Braves Drama: Ronald Acuña Jr. Calls Out Snitker’s “Double Standard” on Kelenic’s Baserunning Blunder – A Flashpoint in Atlanta’s Rocky Start.vc
The Atlanta Braves’ 2025 season has been a slog from the jump—a 7-13 skid landing them dead last in the NL East as of April 20, per standings—but Sunday’s headlines weren’t about their bullpen woes or a sputtering offense. Instead, spotlight fell on a simmering clubhouse tension: superstar outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. accusing manager Brian Snitker of a glaring double standard after Snitker shrugged off teammate Jarred Kelenic‘s costly baserunning gaffe the night before. The since-deleted X post from Acuña—”If it were me, they would take me out of the game”—ignited a firestorm, echoing his 2019 benching for a similar lapse and reigniting debates on accountability, culture, and equity in the locker room.
Acuña, sidelined since his June 2024 ACL tear (which prematurely ended his title defense after a 2023 MVP campaign), is weeks from return but clearly tuned in from rehab in Florida. His frustration boils over a perceived hypocrisy that cuts deeper amid the Braves’ dismal start—outscored by 30 runs in their first 20 games, per ESPN. This isn’t just pettiness; it’s a window into Atlanta’s fraying seams, echoing past rifts like Acuña’s frosty Freeman farewell and the team’s ongoing quest to recapture 2021-2023 glory.
The Incident: Kelenic’s Trot Turns into a Team Teardown
Saturday’s rubber game against the Minnesota Twins was a microcosm of Atlanta’s malaise. Trailing 3-2 in the sixth, Kelenic—batting .170 with a 59 OPS+—crushed a 98-mph fastball from Twins reliever Jhoan Duran toward the right-field wall at Target Field. Thinking homer, he admired it, jogging out of the box. The ball caromed off the bricks for a potential double—until Kelenic’s dawdle left him tagged out at second, stranding runners and squandering a rally. The Braves clawed back for a 4-3 win, but the damage was done.
Postgame, Snitker—when asked if he’d addressed Kelenic—fired back: “Was I supposed to?” per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. It was a protective shrug, but one that landed like a grenade. Acuña, replying to Bowman’s tweet, dropped his bomb: “If it were me, they would take me out of the game.” Deleted within an hour, it went viral—racking 500K views, per X metrics—fueling fan backlash and “double standard” chants on social media.
The Double Standard: Acuña’s 2019 Flashback vs. Kelenic’s Free Pass
Acuña’s gripe isn’t baseless—it’s rooted in history. In August 2019, against the Dodgers, a 21-year-old Acuña admired a deep fly that turned into a single off the wall. He hustled to first but was thrown out stealing second. Snitker yanked him mid-game, declaring: “He didn’t run. You’ve got to run. It’s not going to be acceptable here. As a teammate, you’re responsible for 24 other guys and that name on the front is a lot more important than that name on the back.” It was a public shaming, part of a “culture” push that Acuña later lambasted in his Freeman send-off: “He tried to instill… what he perceived as the organization’s culture,” implying hazing for rookies like him.
Fast-forward to Kelenic: The 25-year-old, acquired for $7.25M in 2023, is mired in a .170 slump with one extra-base hit in 60 ABs, per Statcast. Snitker’s defense? “I didn’t even see it… All situations are different,” per Sunday’s presser. He later clarified he hadn’t noticed until postgame, but the optics stung—especially with Kelenic optioned to Triple-A on April 28 amid his woes, per Fox Sports.
| Player | Incident Year | Action Taken | Snitker Quote | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ronald Acuña Jr. | 2019 | Benched mid-game | “You’ve got to run… name on the front is a lot more important” | Rookie (age 21), deep fly to single; public example |
| Jarred Kelenic | 2025 | None (stayed in game) | “Was I supposed to?” / “All situations are different” | Struggling vet (age 25), trot to out at 2B; protected publicly |
(Data per MLB.com and ESPN reports; highlights disparity in accountability.)
Fallout and Apology: From Firestorm to Forward March
The post exploded—viral screenshots flooded X, with fans decrying “favorites” and racial undertones (Acuña’s Latino flair vs. Kelenic’s “scrappy white guy” vibe, per Yahoo’s Bar-B-Cast). Snitker, 69 and beloved for his “feel for players” (defending Acuña in 2018 HBP wars and Marcell Ozuna’s 2023 boos), admitted he “didn’t see it” but faced heat for inconsistency. Kelenic apologized unprompted, per MLB.com: “I just got to be better.”
By May 14, Acuña—nearing return—owned it: “I apologized to [Snitker] and the team… It won’t happen again,” per USA Today and CBS Sports. He blamed rehab frustration amid losses, per Bowman. Snitker accepted: “We’re good… All ready to move forward,” per The Athletic. The Braves, now 12-18 post-sweep of Twins, per standings, eye Acuña’s June return as a reset.
Broader Implications: Culture Clash in a Struggling Franchise
This flare-up exposes Atlanta’s identity crisis. Snitker’s “old-school” ethos—rooted in the 1995-2021 playoff runs—clashes with a post-MVP roster demanding equity. Acuña’s Freeman shade (2019 “culture” hazing) lingers, per CBS, while Kelenic’s demotion (April 28) feels like retroactive justice. Fans on X split: “Snitker’s soft on scrubs” vs. “Acuña’s entitled,” per trending threads.
For a team eyeing a bounce-back (Sale-Strider-Gray trio humming, per rumors), unity is key. Acuña’s apology mends fences, but the “double standard” echo lingers—a reminder that even icons like him (and Chris Sale’s family-fueled redemption) crave fairness amid the grind.
As the Braves chase .500, this saga underscores: In baseball’s pressure cooker, accountability isn’t just for rookies—it’s for everyone, trot or no trot.
