Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. shares inspirational message before Opening Day

As if we needed any more reason to love Ronald Acuña Jr. he recently shared an uplifting message just before the 2024 season kicks off. The reigning NL MVP opened up to fans like he never has before in his letter to Braves country that was published yesterday in the Players Tribune.

If you have a spare 15-20 minutes to sit down and read the full story, we highly encourage you to do so. If you're looking for the short version, and key points from his message, we've got you covered on that too.

Ronald Acuña Jr. opens up like never before

It's hard to truly encapsulate the emotional message Ronald sent out, but the major theme from this story was just how difficult Ronald had to work to get where he is today. He began by speaking on what a dream it was to play Major League Baseball one day.

Ronald says he spent so much time scrapping together old newspaper and tape to make hand-made baseballs and bats for him and his friends to play with. He spoke on how caring his mom was to share what little income she could spare so that Ronald could play baseball with his friends.

He then spoke on how much he prayed to be famous, and the adjustments he had to make as soon as he got that fame. This story will really open your eyes to just how difficult it is for Latin American baseball players to leave their family and friends behind for so much of the calendar year.

The difficulty that comes in everyday interactions we all take for granted. Something as simple as ordering food, feels like taking a calculus exam because of the language barrier for so many of these athletes. Ronald was no exception to this.

Next, he spoke on the pain that came with having baseball taken away from him when he tore his ACL. Ronald opened up about the brutal rehabs, the self-doubt that made him wonder if he would ever be the same player again.

Then in the final segment, he lists his goals. Ronald says more than anything he wants to PLAY in the World Series, and he wants to win another championship for Atlanta. He paints a beautiful visual of the final out landing in his glove, and city-wide celebration that would ensue. Overall, it was a beautiful message, and one I think Braves fans needed to hear from their franchise guy.

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