Ronald Acuña Jr. hits 200th MLB homer, sets a record

Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. hasn’t often looked like himself at the plate this season, but on Wednesday against the Washington Nationals, Acuña made history with one swing.

Acuña launched the 200th home run of his career on the first pitch he saw in the seventh inning from right-hander Max Kranick. The three-run shot traveled 379 feet over the left-field wall at Nationals Park. With the blast, Acuña became the fastest player in MLB history to reach 200 home runs and 200 stolen bases, doing so in the 904th game of his career. He surpassed Alfonso Soriano, who reached the milestone in 929 games.

Acuña, who debuted at 20 years old in 2018, arrived at the 200-200 threshold after missing significant time because of injuries throughout his career. But his combination of power, speed and offensive production long ago earned him a place among the most accomplished players in franchise history.

Acuña has spent much of his career near the top of the Braves’ lineup, where his power has made him one of baseball’s most dangerous leadoff hitters. He added more evidence when he opened the Braves’ Aug. 15 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 40th leadoff homer of his career. That homer moved Acuña to within five of Brady Anderson for 10th place on MLB’s all-time list for leadoff home runs.

Acuña is the 10th player in Braves history to hit 200 homers. With 16 more, Acuña will surpass both Javy López (214) and Bob Horner (215) for eighth place on the franchise’s all-time home run list.