All Eyes on Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2025

Hammer Territory: an Atlanta Braves podcast

Episode 151 of the Hammer Territory Podcast focuses on Atlanta Braves star and 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., with Stephen Tolbert and Shawn Coleman discussing his recovery from injury, offensive profile upon return, defensive potential in 2025, whether Acuña Jr. will run at the same clip, and much more.

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2025-02-17 32 min Transcript

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Transcript

00:00:21
Speaker 1: Welcome one and all to another edition of the Hammer Territory podcast. Sean Coleman and Steven Tober with you, of course, ammoratory. You've found all over all forms of social media myself at stats say see Steven at b Underscore outliers on x as well all on x Twitter, whatever you call it nowadays. Hammer Territory again across all forms of social media, part of the Foul Territory family of podcasts. Stephen, you know, we recently talked about some of the comments that were made by Alex and Thoughtless. We've talked all off season about the moves that the Braves should be making that they're not making, and things like that. But we can give back to talk in baseball because spring training is here and we're going to talk about pro probably one of the most pivotal parts of this twenty twenty five season because he'll be back on the field, Ronald Acunya Junior. Before we get started, Steven Howard, you, sir, hope all is well to you.

00:01:11
Speaker 2: Sean, what's up, buddy. It's good to talk actual baseball on the field. You know, we've obviously on the offseason we talk a lot about the roster and payroll and the GM and free agents and contracts, and you know that stuff is fun and interesting, but at some point it's all about what happens on the field. It's so much more fun to talk about stuff that's on the field. And obviously, with Akunya, we talk about an MVP level player. He was the MVP in twenty twenty three unanimously, obviously towards Aco last year. He's coming back, and this is one of the biggest storylines for the Braves in twenty twenty five is when does Acuna come back? What does he look like when he comes back? Are we gonna get twenty twenty two? Ronald? Are we gonna get twenty twenty three? Ronald? Are we gonna get some you know in between? Can he stay healthy is a massive question. You know, he's now lost a year and a half to an ACL or really like two or you know, he's lost the twenty in the half of the twenty one season, he lost, you know, the basically half of the twenty two season. If you think about when he came back, he was good in twenty three, and then he lost half of the twenty four season, So he's lost a lot of time to injury, can he stay healthy? What is he going to look like when he's healthy or when he's back. These are all massive questions for the Braves as we start twenty twenty five.

00:02:34
Speaker 1: And that I think is the biggest thing to discuss about. You know, kana is going to be the theme of this show when it comes to Ronald Acuna Junior as much as we know when it comes to the type of player he has been and he can be again, I think also in the near term. The best way to describe it is it's not only the fact that what version Ronald, what version of Ronald Kakuna Junior we're going to get is an unknown. It's the fact that it could be a wide range of possibilities, and we'll get a bit into that as we kind of look at his season coming up. But of course, Ronald Accoona Junior fined did give us some things to know. He did add a bit of certainty when it came to where he is in his progress. And overall, it wasn't just you know, a player speaking as you naturally would expect to be all positive and have, you know, just a rosy outlook and all this different stuff. It definitely seems as if Ronald is in a better place, not just physically but mentally now. When I want to say that, what I'm meaning is is that we've seen this before. Coming off the twenty twenty one season, going into the twenty and twenty two season, Ronald was dealing with his first ACL tear. He came back in twenty and twenty two did not perform up to the expectations when he had hoped, But one of the big reasons why was because he was coming back from that major injury, but also mentally just trying to trust his body again in the outfield, at the plate, on the base pass. That is something that definitely was clear when he was playing in twenty twenty two. This time around, physically, Ronald says that things are much more stable going into spring training than they were that year, and I think it's also just trusting himself now. What that means what's going to be the end result of that will remain to be seen. But a big question that I think was answered with his comments or earlier this week was that mentally he seems to be in a much better place going into this year than when he previously took previously tour his ACL three years ago.

00:04:22
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean he's been through it. Like he knew what to expect in terms of the rehab, he knew what to expect in terms of the sensation once he got started. It's probably a little less scary this time around, just because it's not all so brand new. He did tear the ACL a month earlier in the season this time than he did last time, which helps a lot. He had a full extra like six weeks to recover, you know, versus what he did in twenty twenty two. He's already running, you know, he was. He gave that interview, Butch, by the way, he gave in like ninety percent English, which is unbelievable. I have such respect for people who can speak two languages, but especially when the second language they have to learn is English, which is a crazy language to learn. We take it for granted because it's the language we grew up with, but it's like, if you look at the rules of English, they don't make any sense any personality.

