Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. is running his way to an MLB record
As if his MLB leading 58 stolen bases wasn't enough, Ronald Acuna Jr. is pushing his way toward yet another MLB record in 2023.
By Steven Teal
Atlanta Braves star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. is no stranger to reaching milestones in his career. He's one of the league's best hitters in 2023 and certainly one of the most exciting players in all of baseball.
He is already lighting up the league as it pertains to stealing bases as he currently has 58 of them on the season through 127 games. He is approaching 30 homers on the season as well which would be an impressive feat. 60+ steals is pretty much guaranteed at this point and that will put him in a small club as this has only happened seven times in Braves history.
You'll want to check out Eric's breakdown of the last 5 Braves players to reach 60 stolen bases in a single season.
Those stolen bases and Atlanta's incredible offense have given Acuña the opportunity to chase down another MLB record.
Most Runs Scored by a Leadoff Hitter
Braves fans are familiar with the dominance that Acuña exerts offensively in the lead-off spot. In his career, he has a .295 average when leading off a game with 31 homers and 31 runs batted in. When leading off an inning Acuña has a .302 average with 64 home runs and 64 RBI.
Needless to say, he is one of the most prolific lead-off hitters in all of baseball. It's not often you find a lead-off man with the power that he does.
Now, let's get to the record Acuña is creeping up on. In 2023 so far, he has 170 hits and has scored 114 times. According to Kevin McAlpin of 680 the Fan, those 114 runs make Ronald responsible for 16% of Atlanta's runs scored in 2023.
Ronald Acuña Jr crosses the plate for the 114th time this season, the most in the Majors. Ronald now responsible for 16 percent of the total runs scored for the #Braves in 2023.
— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) August 26, 2023
Not only is that impressive due to being responsible for almost 20% of the team's runs but also it puts him on pace to match or break a single-season MLB record for runs scored by a leadoff hitter.
Acuña is on pace at the moment for 145 runs scored and that matches totals reached by Rickey Henderson and Craig Biggio for the most runs scored by leadoff batters in Major League Baseball history.
Most runs by a leadoff hitter in one MLB season:
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) August 24, 2023
Rickey Henderson, 1985 ----> 145
Craig Biggio, 1997 ----> 145
Ronald Acuña Jr., 2023 ----> on pace for 145 😮 pic.twitter.com/SwztSW4h1I
If the Atlanta offense, which has an MLB-best 734 runs scored, and Acuña keep up their torrent pace through the remainder of the regular season, there's no doubt that Acuña gets the opportunity to surpass that number of 145 runs scored.
He is on the cusp of an MVP-winning and historic season and Braves fans are lucky enough to get a front-row seat to the talented outfielder each and every night.