Ronald Acuna Jr., the probable favorite for NL Rookie of the Year, was beaned earlier this week by Marlins pitcher Jose Urena.
Benches clear in Marlins-Braves after José Ureña hits Ronald Acuña Jr. in 1st inning.
Acuña Jr. (5 straight games with HR, 3 straight with leadoff HR) exits in 2nd inning. pic.twitter.com/V2aSu97YEX
— MLB (@MLB) August 16, 2018
Acuna left the game soon after being hit in the elbow, and the benches cleared following the incident.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly called out Urena for his transgressions, essentially saying “we don’t do that here.”
Major League Baseball suspended Urena for six games due to the incident, which the typical punishment for a starting pitcher during such incidents. Suspension forces starting pitchers to miss a start.
MLB should have been harsher on Urena. There’s no reason to intentionally throw a ball at another player. However, the fact that Urena injured Acuna just because he was playing well is particularly unacceptable. If Acuna had been showboating, then Urena’s would still be problematic but a bit more understandable. It would be much fairer if MLB had suspended Urena for 10 games or so to miss multiple starts.
On the other side of the conflict, Acuna is doing well. After being hit in the elbow, he was listed as day-to-day. Some figured that he would sit out for a game or two as a precaution. However, he was in the Atlanta Braves’ lineup just a day after the incident!
Acuna went 1-4 in the game playing left field and batting in the leadoff spot again. It seems as though Acuna is fine. However, he did throw on an elbow pad to prevent another injury.
The @Braves faithful shows @ronaldacunajr24 some love as he steps into the box. pic.twitter.com/zrf3iaBYn3
— Cut4 (@Cut4) August 16, 2018
Featured Image via Flickr/Charles Atkeison