00:05:15
Speaker 1: Like I think that that's something also that shows when as he continues to give more and more of these interviews in English. He has a great personality, just an awesome personality and you see more of that come out, So I think that that also adds to to the point that you're making. Yeah, it was it was awesome to see that, but also his personality coming out more.

00:05:31
Speaker 2: Yeah, and he said he said Franco lost his job because because Ronald learn how to speak English, which was funny. So that was cool to see. But yeah, he just talked. You know, he was just so much more confident. He's already running. He said, he's running at like ninety ninety five percent. I don't know how you measure that or quantify that, but you know, he said, you know, the big thing for now is cutting. He's not cutting yet, and obviously that's a big part of base running and playing in the outfield is being able to stop and start. You know, that's kind of be the kind of the thing in terms of being able to play baseball. So that's what they're waiting to do, is is to allow him to get to the point where he's cutting. But he's already hitting. You know, if you if you listen to his interview, like that sounded like a dude that could play tomorrow. He's not gonna play tomorrow, but it's very good that physically him and Strider both seem like they're ahead of schedule, and now it's just about getting them cleared for baseball, because if they were behind schedule physically, this would be a different conversation. But both of those guys seem like and obviously this is going to be in a Cooney episode, but you know, to be where they both are physically is a big deal. And I just this kid deserves like like ten years of health. Like if anyone deserves some health, it's this kid, because he's dealt with more injuries. I mean, he's been hurt so much. I just I need to see like ten years of Ronald the Cooe Junior healthy, to see what the numbers he can put up, the awards he could win, Could he get to the Hall of Fame, Like that's the level of talent we're talking about. You know, Baseball is an unfair can be a cruel, cruel sport sometimes, so you're not guaranteed anything, you know, Michael Soroko, everybody remembers all that happened with him, so we'll see. But it was really good to see him. It was really good to hear from him. He seems very positive. He seems very encouraged, which makes me feel very positive and very encouraged. So yeah, I'm I know it's gonna be May, but I'm already getting very excited for Ronald Cunr Junior Returney.

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00:08:39
Speaker 1: And that's the thing, right we all want to see Ronald Acune Junior back on the field, and nobody wants to see that more than number one Runnald Acunye Junior himself, but also Alexanthopolis and the team. But something that I'll say to that is this. We talked about, you know how Alexanthopolis's comments on Acunya. You know, in the show that we did about Alexanthopoulos's start of the spring trading immedia gathering, and he alluded to the fact that Ronald's not going to play in any spring training games. He's going to do a lot of work on the backfields, will have a better idea of when he may come back towards the end of spring training start of the season. I for one, will go on record saying this, I am fine if Ronald Acuna Junior doesn't come back, even till mid or light man. Here's the reason that I say that. The reason why I say that is because I don't feel that they rushed him back the last time that he had the ACL tear. I just feel like that Ronald and the team are putting value on where is Ronald going to be trusting himself once again. I don't think it's going to take as long for him to do that. I'm not questioning that he will be able to do that. I think that he's going to be able to do that and do that with confidence. But I feel like that this team is going to put value on Ronald not just being out on the field, but him being as close to one hundred percent as possible once he does return. I know he's naturally going to have a buffering period where he's got to get reacclimated when he's out there, But my point that I'm getting at is is that if it takes an extra two weeks to a month for Ronald to get to that point, I am fine with him waiting to do that because I feel that that's going to be best for Ronald, him having the most trust that he can once he starts playing, versus building up that trust too through playing. I feel that that's going to put him in a better position to succeed. So if he's not going to be back until mid May or late May, but we do feel much more confident he's going to be back to be in the run with Acuna Junior. We all know and love. I am perfectly fine with that, and I hope that's the route they go.

