False dawns sometimes hurt a lot. One moment everything’s going right, you’re at the top of your game and then all of a sudden things change. You hit a break and suddenly you’re back to square one. It’s back to lifting yourself again and finding another gear within you. Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. is perhaps the one player who is most familiar with this feeling. The hugely talented individual, the founder and sole member of the 40-70 group, has not had an easy ride physically. Every big step gets followed by small sidesteps in the story of Acuna Jr.

The celebrated slugger and 2023’s NL MVP has once again found himself on the injury list. It isn’t something new. In fact, this has happened multiple times in the past few years. The 26-year-old Atlanta Braves superstar just can’t catch a break. But Acuna’s recent injury has made it important to dive deep into his medical history. Let’s understand just how El Abusador’s career has constantly been bombarded with injuries right at the worst of moments.

Multiple injuries every season:- The reason behind Ronald Acuna not playing every game

In his six-year-long career, Ronald Acuna Jr. has played a total of 673 regular season games – which is about 77% of the total games available for him. While that isn’t a bad number, what’s interesting is that its numbers are heavily lifted by the 2019 and 2023 seasons. Those were the seasons when Acuna played 156 and 159 games, respectively. Other than those two – The slugger hasn’t crossed 120 games in any season. 

Other than those two years, this is what Acuna’s run has looked like –

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• 2018 – 111 games,
• 2020 – 46 (only 60-game league),
• 2021 – 82 games, and then,
• 2022 – 119 games. 

One can see clearly, that the superstar has suffered through quite lengthy periods where he is not on the field. Why is that? It’s because every season, Ronald Acuna has suffered through multiple injuries. From his calf to elbow, from shoulder to knee, his back, quad, groin, and back, nearly every part of his body has suffered one way or the other. For a player who is just 26, this is quite an extensive list. So where did it all begin? 

Mild ACL Sprain:- Ronald Acuna Jr.’s first battle for the perfect run

The year 2018, Ronald Acuna Jr. quickly grew into a major league star. The rookie was on his way to the top when a sudden break gave him a brief stint. On May 27, the Braves were having a stellar contest against the Boston Red Sox. Things were going well for Acuna when during a routine base run, his knees buckled under pressure.

The replays showed that in his bid to stop, he placed a little too much pressure on his left knee. Initially, it was feared that this could be a long-term injury, but luckily it wasn’t. Acuna was diagnosed with a mild ACL sprain in his left knee and bruises to his knee and lower back. As a result, the rookie was placed on a 10-day disabled list. 

Then Acuna had another injury scare when his left elbow was hit by a 97mph pitch in August. That led to the dugout clearing, but eventually, the injury wasn’t very serious. But while the slugger had two lucky escapes that year, it nonetheless set the stage for what was to follow soon.

Everything to Know About Ronald Acuna Jr.’s Baseball Family, the Secret Behind His MLB Dream

 

Regular Hiccups:- Ronald Acuna Jr’s struggles with fitness 

From 2019 to 2021, Acuna Jr. was littered with injuries. He injured his back, neck, hip, wrist, hamstring, ankle, left wrist, abdominal, finger, ankle again, pectoral, and back twice. While none of these were major issues, they nonetheless were scattered throughout those years. But Acuna was quite lucky until July 2021- none of these injuries led to him missing any major time. However, that month the luck finally ran out.

Acuna Jr. was in a dazzling form that year. He was averaging .283 and had .990 on-base-plus-slugging-percentage. He hit 24 homers and stole 17 bases. However, all of that came to a halt in Miami. Against the Marlins, Acuna Jr. was running after a fly ball and made a tremendous leaping attempt, but he ended up landing on his right knee. That knee and Acuna stumbled into the outfield wall. Just like that, in a moment – his season was over. The most painful part?

The Atlanta Braves won the World Series that year. Acuna Jr. was in the dugout but he wished that he was in the field. That wish lit a fire under him and he came back after missing 292 days due to that injury in 2022. While that season was a little cold, things changed drastically in 2023.

March 2024:- Former enemy returns to haunt 40-70 founding member Ronald Acuna Jr.?

Acuna Jr. was a man on fire in 2023 and ended up creating history. The slugger put up his career-best numbers – .337/.416/.596 and had a league-high 1.012 OPS. However, the real story was that he hit 41 home runs and stole 73 bases. No player in the history of baseball has ever done that, so in a way Ronald Acuna Jr. had just created a class of his own. While his quest to win a World Series failed – the king was undoubtedly back, until another setback came his way.

On February 29, Acuna tweaked his right knee during a rundown between second and third base. He underwent an MRI on March 2 and it showed irritation around his meniscus – remember this is the same knee he injured in 2021. The Braves expect him to be back by the Opening Day but the NL MVP still has to travel to California to get evaluated by Dr. Neal ElAttrache on March 4.

So, like always, right when he got going, Acuna hit another setback. Though as of now this injury doesn’t look very serious, it’s still a giant wait-and-watch situation. For a talent that topped the National League just last year , this is another heartbreaking development. One hopes that 2023 wasn’t a false dawn and sunshine firmly starts falling on this superstar.

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