By David O'Brien
ATLANTA — Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. called into question manager Brian Snitker’s reaction, or lack thereof, to an incident in Saturday’s game when Jarred Kelenic was thrown out at second base after not running hard out of the batter’s box on a fly ball that Kelenic thought would be a home run.
The ball caromed off the right-field wall, and Kelenic was thrown out at second base in the sixth inning of a tied game against the Minnesota Twins. Kelenic stayed in the game, and Snitker was dismissive of a question about the incident after the 4-3 Braves win, acting as if Kelenic had done nothing that warranted disciplinary action.
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When the play and Snitker’s reaction were mentioned on the social media platform X Sunday morning, Acuña, who is in Florida rehabbing from May 2024 knee surgery, replied with the message, “If it were me, they would take me out of the game.”
Acuña would know: He was removed after a nearly identical incident from an August 2019 game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year at the time, Acuña was replaced for not hustling on a fly ball that hit off that same brick wall, forcing him to settle for a single.
Acuña’s message on X was deleted before the start of Sunday afternoon’s sweep-completing 6-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. After the game, Snitker, who had been briefed on the controversy simmering on social media for several hours, was asked about Acuña’s comment.
“I don’t do social media, No. 1,” said Snitker, who is 69. “And I heard about it as I was walking to the dugout. I heard something was up, and then I came in and they said it was down. I haven’t talked to (Acuña), so I don’t know.”
Ronald Acuña Jr. on X 👀 pic.twitter.com/9SprCmMhZd
— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) April 20, 2025
Snitker said he wasn’t watching Kelenic’s play as it unfolded, but once he saw video of it Sunday morning, he “talked to (Kelenic) about it.”
Kelenic said he initiated the conversation with Snitker about the play and that no one said anything about it Saturday night during or after the game.
“I talked to him this morning,” Kelenic said. “It’s my action, so I don’t need him to call me in. I knew that it was it was wrong, and like I said, it was a mistake, got caught up in the moment. The only thing I can do is next time I make a swing like that, is put your head down and run.”
Kelenic did not expect to be caught up in a controversy when he got to the ballpark Sunday, but after the Acuña tweet, he certainly was. After the game, Kelenic was surrounded by reporters at his locker.
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“The only thing I have to say is that, like, in that situation, I know better than that,” Kelenic said. “I kind of got caught up in the moment. Thought I got enough of it, obviously. No excuse, because every game is big, and in that situation in a tight ball game right there, I gotta be on second base. There’s no excuse for it.
“We won that game, thank God, but if they come back and put another run on and we end up having to go into extras because of something I did, like, it’s bigger than just me. I went in, talked to Snit about it, told him that that was a mistake on my end and that it’s something I can control, and told him that it wouldn’t happen again.”
After he pulled Acuña from the game following the incident in August 2019, Snitker said, “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. That name on the front is a lot more important than the name on the back of that jersey. You can’t do that.
“We’re trying to accomplish something and do something special here, and personal things have to be put on the back burner. You just can’t let your team down like that.”
Snitker also removed former Braves outfielder Ender Inciarte from a July 2018 game against Milwaukee after Inciarte failed to run hard on a pop-up that was dropped by the shortstop in the fifth inning with Atlanta trailing 5-0.
And Snitker removed current Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna from a June 2023 game against Arizona after Ozuna stood and watched the flight of a 415-foot fly ball he thought would be a homer. It hit the top of the wall, and Ozuna only got a single out of it.
“They’re all different,” Snitker said of such incidents. “All the situations when they happen, they’re all different. And I addressed it with Jarred.”
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Pressed to elaborate on how the incidents differed, Snitker said, “It’s just timing and all of everything. There’s no blanket (response) doing that. Quite honestly, if you want to know the truth, I wasn’t watching that (Kelenic) play. I know he got thrown out at second. I didn’t see it till this morning, and then I talked to him about it.”
Snitker was asked if he still feels like he did in 2019, that it’s unacceptable for a player not to run hard on such a play.
“Yeah, you don’t run and it’s a big time (in the game) like that, yeah,” he said. “But quite honestly, I don’t look for (Kelenic) to not do that, because he plays with his hair on fire all the time and he’s laying out (for fly balls). And I didn’t know it till I saw this morning. I went in and I looked at it when I got here, and then I had a discussion with him and we got it squared away.”
(Photo of Acuña in 2024: David J. Griffin / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
David O'Brien is a senior writer covering the Atlanta Braves for The Athletic. He previously covered the Braves for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and covered the Marlins for eight seasons, including the 1997 World Series championship. He is a two-time winner of the NSMA Georgia Sportswriter of the Year award. Follow David on Twitter @DOBrienATL
