We’re just a week into the 2023 season, but the Atlanta Braves have to be absolutely excited with what they’ve seen from Ronald Acuña Jr. thus far. The Braves star is back to looking like himself after he was somewhat limited in 2022 as he returned from ACL surgery.
And even off the field, Acuña managed to surprise Braves fans when he conducted a full interview in English.
Now, it’s difficult enough to play professional baseball at a high level without having to learn a new language. So, throughout Acuña’s MLB career, he had been joined in interviews by player relations manager Franco Garcia for translating duties. Tuesday’s win over the Cardinals was no different. That was until Acuña decided to answer the questions in English.
Just look at Garcia’s reaction.
"I'm happy to be healthy again and compete every day with my teammates."@ronaldacunajr24 is back and enjoying every minute of it. pic.twitter.com/7gQBY0KrQn
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) April 5, 2023
You can tell that he was incredibly proud.
Acuña deserves a ton of credit too for giving a live English interview a try. Imagine learning a new language and practicing it on live TV — that couldn’t have been easy. He absolutely didn’t need to learn English (or do interviews in English) to be a successful ballplayer. But it was so cool to see Acuña give it a go.
MLB fans were also excited about their new bilingual superstar.
This was how Twitter reacted
The confidence is oozing from RAJ it’s great to see him comfortable out there again… 2023 is gonna be fun @929MorningShift https://t.co/CkE79x62cU
— Beau Morgan (@squidbilly929) April 5, 2023
Ronald doing interviews in English league is done we’re so back https://t.co/49N302AOh5
— Coleman Smith (@colemansmith_2) April 5, 2023
Y'all watch out, Ronnie is doing postgame interviews in English.
6-tool player confirmed. https://t.co/TExLICAw5q
— Philthy Card Breaks (@CardPhilthy) April 5, 2023
Acuña speaking English is my favorite thing and I don’t even know why https://t.co/fzWQEuXfK7
— 𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒓 ⚾️ (4-1) (@Braves2Dawgs) April 5, 2023
Most exciting player in baseball. It’s good to have him back to playing at an elite level. #Braves https://t.co/Yi2QjeAQhS
— Chop Oñ (@13ChopOn13) April 5, 2023
A healthy – & bilingual!!! – Ronald Acuña Jr. is an amazing sight to see https://t.co/4YylKIEuzd
— Matt Fassnacht (@fuzznacht) April 5, 2023
🥹🥹🥹 this is just terrific. https://t.co/wozbp4ar4H
— colleen (@cmmcguire) April 5, 2023
Proud of this guy for learning English but he never had to for me to love him. https://t.co/oHL8Oq8OWT
— DemonDeaconBravesFan (@BravesDemon) April 5, 2023
Not only playing the hardest sport at an elite level but also getting comfortable to answer interview questions in English. This guy is fun. https://t.co/SiCR9cVIKW
— Jeff the Stat Guy (@jeffthestatguy1) April 5, 2023
He’s going to be so fun to watch this season.
