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After missing the postseason in 2017, Freddie Freeman and the Atlanta Braves were more than ready to welcome Ronald Acuna Jr. According to Baseball America, he was the top prospect heading into the 2018 season.
Acuna was hitting well in the minor leagues, and many were excited to see him get called up. Not only did he have a great bat, but he had a solid defensive foundation to back that up.
Freeman was one of those people who was excited to see Acuna get his shot. He could not wait to see how the youngster would respond to playing in the biggest environment, given all the hype he had gathered.
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"There's nothing you can say, like, 'Oh, go put that aside. Don't listen to that.' You're going to hear it, that's just what it is," said Freeman.
When you have gathered the hype that Acuna Jr. has coming into the 2018 season, it's imperative that he starts out hot.
"Everybody's been telling him how good he is and he was told that last year and kept hitting, hitting, and hitting. So, he's got a point to prove because you always hear about the business side of baseball, the first couple weeks and he's going to try and prove that wrong" said Freeman.
It did not take long for Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna Jr. to bring home a World Series together
While Ronald Acuna Jr. didn't make the big-league roster to start the 2018 season, he was quickly called up. He made his debut in late April, and like Freddie Freeman stated, proved his point.
He helped the Braves reach the postseason in four years. However, the club would lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. They would make the postseason again in 2019, but could not get past the NLDS again.
Things would start to change in 2020 when they finally got past the NLDS but lost in the NLCS to the Dodgers. The Dodgers would eventually go on to win that year's World Series.
Atlanta would build upon that successful season and carry it into the new year. Once again, the Braves made the postseason, but their trip was not cut short.
They would go all the way to win their first World Series title since 1995. It was a long time coming for a team that was starting to build a great foundation for the future.
