In their conversation on Sunday, Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies advised Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts on batting behind superstar Shohei Ohtani, drawing from his experience of batting after Ronald Acuna Jr. when the two play together for the Braves. Acuna and Albies have over 500 games played together in the big leagues.
With the excellent chemistry Acuna and Albies show on the pitch, it is natural that they are great friends off the diamond as well. Both came up through the minor leagues together, as Albies made his big league debut in 2017, while Acuna Jr. made his in 2018.
On September 15's episode of "On Base," Acuna told Mookie about his experiences batting after an excellent base stealing hitter in Acuna, as Betts also bats behind Ohtani in the Dodgers' order, who has 48 stolen bases this season.
"With him (Acuna), it was 'I'm going on the first pitch, and if I don't go on the first pitch and it's a ball, give me another one', and I was like 'fine, 1-1 count, that's fine with me ... But, some days when he felt a bit heavy, he said 'they're gonna think I'm going, they're gonna throw a fastball, barrel it,'" Ozzie Albies said. (36:50)
"So many times where I got jammed, I hit an opposite-field bloop, it's an RBI, one nothing. He helped a lot, I was watching his highlights of the year, and towards the end of the video, all you see is me watching him steal."
Ozzie Albies gives update on injury, vows to return in 2024
Ozzie Albies gave fans a positive update on his injury on Friday. He talked about potentially returning to action at some point in the next week. Albies has been out of action since suffering a broken wrist on July 21.
“I don’t know the date, but I will play.” Ozzie Albies said (via MLB.com)
After initial fears of Albies potentially having to sit out the complete 2024 season, recent updates make for good news for Braves fans, who see their team pushing hard for a playoff spot at the moment.
Before his injury, Ozzie was batting .258 with 8 home runs and 46 RBIs. With the Braves currently third in the NL Wildcard standings, the return of one of their best hitters will be a much-needed boost for the side.