Ronald Acuña Jr. is officially in a club of one, and he entered in grand fashion.
The Atlanta Braves star hit his 30th home run of the season on Thursday in a clash against the Los Angeles Dodgers, making him the first player in MLB history to hit 30 homers and steal 60 bases in a single season.
Of course, Acuña didn't just homer to create the 30-60 club. He hit a grand slam in a highly anticipated meeting between the top two teams in the National League.
HISTORY MADE.
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) September 1, 2023
RONALD'S 30TH HOME RUN OF THE SEASON IS A GRAND SLAM. pic.twitter.com/Cwun8fwyil
Before this season, the only people to join the 30-50 club were Barry Bonds, who hit 33 homers and stole 52 bases in 1990, and Eric Davis, who had 37 homers and 50 steals in 1987. Three players had a 20-homer, 60-steal season as well: Rickey Henderson (who did it three times, naturally), Joe Morgan (twice) and Davis.
It's been that kind of season for Acuña and the Braves, who entered Thursday with the best record in MLB at 87-45. Acuña has been an MVP frontrunner all season, but has faced a recent charge from a pair of Dodgers, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
Making history like that against the Dodgers can only help Acuña's case. Of course, this wasn't first the first piece of home run history the Braves have seen this week.
Braves gunning for MLB home run record
The Braves broke their single-season franchise homer record on Wednesday, when they hit three against the Colorado Rockies to push their 2023 total to 250. With 30 games left to play, the Braves needed 57 long balls to challenge the 2019 Minnesota Twins for the most in MLB history.
Acuña has obviously been a big piece of that charge, as have four of this teammates. Matt Olson (43), Marcell Ozuna (31), Austin Riley (31) and Ozzie Albies (28) are all in MLB's top 15 in homers this season.
Of course, more goes into these milestones than just talent. MLB's home run rates have been incredibly wonky in the last several years due to changes in the baseball, as evidenced by the fact that the five most homer-prolific seasons in history all occurred in 2018 and 2019. MLB changed the baseball in 2021 and allegedly again in 2022. It's unknown if any changes have been made in 2023.
Acuña's production on the basepaths also comes in a season where stolen bases are up to a historic degree thanks to MLB rule changes limiting pickoff attempts and increasing the size of the bases.
That doesn't mean the 2023 Atlanta Braves aren't worth your time, though. The team has done a masterful job of assembling one of the deepest rosters in baseball over the last several years and is now reaping the benefits. So they get to be the ones to break the records along the way.