00:10:29
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know how much, you know, having him come back and then asking asking him to play it like eighty five percent is going to work. And I think that's kind of what they did last time, is they brought him back pretty early and then they said, you know, let's just take it easy. And Ronald just doesn't play like that, and he's never played like that. And that's what Alex said. Somebody asked Alex the other day about you know, Ronald said he's not going to run as much, and Alex is like, well, once those competitive juice to start flowing, I have a hard time believing that. And that's I agree with that. You're much better off waiting a little extra time so that he's playing in one hundred percent. Then you are having him come back early and telling him to play at eighty five percent, And so I agree with you. I would much rather see him if it's not the beginning of May, middle of May, late May, and be one hundred percent and be able to just be Ronal mccuna junior. Then try to bring him back early and tell him to throttle it back half the time he's on the field because that's not gonna work. So he's just too damn important, and not just for twenty twenty five, but twenty twenty six, twenty twenty seven. Like, I think they got a little aggressive last time. You know, remember last time, he was gonna play in Gwinet for like a month, and he wasn't gonna play the outfield. He was gonna dh and they had all these like little rules that they were gonna do. And then like the second game back on Gwinnet, he was in right field, and then like two weeks later he was in Atlanta, And so I just think they I think they got over aggressive with it last time. And I think I think that's one of the reasons Alex said just off jump. He's not playing in any spring training games. Now. I need them to actually do that. You know, I think they're gonna I think they're gonna be tempted by watching him work out to play him. But let's just take it slow. There's no reason to rush this thing. The offense should be plenty good to at least hold down the fort while he's gone. Profar being at a hit Profar at the top of the lineup helps a ton. There's no reason to rush this, and I think they rushed it a little bit last year our last time. If it's May, that's fine. If it's late May, if it's you know, even if it's like early June, it's not. How he comes back is more important than when he comes back, in my opinion, and I would much rather see one hundred percent Ronald Kunye Junior in June than seventy percent Ronald Kune Junior in May. So I think that's what they're gonna do. I think that's why they've kind of taken the steps. They announced very early that he was not going to be ready for opening Day. They announced very early that he's not going to play in any spring training games. So I think they're taking a more cautious approach. And I one hundred percent approve that approach.

00:13:15
Speaker 1: So then let's get into when he comes back what's kind of to be expected, because you know, we talk about you know, twenty and twenty two, and we talk about when he got hurt last year, talking about the approaches that happened in those two and when those were two years apart, But what about the time in between and the range of outcomes that we've seen have been absolutely spectacular and also a bit head scratching. Absolutely spectacular. Was twenty twenty or it was a twenty twenty three, right, that's when he had his MVP season, his forty seventy year, a year we literally had not seen from anybody else in baseball history. But twenty twenty two when he did come back. Obviously, as we discussed, he struggled a bit, and a lot of it had to do with the fact that he was just trying to trust his body getting to the right spot mentally. That's understood, But I don't want to ignore the fifty sampled that we got last year, which in terms of a season was actually statistically ronald' counyea junior's worst output. Now, Steven, I'm gonna sho you allude to a very good point that you that you mentioned before the podcast. But last year, ronald' counye junior a three twenty two wOBA. His expected wOBA was three fifty, So he did have a little bit of underperformance or a better expected performance than he actually produced, but overall a one oh five w RC plus for reference. In twenty twenty two, he had a one fifteen. He struggled last year in many of the same ways that many players in our lineup struggled. She was striking out at a much higher rate, was not performing well with runners in scoring position. He did not get off to a good start to start last season. But I think that there was a reason why. And it goes back to once he comes back, if he can put his injury occurrent concerns behind him, when ronald' Counyey Junior can just focus on playing baseball, I think that's when he's at his best, which is among the best in the game.

00:15:00
Speaker 2: Yeah. So I had Mark Bowman on the show last year around this time. It might have been in April last year, but and Bowman and I were just talking and he said when Ronald Cuney Junior came to camp last year and he was doing live vps, that he didn't miss a single pitch, that he looked like twenty twenty three, Ronald the Cuney junr all over again, that he was hitting missiles. And I'm not talking about BP. I'm talking about live VP against live pitching, and he looked incredible. And then if people remember about two weeks into spring training last year, he had he had a knee scare and he heard his knee running and they sat him down for like three weeks. And what Bowman said was when he came back, he just wasn't the same and we and that's what we saw last year for the six weeks that he played last year before he got before he tore his acl was it wasn't the same guy as it was in twenty three. And I think Ronald is such a lower half hitter. You know, he's not a big guy. He's two hundred bucks soak and wet or two hundred pounds soak and wet, but he hits the ball four hundred and eighty feet And the way he does that is he he is an incredible bottom half hitter. He uses his legs, he uses his knees to hit and anytime he's not had full confidence in those knees is when you've seen him struggle and he gets very he gets very upper body with a swing, he gets very handsy with his swing. He changes his mechanics and I think we've seen him. I think that's why we see such variance in his play relative to how he feels about his knees, and so I think that contributed to last year after he had the knee scarre in spring training. I think it's definitely part of what happened in twenty twenty two after he came back from the first ACL And again it's why I would much rather just take it slow with him this time. Let him get fully one hundred percent comfortable being able to bend that back knee when he's hitting. You know, he gets so much torque off his bottom half when he's hitting. That's where his power comes from. You know. That's I think that's why we see the variance in his game the way we see, And I for one, would much rather I'm just I want him to be confident. I want him to be confident in the knee. I think he will be more confident this time because he's already done it once. You know, there's a difference between the back knee and the front knee in terms of hitting, so that you know that's gonna that's gonna make a difference as well. But yeah, it's gonna be interesting to see what they do. I think they'll be very I think they'll be very conservative, and I think he will. I think he will have a much easier time coming back this time around than he did last time. And here's to it. I mean, God, I hope so, because when that kid is healthy and producing, he's maybe the best player on the planet. You know. I know there's other guys that you can talk about, but when he's healthy and right, there's not a better baseball player on the planet. So that's what I want, you know, like you said, take all the time you need, let's be conservative about it this time around, and let's hopefully when we get to the point where he's playing, he looks more like the best player on the planet.

