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Ronald Acuna Jr. was knocked to the ground by fans running onto the field
Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. was unhurt after fans ran onto the field and knocked him out in Colorado.
In the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies, a man ran onto the field to take a selfie with Acuna, putting his arm around the player before security personnel pounced.
As security worked to clear the individual from Acuna, another individual ran onto the field and rushed at Acuna, appearing to make contact with him and knocking him to the ground.
Acuna sat on the grass and handled individuals with protection. He got up in his power. Atlanta had only scored 4 runs and had a 9-4 lead before the incident.
Acuna, who did not appear to be hurt by the incident, then smiled and gave the thumbs up sign.
“I was a little scared at first,” Acuna said through a translator. “I think the fans were coming out and asking for pictures, and at that point, I couldn’t say anything because security was already there and we were already in some kind of trouble, but security was able to get in there and everything was fine. We were like, ‘Everything’s fine, I hope they’re fine.’
Atlanta manager Brian Snitker was disappointed with the fans’ choice.
“You don’t want to see that happen, I know that,” he said. “You never know what they’re going to do when they get out, it’s a scary situation.”
Colorado manager Bud Black agreed. “It’s disappointing to me that this is happening, especially in our ballpark, in our city,” he said. “It bothers me. It usually bothers me when I see it elsewhere in all sports.”
When asked more about the incident in his postgame news conference, Snitker said he didn’t see it live because he was in the bathroom. When pressed if he had seen anything like that before, he added, “Yeah, a bunch.”
Kevin Pillar started in left field for the Braves on Monday, and the incident was near when it happened.
“I don’t think they had any ill will. I think that was obvious early on,” Piller said of the two fans. “We have these rules and regulations and we have to feel safe on the field. And luckily, they didn’t do any harm.”
Acuna is one of the National League MVP honors this season. He entered Monday batting .330 with 28 home runs and 74 RBIs and had a great game in the win.
With Atlanta’s leadoff spot out, he hit his 29th home run.
“Special player. He’s a talented young, baseball player,” Snitker said. “Nothing he’s going to do in this game is going to surprise me. I think he’s that talented.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
