Winning the World Series is considered one of skilled baseball’s highest honors, one which maybe can solely be topped by… successful the World Baseball Classic.
Braves slugger Ronald Acuña Jr. is only one victory away from securing that prize with Venezuela set to face off against a star-studded Team USA in the WBC ultimate Tuesday evening. Following Venezuela’s 4-2 win over Italy in which Acuña helped e book his staff’s first-ever journey to the WBC championship sport, the Braves star was seen taking an emotional moment on the field to soak all of it in.
He later gave a really easy reply on the place the worldwide victory would rank in his baseball profession to this point:
“This is No. 1 for me in my career. I love Atlanta a lot, but before I played in Atlanta, I was born in Venezuela. Venezuela made Ronald Acuña Jr,” he advised reporters postgame.
Ronald Acuña Jr.: “This is No. 1 for me in my career. I love Atlanta a lot, but before I played in Atlanta, I was born in Venezuela. Venezuela made Ronald Acuña Jr.”
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) March 17, 2026
It’s an unsurprising reply from Acuña, who was on the Braves’ roster throughout Atlanta’s World Series-winning run in 2021 however didn’t play on account of a torn ACL he suffered in July ‘21. Once relegated to the sidelines and forced to watch his teammates contend for the MLB’s largest prize, Acuña is now again to full well being and attempting to deliver unmatched glory to his dwelling nation.
He’s already helped make historical past as Venezuela defeated Italy to succeed in its first WBC ultimate in the event’s 20-year historical past. Acuña’s single in the seventh inning in opposition to Italy helped spark some momentum in opposition to the Italian underdogs, adopted by consecutive RBI singles from Maikel Garcia and Luis Arraez that gave Venezuela a 4-2 lead late in the competition.
Venezuela beforehand knocked out defending champion Japan in the quarterfinals earlier than beating Italy to arrange what’s anticipated to be an exciting WBC championship sport in opposition to the United States. The two groups final met in the quarterfinal of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, which ended with Trea Turner hitting a grand slam in the eighth inning to clinch Team USA’s 9-7 comeback win and hand Venezuela its first lack of the event. Three years later, Acuña and his teammates will little question be on the lookout for a style of revenge.
“Baseball gives you these kind of opportunities. Life is so ironic,” Acuña said. “I’m very happy to play the United States again. They are all superstars, but we have a great team as well. We are going to play our game. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.”
How Ronald Acuña Jr. is performing on the 2026 World Baseball Classic
Acuña has predictably been one of many standout driving forces of Venezuela’s offense throughout this 12 months’s WBC run, which marks his second profession look in the event. In pool play, the 2023 NL MVP went 3-for-3 with a house run, two RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base in Venezuela’s 4-0 win over Nicaragua in pool play. Entering the quarterfinal in opposition to Japan, Acuña had drawn a team-high six walks; he wasted no time making his impression in the sport by buying and selling leadoff homers with Shohei Ohtani en path to Venezuela’s 8-5 come-from-behind upset victory.
In Monday evening’s semifinal win over Italy, Acuña drove in the tying run throughout a late-game rally earlier than his teammates helped deal with the remainder, and Venezuela held on to beat the Italians, 4-2.
Acuña has suffered two ACL accidents (one on every knee) in the final 5 years however is at full power this event. Venezuela will want Acuña to place collectively one other classic efficiency to rival Team USA’s massive bats in Tuesday’s championship sport.
