The Atlanta Braves were eliminated in the NLDS at home on Wednesday, and, in the late innings, the Truist Park crowd let Ronald Acuña Jr. hear about it. Acuña was booed after grounding out in the seventh inning, after the Braves had just fallen behind in the game 3-1. The Los Angeles Dodgers went on to win the game 4-1 and the series 3-1.
"That's the first time that they boo me here at home, but I can't control that," Acuña said after Game 3 (via MLB.com). "... It's hard because I didn't do anything (to help) my team or my teammates. It's the hardest time."
Acuña played through a knee issue that limited him to DH in Game 3, coming out of an off day. He had a poor postseason, going 3 for 24 (.125) without an extra-base hit. Acuña has hit .189/.328/.226 in 15 postseason games since 2022. The fan base's frustration with Acuña and the Braves reached a boiling point Wednesday, hence the boos.
Of course, Acuña is hardly the only Braves player to fall flat in October. Matt Olson is a .206/.292/.349 postseason hitter with Atlanta. Drake Baldwin went 3 for 27 (.111) this postseason. Austin Riley is a career .213/.275/.354 postseason hitter. Pretty much every Braves hitter other than Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II deserved boos this October. The numbers:
| PA | AVG/OBP/SLG | HR | RBI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Albies and Harris | 60 | .333/.424/.667 | 3 | 9 |
Everyone Else | 198 | .137/.255/.208 | 3 | 11 |
Atlanta's offense started this season extremely well. They averaged 5.27 runs per game through May, one of the highest marks in the game, then they slumped down to 4.08 runs per game after June 1. That is well below the 4.48 runs per game league average. It was a bad postseason for the offense, for sure, but the Braves bats had underwhelmed for months leading up to it.
Acuña, 29 in December, authored .255/.345/.451 batting line with 20 home runs and 21 stolen bases in 107 games around injuries this season. The 2023 NL MVP has been limited to 251 of 486 possible regular-season games the last three years due to injuries, most notably a torn ACL in 2024.
The Braves hold $17 million club options on Acuña for 2027 and 2028, and no matter how much the fans boo, those are absolute no-brainers. Of course the Braves will pick those up. Acuña remains one of the best bargains in baseball.
Atlanta went 94-68 and won the NL East this year. This year's Wild Card Series win over the Philadelphia Phillies was their first postseason series win since their 2021 World Series title.
