Ronald Acuña Jr. Calls Out Braves Manager Brian Snitker For Double Standard On Baserunning Expectations

Normally, I don't like it if players complain about their coaches. But a recent comment from Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. is a notable exception.

Saturday night, the Braves eked out a 4-3 over the visiting Minnesota Twins. However, Jarred Kelenic nearly cost his team a win by not running out of the box after hitting what he thought was a home run, and then proceeded to get tagged out trying to get to second. (This was in the sixth inning with the score tied at three). 

After the game, manager Bryan Snitker was asked if he talked to Kelenic about the lack of hustle out of the batter’s box. With a rather sarcastic tone, he said he did not.

"Was I supposed to?" Snitker said.

The obvious answer is yes, since your ballplayer did not do the basic thing required in sports: hustle.

But the bigger problem is that Snitker ticked off Acuña Jr. by not holding Kelenic to the same standard he held his superstar.

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In 2019, Snitker ripped into Acuña Jr. for not running out a fly ball in similar fashion to Kelenic (Acuña Jr. was removed in the middle of that game and later suspended).

"He didn't run. You've got to run,'' Snitker said at the time. "It's not going to be acceptable here. As a teammate you're responsible for 24 other guys. That name on the front is a lot more important than the name on the back of that jersey. You can't do that. We're trying to accomplish something and do something special here and personal things have got to be put on the backburner. You just can't let your team down like that.''

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The memory of that moment prompted Acuña Jr. to respond to a post about the Kelenic situation from Mark Bowman. Interestingly, the post has since been deleted.

PENNSYLVANIA, PA - OCTOBER 14: Brian Snitker #43 and Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves stand on the field before the National Anthem in game three of the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on October 14, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images)

"If it were me, they would take me out of the game," Acuña Jr. said in the deleted post.

He’s 100% right. Where’s the verbal shakedown from Snitker in a postgame press conference? He has to be consistent.

Is there trouble brewing in Atlanta? We’ll find out soon.