ATLANTA — Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Chipper Jones are the most accomplished position players to wear a Braves uniform. So, why should Ronald Acuña Jr. be considered the most talented player in franchise history?
“I think the proof is in the numbers,” Jones said. “We’ve had guys that could hit 40 homers in a season. We’ve had guys capable of stealing 70-plus bags in a season. We’ve had guys capable of winning Gold Gloves in the outfield. We have had guys capable of hitting .300. We’ve had guys with cannons for arms. But I just don’t think we’ve ever had one guy have all of that, other than Ronald.”
Acuña’s incredible talent is widely appreciated by the fans, who have elected him to be an All-Star every year he has been on the ballot going back to 2019. His fifth career election has netted him the opportunity to serve as one of the National League’s starting outfielders when the Midsummer Classic is played Tuesday night at Truist Park.
Adding to the splendor of this election was the fact his recovery from last year’s left ACL tear prevented him from making his season debut until May 23. He stands with Joe DiMaggio (1949) as the only players to be elected, despite missing his team’s first 50-plus games in that same season.
“Without the fans, this doesn’t happen,” Acuña said.
Matt Olson and Chris Sale were both selected to the NL roster and Braves manager Brian Snitker is on the NL coaching staff. The experience will be special for Olson, a lifetime Atlanta resident, and Sale, who is unavailable to pitch because of a broken left rib. But there’s a strong chance the spotlight will never stray too far from Acuña.
“As soon as he walks in the box, you never know what he’s going to do,” former Braves center fielder Andruw Jones said. “He’s always in the middle of everything.”
There have been plenty of legit five-tool players, but few have seemingly been as skilled with each of these tools as Acuña. The Braves right fielder did the previously unthinkable in 2023, when he created the 40-70 club by hitting 41 homers and stealing 73 bases. Just four previous players had constructed a 40-40 season and none of them paired 40-plus homers with more than 70 steals.
“There’s a lot of stuff that he can do, that separates him from everybody else,” Andruw Jones said. “That’s why we’re saying that he’s maybe the best talent we’ve seen in our organization in a long time or he might be the best one ever. When his career is over, we will know that.”
Two major knee injuries and the COVID-shortened season have limited Acuña to just two full seasons going back to his 2018 debut season. This makes it difficult to compare what he’s done to what Aaron and the Jones boys did through the same age or stage of their career.
But despite all of the missed time and the fact there’s still 70-plus games to play this year, Acuña stands with Barry Bonds and Mike Trout as the only players to hit 170-plus homers and tally 200-plus stolen bases through their age-27 season.
Numbers through 27-year-old season
Aaron: 253 HRs, 57 SBs, .935 OPS, 5,201 PAs
Acuña: 177 HRs, 200 SBs, .911 OPS, 3,447 PAs
A. Jones: 250 HRs, 154 SBs, .835 OPS, 5,276 PAs
C. Jones: 153 HRs, 83 SBs, .923 OPS, 3,386 PAs
“Does Ronald ultimately have the kind of power and hitting ability that Hank did or that Chipper did?” Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine said. “I don’t know. It’s hard because you tend to be judging long term. But when you add in the running element, especially before the two knee surgeries and the defense, those two things are unique to Ronald.”
Glavine still raves about Chipper Jones’ defense at third base and the legendary lefty won his second Cy Young Award in 1998, the year Andruw Jones won the first of his 10 consecutive Gold Glove Awards as the Braves’ center fielder.
Aaron is best recognized as the man who still holds MLB’s all-time record for many major offensive categories, including RBIs, extra-base hits and total bases. But the 1957 NL MVP was also a three-time Gold Glove Award winner.
There’s no doubt that Aaron is on a different level when it comes to accomplishment. As for Chipper Jones, he will forever be regarded as one of the greatest switch-hitters the game has ever seen. But the greatest defensive player in franchise history also believes Acuña’s collection of tools puts him on another level in terms of pure talent.
“I had talent,” Andruw Jones said. “I put up great numbers. I was very consistent. But as I see it, talent-wise, [Acuña] has got power, he can hit for average, he can hit the ball the other way, he can run, he can throw. He’s probably very close to the top that we’ve ever seen in this organization.”
Whether Acuña matches the accomplishments and numbers of previous Braves legends remains to be seen. But he certainly has already drawn their utmost respect.
“I’m not putting him in the category of Hank Aaron yet,” Chipper Jones said. “Nobody disputes the fact that Hank Aaron is the greatest player to ever wear this uniform. I’m just saying the guy has more tools in his tool belt than anybody who has ever played in this organization.”