Ronald Acuña Jr. is in contention to become the eighth player in Braves history to secure the National League Most Valuable Player Award, while Brian Snitker is vying for his second NL Manager of the Year Award in six seasons.

 

Acuña and Snitker are the sole finalists from Atlanta for the major awards to be revealed next week on MLB Network.

Acuña’s remarkable season made history in MLB as he became the first player to achieve the feat of 40 home runs and 70 stolen bases in a single season. Prior to this, there were only four 40-40 seasons in AL/NL history, with Alex Rodriguez’s 46 steals in 1998 being the previous high for a 40-homer season.

 

For Acuña, it was a season without constraints, showcasing his brilliance in his first full season following the right ACL tear he suffered midway through the 2021 campaign.

 

His MVP-caliber season statistics were truly exceptional, with a .337 batting average, 41 home runs, 217 hits, 80 extra-base hits, 106 RBIs, 149 runs, a 1.012 OPS, and 84 strikeouts. He joined an elite club with the likes of Lou Gehrig (1927), Chuck Klein (’30), and Joe DiMaggio (’37) as one of the few players who hit over .335 with 40 home runs, 215 hits, 80 extra-base hits, 100 RBIs, 145 runs, and a 1.000 OPS while maintaining fewer than 90 strikeouts.

 

Accomplishing a feat unseen in the game since 1937 undoubtedly warrants MVP recognition, and that’s not even considering Acuña’s franchise-record 73 steals.