00:18:06
Speaker 1: Absolutely, and it put shine to spotlight on why players at his level of production. When we talk about level of production, we're talking about the guy who annually is a forty plus stolen based thread. He's gotten up to seventy, as we mentioned, but also you take the twenty twenty twenty one season before his injury, in twenty twenty three seasons steven in those three years, he averaged he averaged a one to sixty five WRC plus that is top two or that is top point five percentile in the game in terms of his production at the plate. So I've asked a question all off season, and I know that you have as well. I think many have. What version of Ronald are we going to get? It's not just having him back. The Braves need for Ronald to be back at the difference maker that he's been. I'm going to go ahead and say I don't think that we're going to get the twenty twenty three level of Ronald Acune just this year, especially on the base pass. I just think that they're to kind of, you know, they're going to hold him back a bit, and I think that they should. I definitely think that they should. In other words, if I were to put it into a numerical expectation, fifteen to twenty steels is what I would predict for this season, and I don't feel that that is in any way, shape or form outlandish. I also feel though, that when he comes back, we're going to see his production be at a good level. It's going to kind of raise eyebrows. I feel that when he comes back, he's going to get back to be in the offensive forest that he has been. I don't think that's a one sixty or higher WRC plus. I feel that you're probably going to see him kind of land in that one twenty five to one thirty five range. But if he can be going good, if he can continue to get better as we get to the end of the season in the playoffs, that to me is what's going to make this the most successful season for Ronald Kunya Junior. We can see can he be as close to the old version of himself once the end of the season, the stretch run for the season, and the playoffs come around. If that's the case, and I think there's a good chance we could see that, that is what I think will be the best overall outcomes for the season for the Braves. And again, I think if they give him the time to have his competence in the right place when he comes back, there's a good chance we see that version of run.

00:20:11
Speaker 2: I want to see how big the bad is versus twenty twenty two. That's the big question, because if he's running like a one forty WRC plus, which is kind of his career average, then you don't care. I don't care how much he steals. If he's that level of hitter. I don't care how I like. Stolen bases are a little overrated in my opinion anyways, and especially when you're factoring cought stealings. His bad is way more important than his stolen bases. So let's say that his bad is way more important than stolen bases are. So if they have to say, listen, Ronald, you get twenty steals a year and that's all you get. Fine, that's following me. The bad is way more important. The interesting thing to me is gonna be defense, because Ronald's never been a great I mean Ronald, even in twenty three when he won the MVP. It's not like Ronald was like a gold Glove caliber right fielder. He's not a natural. I actually think Ronald's actually more natural in center field than he is in right field. Ever since he's moved to right field, he's always been a little awkward. He doesn't get the best jumps on balls. He's obviously a freak athlete, and he runs very fast, but he doesn't get the best reads, doesn't get the best jumps. So I'm curious to see what the defense looks like because if it already wasn't good when he had one ACL surgery, then how's it gonna look after two a CL surgeries. We know that profar and Left is not a Gold Glove caliber outfielder either. You know, Michael Harris of course is an elite centerfielder, so that helps. But yeah, the defense is gonna be interesting. I would guess that he's probably gonna be pretty bad out there, if we're just being honest. But we'll see the bad is more important than defense though, and that again, it's more important than stolen bases. It's more important in defense. What's that bat looks like? Is it's not everything, but it's almost everything. And if he's back up to a one forty guy one forty one to fifty guy, I don't care. I don't care about the defense. I don't care about the stolen bases. Give me that offensive Ronald again, where he's cracking forty homers and twenty doubles and you know, just a monster of fifteen percent walk rate. That's another thing that they missed desperately last year was his on base percentage. He's an on base monster even when he's not going good, like you know, twenty twenty four before he hurt the knee, he wasn't hitting great, but he was still taking a lot of walks. He was on base a ton, and that helps. And so that on getting that on base percentage back in the lineup, getting that power back in the lineup, that's mainly what I care about. The defense in the stolen bases are probably gonna not be great. We're probably just gonna have to accept that. But if he's hitting the way he can hit, it's not gonna matter. So that bat, how big is that bat in twenty twenty five is a massive the biggest part of this story by far. Yeah.

