NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Ronald Acuña Jr. returned to Braves camp beaming with pride and looking forward to seeing his longtime teammate and World Baseball Classic opponent Ozzie Albies wearing a Venezuela jersey.
“I lost a bet,” a smiling Albies said as he walked across the Braves' clubhouse with Acuna’s white WBC jersey draped nearly down to his knees.
2026 World Baseball Classic
Final presented by Capital One
• Champs! Venezuela beats USA in final
• Box score: Venezuela 3, USA 2
• Maikel Garcia named Classic MVP
• '26 Classic All-Tournament Team
• Final bracket, full results
• Complete coverage
Venezuela began its march toward the WBC title with a 6-2 win over Albies and his Netherlands teammates on March 6. The two Braves had agreed that whichever of them was on the wrong end of this result would wear the jersey of the victorious country when they returned to camp.
“I’m so excited, so excited,” Acuña said. “I told him before the World Baseball Classic he can’t beat me.”
Acuña’s three-week stint away from Braves camp ended on Friday when he entered the clubhouse wearing the same bright smile he displayed after helping Venezuela beat Team USA, 3-2, in the championship game on Tuesday night. The WBC title was the first for the baseball-rich South American nation.
Having brought great joy to his home country, Acuña is hoping to create similar excitement within his adopted home of Atlanta in October.
“This is our city and together we will bring another championship to the city,” Acuña said.
Acuña tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee about four months before the Braves won the 2021 World Series. He battled some lingering effects in 2022, but won the National League MVP after competing in the 2023 WBC.
Will this latest chapter evolve in a similar fashion? The Braves right fielder tore his left ACL two months into the 2024 season, battled inconsistencies when he returned last year and now, he had the chance to prep for the season by playing in the highly competitive WBC.
“I’m feeling healthy, 200 percent, like I said before,” Acuña said. “I don’t feel pain any more. I just want to play hard every time to help my team win a lot of games. Let’s get another championship to Atlanta.”
Braves manager Walt Weiss has been impressed with Acuña since Spring Training opened in February. Weiss is among those who has said the competitive nature of the WBC can only prove beneficial for the participants.
“Ronald, I’m so proud of him,” Weiss said. “He had a great tournament. It’s always so evident, no matter what he’s doing, whether it’s winter ball, the MLB season or the WBC, the joy he has playing the game is always evident.”
Acuña went 7-for-26 (.269) with two homers, a double and two stolen bases during this year’s WBC. As he homered once every 16.1 at-bats (21 in 338 ABs) while still recovering last year, he proved he still has tremendous power with two surgically repaired knees. The question is will he be as aggressive on the bases as he was when he produced his historic 40-70 season in 2023.
Before he hit 41 homers and stole 73 bases, no player had tallied more than 46 stolen bases in a 40-homer season. Nor had anybody previously tallied more than 52 steals during a 30-homer season.
It might be overly optimistic to think Acuña might still be able to match the 50-50 season Shohei Ohtani constructed. But winning the WBC might just the be the start of another special year for him.
“Some things are lining up for him,” Weiss said. “Being healthy and the whole WBC thing. I said this even before the WBC, he’s in a good place, physically, mentally and emotionally. That’s exciting for anybody that watches him.”