Ronald Acuña Jr. Responds to Brian Snitker’s Lack of Response After Jarred Kelenic’s Hustle Blunder

May 25, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. (13) prepares in the on-deck circle against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

During the Atlanta Braves’ 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins last night, Jarred Kelenic found himself at the center of a costly baserunning blunder. Kelenic crushed a ball to deep right field and broke into a home run trot, but the ball stayed in the yard and bounced off the wall. By the time he realized it, it was too late. He was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double.

The mistake came in a tied game during the sixth inning, and it quickly drew criticism for a clear lack of awareness and hustle. After the game, Braves manager Brian Snitker was asked about the play and whether he addressed it with Kelenic. Snitker brushed it off with a blunt response, “Was I supposed to?”, making it clear he wasn’t going to call Kelenic out publicly.

That approach raised some eyebrows, especially from Ronald Acuña Jr., who’s currently on the injured list. Earlier today, Acuña took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “If it were me, they would take me out of the game.” The post didn’t need much decoding, as Acuña was clearly frustrated and hinting at what he felt was a double standard.

There’s some history here too. Back in 2019, Snitker benched Acuña for a similar mistake when he admired a deep fly ball that stayed in the park. That context makes Acuña’s reaction even more telling. His tweet wasn’t just frustration; it was a pointed reminder that the same energy isn’t always used across the board. The way I see it, if you will discipline one player for something and not another, how does that look to the clubhouse? It doesn't matter if it has been six years since the Acuña incident, it all should be treated the same. Somewhat of a teaching moment or any type of response from Snitker would have been received much better than what he stated, nonchalantly.

UPDATE:

After today’s game, Snitker was asked about the whole thing. He claims that he wasn’t aware that Kelenic pimped his “thought to be” home run last night. He also said that Kelenic took it upon himself to apologize to him about the situation.

Whether you believe that or not, it is what it is at this point. My only thing is, he must have thought Kelenic was very slow for that to take place lol.