Cubs broadcast was in their feelings after Ronald Acuña Jr. celebrated getting 40/70

Last night’s game between the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs was an extra-innings thriller. The Cubs are fighting for their playoff lives, as they are currently tied with the Miami Marlins for the final wild card spot, so lasts night game was an important one to say the least.

After dropping Tuesday night’s game in heartbreaking fashion, the Cubs were two outs away from bouncing back and getting an important win. However, Marcell Ozuna homered in the ninth to tie the game and send it to free baseball. This is where we got action and some bitter broadcasting.

The salty commentary

Entering the night Ronald Acuña Jr. needed just two stolen bases to become the first player in MLB history with a 40 homer, 70 stolen base season. Ronald swiped his 69th bag in the bottom of the eighth, thanks to a not so nice throw from Cubs catcher Yan Gomes.

After the Cubs pushed across the free runner in the tenth to make it a 5-4 ballgame, Acuña Jr. came up with a chance to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning. Just as he has done all year, Acuña promptly hit a clutch single to tie the game back up and then wasted no time on the basepaths.

Ronald quickly took off for second, and slid in safely, capturing his 70th stolen base on the year. That means Acuña Jr. was the first player in the history of baseball to join the 40/70 club. Ronald then picked the base up and celebrated accordingly as Truist Park showered him with applause.

However, during that celebration the Cubs broadcast team started to get annoyed at the delay the celebration was causing to an important extra inning game. Jon “Boog” Sciambi, Braves play-by-play announcer from 2007-2009, and color commentator Jim Deshaies took exception to the prolonged celebration.

Pretty weird stance to take in getting upset at a guy for accomplishing something literally never done before in MLB history. I get it emotions are running high in Chicago, especially with the Cubs fighting for their playoff lives. The events of the late innings in the game couldn’t have been easy for the Cubs broadcast team to speak on.

The same reason I don’t make fun of my golf partner for spraying his driver out of bounds, is the same reason I would have kept the emotions of an important game slipping away to myself if I was in the Cubs booth. Because what happened next was simply poetic justice.

You can hear the deflation in their voice as Ronald slides across home plate to end the game and hand Chicago a crushing loss. Normally I enjoy a lot of Boog Sciambi’s commentary, but this was a moment the Cubs broadcast was certainly in the wrong. Not many baseball fans will fault a player, and a crowd for taking the time to celebrate baseball history.

As a great man once said “If you don’t like it, stop it. If you can’t stop it, admire it. If you can’t admire it, keep it down so everyone else can enjoy the show.” Braves country forever loves you Tyler Matzek.