stage,” Acuna said. “God willing, I hope everything goes well when I’m up there.”
Heeding Freddie Freeman’s advice, Acuna simulated a round of the Derby as he took batting practice on the field without the cage above him on Friday afternoon. Perez threw to Freeman for last year’s event; Freeman was eliminated after the first round.
"Hopefully, he throws more strikes to Ronald than he did to me last year,” Freeman playfully said.