Just Now: Brave Star Ronald Acuna Jr” Asking For Another Chance For His Contract….
There’s no such thing as a shortage of sweet rides when it comes to professional ballplayers, regardless of sport. Alright, maybe not so much among MLS players, since soccer isn’t as big in the States as it is worldwide. However, if you’re an established athlete in the NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL, you’ll be able to afford pretty much anything on four wheels.
Let’s take baseball star Ronald Acuna Jr for example. The man is a beast every time he steps onto the field. He was the NL Rookie of the Year back in 2018 and is now a four time All-Star and last year’s National League MVP. His idea of a sweet ride is the Lamborghini Urus, and he’s not afraid to make some changes to it when it comes to colorway.
The Atlanta Braves’ outfielder has been spotted multiple times outside of Truist Park behind the wheel of his gold-wrapped Urus. While this type of visual might be a bit too ostentatious for some people, it kind of matches what Acuna is able to do during ball games. The man puts on a show, and so does his car – makes sense when you look at it that way.
Even more recently though, the Braves leadoff hitter took to Instagram to show off what looks like a brand-new wrap for his Lambo SUV. I was going to say that this might not be a wrap, and that it could just be Lamborghini’s Sky Blue colorway, but the way in which the light reflects off the car, and the turquoise qualities of the hue, leads me to believe that it’s another wrap. Could be wrong though, so make sure to let me know in the comments.
In terms of performance, the Urus utilizes a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine, good for 641 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque, sending everything to all four corners via an 8-speed ZF 8HP automatic gearbox. In a straight line, this will get you to 60 mph in about 3.5 seconds, before maxing out at 190 mph (306 kph).
The Urus is an extremely popular SUV among professional athletes. Just to name a few owners who are also ball players: Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, OBJ, Dennis Schroder, Lautaro Martinez, and the list goes on.
As for Acuna Jr, despite batting .337 (with 217 hits, 41 homers, 106 RBIs) in 159 regular-season games last year, he failed to deliver any kind of result for the Braves in the post-season, losing to the Phillies 3-1 in the NLDS.
This year, the Venezuelan outfielder is batting .253, with 38 hits, 3 homers, 11 RBIs in 38 games (150 AB). Not great, not terrible. Meanwhile, the Braves are currently in second place in the NL East, trailing the division-leading Phillies by 2 games.
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Once again, there could be weather issues for the Cubs and Braves tonight, per this forecast. So, here’s the Atlanta-area radar for you to keep handy.
THE BRAVES AND SHUTOUTS: Last night’s game was the Cubs’ 20th at Truist Park since it opened in 2017, as SunTrust Park. It was fourth game in which the Cubs were shut out, 20 percent of all games there. They were shut out in only 11.1 percent of their games at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in 1966-96 (21 of 190) and just 9.6 percent at Turner Field in 1997-2016 (7 of 73). The Cubs shut out the Braves eight times at Atlanta-Fulton and 5 times at Turner. They have not shut them out at Truist. Since 1966, the Cubs have blanked by the Braves at Wrigley Field in 17 games, 5.9 percent of all 288. The Cubs have held the Braves scoreless at Wrigley 20 times.
CUBS BATTING HISTORY IN ATLANTA: The Cubs’ OPS in games at Truist is .663. It was .690 at Atlanta-Fulton and .705 at Turner. They batted .249 at A-F and .248 at Turner, but have batted just .230 at Truist. They are slugging .354, down sharply from .381 at A-F and .393 at Turner. Their on-base percentage has been nearly the same at all three parks: .309, then .312, now. 309.At Wrigley since 1966, the Cubs’ slash line vs. the Braves is .265/.334/.418, for an OPS of .752.
THE NEW/OLD GUY: Tyson Miller, just reacquired by the Cubs, made his MLB debut in the second game of a doubleheader against the Cardinals August 17, 2020. He was being used as an “opener” that day. Miller threw two innings and allowed one hit, three walks and two runs. The Cubs won that seven-inning game 5-4. Other than Miller, the only Cub who played in that game who’s still on the team is Ian Happ.
TAUCH-ING WALKS: Mike Tauchman has walked in seven of his last nine games since May 4. For the season, Tauchman has walked 25 times in 147 plate appearances, good for a 17.0 percent walk rate, the highest mark among MLB qualified hitters.
