World Baseball Classic Podcast: Ronald Acuna Jr., Venezuela Beat Team USA

· Yahoo Sports

If Venezuela was going to make noise in the World Baseball Classic, Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. was going to need to play a big part. The best player on Venezuela’s roster, Acuña is a five-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger, and the 2023 National League Most Valuable Player.

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While he may not have had the earth-shattering WBC performance many were expecting, Acuña still produced a very strong .962 OPS while hitting two home runs, walking seven times, stealing two bases, and driving in four runs. He went 1-for-3 with a walk in the championship game victory over Team USA, helping set the tone for Venezuela with a rocket base hit up the middle to start the game.

Acuña also had plenty of help, most notably from tournament MVP: Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia. While Garcia went hitless in the championship game against Team USA, he did drive in the game’s first run with a sacrifice fly in the third inning. Also representing the Royals well was veteran catcher Salvador Perez, who went 1-for-4 with a run scored in the title game.

Venezuela’s roster was loaded with MLB talent from top to bottom, as Luis Arraez, Ezequiel Tovar, Wilyer Abreu, Eugenio Suarez, Gleyber Torres, and others all had huge contributions throughout the tournament. A player like Andrés Giménez of the Toronto Blue Jays, who is one of the best defensive players in all of baseball and a former All-Star, was not even a regular starter for Team Venezuela. This shows the amount of talent that they had.

Acuña understandably received the most hype coming into the tournament for Team Venezuela, but he actually finished fifth on the team in OPS. Tovar and Arraez each had an OPS over 1.000, as did Javier Sanoja, albeit in just eight at-bats. Garcia finished with a .970 OPS with seven runs driven in to win the tournament MVP award.

That said, Acuña’s all-around play was undoubtedly a huge factor in Venezuela securing a gold medal. He will now look to carry this momentum into the 2026 MLB season when he and the Braves look to get back to October baseball after missing the playoffs last season.

For Acuña, health has been the only question in his MLB career. He appeared in 95 games last season after playing just 49 games in 2024. Acuña’s last full season was 2023 when he appeared in 159 games and won MVP. He hit .337 that season with a 1.012 OPS, 73 stolen bases, 41 home runs, and 106 RBIs. He led the league in plate appearances, runs scored, hits, steals, OBP, OPS and more.

This is the type of talent Acuña is when healthy, and if he can stay on the field, it is hard to see the Braves being kept out of the playoffs in 2026.

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