"We thought we had no chance when we lost Ronald Acuna Jr." - When Freddie Freeman lauded Braves superstar's incredible talent

In 2023, Freddie Freeman's former teammate, Ronald Acuna Jr. had a remarkable season. He started 159 games for the Atlanta Braves, hitting .337/.416/.596 with 73 stolen bases, 41 home runs and 106 runs batted in.

At the end of the season, he learned he won his first National League MVP Award, blowing everyone else out of the water. He won the award on a unanimous decision.

Freeman sat down with his teammate, Mookie Betts to talk about Acuna's dominance that year. They both could not wrap their minds around just how successful he was offensively.

"I don't even know how you can fathom a 40-70 season. That just means he's running everything," said Freeman.

Freeman holds Acuna in high regard. When they were teammates in Atlanta and the OF tore his ACL, ending his season, Freeman thought their World Series hopes were over.

"Everyone forgets, like 2021, when we won the World Series, we would have never have been in that spot without him. He had like a .900-1.000 OPS all the way up until the All-Star break. So, we thought we had no chance when we lost him" said Freeman.

However, the Braves were able to sustain a World Series run with him on the sidelines. They took down the Houston Astros 4-2 in a thrilling series.

Freddie Freeman and the Braves got huge help after Ronald Acuna Jr. went down with injury

Atlanta Braves - Ronald Acuna Jr. and Freddie Freeman (Photo via IMAGN)

Up until the 2021 season, neither Ronald Acuna Jr. nor Freddie Freeman had a Word Series ring to their name. So, when Atlanta lost Acuna when he tore his ACL while he was on fire, the fanbase also had little hope their club could get the job done.

Typically, when a star player goes down, it is tough for the team to find a worthy replacement and continue to be a contender. However, the Braves did just that with Jorge Soler.

Atlanta acquired him mid-season from the San Francisco Giants in July. Soler was huge for his new club, especially during the World Series. He hit three home runs, which was enough to win WS MVP honors.

All three of Soler's home runs in the World Series helped give Atlanta the lead. He was just the sixth to do so at the time, joining a list that includes Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.