Regardless of what your profession might have been, I think it’s safe to say that at 21, we have all somehow irked a superior, many of whom were looking out for our best long-term interests.
Unfortunately, the benching didn’t have a positive impact on Acuña from both an immediate and long-term perspective. Two months after being benched, the young outfielder did the same thing during Game 1 of the NL Division Series against the Cardinals. His fly ball off the right-field wall resulted in a long single. He was doubled off second base a few minutes later and the Braves eventually lost by one run.
Acuña also homered and made a nice sliding catch during that game. He was both the GOAT and the goat that day.
Did his post, which was deleted within an hour of him posting it, indicate he still harbors ill will toward Snitker for this incident, which occurred six years ago? He of course said no when asked this question. He said he was just frustrated because he was unavailable to play while the team was losing.
But that was part of the problem. His message was posted on April 20, less than 24 hours after the Braves had won consecutive games for the first time this year, and a few hours before they completed a sweep of the Twins.
As expected, the sweep didn’t garner nearly as much attention as the post. That wasn’t fair to Acuña’s teammates.
This brings me back to the end of Acuña’s 2023 MVP season when he said he had to catch the bus instead of talking to the media after the Braves had been eliminated by the Phillies in the National League Division Series.