00:23:05
Speaker 1: And I also think another factor that plays into that is is that you know, I know the defense is a big question, and I know that more than likely in terms of it being an outcome, it may be negative. I agree with that, But to your point about it all coming down to the bat, I think for Ronald the other thing is is him being in as normal of a routine as an everyday player as he can be once he does come back, you know, not having him you know, take off you know, five off days in the first month, or take off and off day every week, or you know, DH and every third game. I think that the brains do that type of juggling. It probably increases the chances that you know, Ronald, you know, his his mentality may not be as strong as we want for it to be. When he comes back. Let him be like he normally has been, your starting fielder, your leadoff hitter, and have him know that you're going in that spot every day. And I think that kind of like we just go with Sean Murphy. That knowledge that he has that he's going to be in the same spot where he has produced so well throughout his career. I think that's going to be a big contributing factor as well, making sure that he's in the same routine that he's always been and always thrived in.

00:24:09
Speaker 2: Yeah, let's be honest, the Braves have a dedicated DH anyways, like Marcella Zune is not coming out in the lineup, so.

00:24:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, you can't replace your best hitter over the past year and a half.

00:24:20
Speaker 2: Yea, So he's not it. They're not even gonna have that option, and that's an I think that's another reason why they're gonna take it slow with him, is because they know when they put him back, he's got to be in right field. Because they're not taking Marcel out of that, out of the lineup, nor should they so that will actually help Ronald. I think in some regards the fact that he's gonna have to play in right field, that he's gonna be in there pretty much every day. I agree with you. I think sometimes taking days off is can be a detriment, especially when you're trying to get timing back. This was the argument about Sean Murphy last year. We kept saying over and over again, you know, Murphy missed two months and then every time he came, you know, he play a game and then set a game, and then play a game, and then set a game and then play. You know, trying to get your time in back like that is brutal. So yeah, I think he'll be out there whenever he does come back. I think he'll be out there every day and that will help him. But it's all about the bat in my opinion. I mean, if if he does steal a little bit, I think anything you get out of that department is gravy. If he doesn't look like terrible in the outfield, then you take it. You know, that's a little bit of gravy as well. But how he hits, how he looks at the plate. That bat, that's everything, and that's gonna be a big part of the second half of his career, especially post two acls. Is the bat, How it looks, how it you know, is he back to the one forty fifty guy. And that's what we'll learn together.

00:25:48
Speaker 1: And the other thing to me that that stands out about it is is that it's high octane as Ronald Acuni is, just in terms of how he plays, just at such a high energy, high output, high level all the time, injuries are going to consistently be a scare. That's been the case throughout his whole season, not only in terms of the fact that he's had two ACL surgeries, but it always seems five to seven times a year he's out for the next game or so because of an injury scare. That's just a natural product of just how active he is. Why you want to be cautious with that. You don't want to change his approach. I've talked mentally, I've taught physically. You still want to make sure that he's being smart with how he approaches the game, but you don't want to change who he is. And I feel like the Braves have that in mind above all else, and I feel like that we're going to get that version of Ronald when he comes back. So Steven Talbert, let's put you on the spot for as close to him and as possible. Here are five questions to quantify what a successful season from ronald' kunda junior looks like. First question, Stephen, Well, Ronald Acunda Junior have more home runs or steals in twenty twenty five.

00:26:56
Speaker 2: That's a good question because I could definitely see like a twenty twenty year. I'm gonna go with homers. I think the back, I think the fact that he's done this before. I think his power will come back, and I do think they might limit his stolen base opportunities. So I'm gonna say he's more likely to have like a twenty five fifteen year, So I'll say homers, But I think it will be close.

00:27:25
Speaker 1: In twenty twenty two, when he came back from injury and at one fifteen WRC plus and a two point four f hard does he eclipse both of those numbers this year?

00:27:36
Speaker 2: How many games was it? One fifteen, one, nineteen, one, nineteen. It will be close because he's gonna come back later than he did the last time. I'm gonna say he's under one hundred and nineteen games, but I'm gonna say he's over two point two war. I think he will play better, but play and less get because I think there's a chance he might not come back till middle of May or even late May. So I'll say he plays less but he plays better.

00:28:03
Speaker 1: That's that's a that's a that's a that's a very good way of putting it. Another quick question for you. A career strikeout rate of twenty two he's been at twenty three. Twenty two is at twenty three percent. Twenty twenty four he was at twenty three percent. Twenty to twenty one, he was at twenty three percent. His MVP season, he was at eleven percent. When he comes back steven that strikeout percentage below or below or above twenty percent.

00:28:30
Speaker 2: I think it'll be above what he did in twenty three doesn't make sense, Like, no, yeah, it doesn't make any sense to hint his for much power as he did with an eleven percent strikeout rate. That's like, it's like Barry Bond stuff. That doesn't make any sense. So I'm gonna say he's above. I'll say he's at career average twenty one twenty two. That's the other thing is that the strikeouts jumped up last year in part because I don't think he was trusting the knee enough. I think he was trying to get started early, swung at some bad pitches. I do think this I got readble to come down from where it was last year. But I think eleven percent is not something you can ever predict again. So I'm gonna say it's gonna be twenty one two.

00:29:09
Speaker 1: Steven Tolbert. On a scale, we'll go four questions on the scale of zero two one hundred in terms of percent. How confident are you Ronald Acunya Junior will be as close to the normal run normal Ronald Acunya Junior were used to seeing once the playoffs come around this year. And will he be a big contributing factor to the Braves winning the playoff series this year?

00:29:32
Speaker 2: Well, I think Ronald will be back to Ronald. He won't be twenty twenty three Ronald. I don't know we'll ever see that again, but I think he'll be in the one forty five WRC plus range, which is his career number. That's kind of where he lives. That's where that's where I expect him in twenty twenty five. As far as will he helped the Braves win a playoff series, A lot of that's gonna come down to the pitching and how healthy their pitching is. I don't remember. I don't remember the last time they made it to the playoffs with they're pitching intact. So but if he's Ronald Acunon Junior, if he's won forty one forty five Ronald Coon Junior, then that's obviously gonna help. But yeah, the pitching is gonna determine just as much of that as as Ronald will.

00:30:18
Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree. I think Ronald is going to be as close to being the old version of Ronald as we've seen once the playoffs come around. And I'll go on record to say as well, Ronald o' kune Junior will be the best offensive force in either the wild Card or Divisional series as the Braves continue to progress, hopefully towards the National League Championship Series on their way to a World Series. I'm gonna stop saying the World Series and we are going to end this edition of the Hammer Territory Podcast. Been a lot of fun talk anytime you get to talk about Ronald A. Kuoney junior, but we're importantly getting to talk about him once again playing one of the best of the topics we can talk about when it comes to a Braves podcast. Steven, anything else from you as we wrap up this edition of the Hammer Territory Podcast.

00:30:58
Speaker 2: No, I mean, I'm just can't wait. I'm so excited for baseball. I can't wait. I love This is my favorite sport by far, college basketball is probably second. So this time of year is just the best time of year. So it's gonna be fun. We're gonna be here to cover it. Of course, whatever happens in spring training, you know, with Ronald, or with the pitching, or with the roster spots, or if they make another move of any sort, we'll be here to cover it. And we appreciate the support as always.

00:31:24
Speaker 1: Yeah, and the last thing that I'm in with is this is that cherish it, right, like, cherish the opportunity to see Ronald Acuna Junior play baseball. I'm not saying that because I don't think that many of us do. I think all of us in Braves Country cherish the opportunity to see him on the baseball field. It's just that we have not seen as much of it as I feel we should have seen because of the major injuries he's had. So when he comes back, when he's performing at the elite level that he does, and how much fun he plays baseball or how much fun in passion he plays baseball with making it fun for us, I think it's gonna be great to see that once again. So come back strong, Ronald, hopefully back to the Runeld that we all know and love and the difference maker that we know you can be the difference maker that clearly makes the Braves Ye're in and year out a World Series title contender for Steven Talbort again at be Underscore Outliers on Twitter, Sean Comin at Stat's sec Hammer Territory part of the Fountry family of podcasts, both of those brands across all fours of social media. Make sure you check it all out. Until next time, Go Braves, We'll talk to you again here soon on the Hammer Territory podcast

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