Ronald Acuña Jr. is baseball’s quintessential five-tool player, possessing a rare combination of speed, power, and defensive prowess that could eventually earn him a plaque in Cooperstown and the title of South America’s greatest ever. The 2018 NL Rookie of the Year already has four All-Star appearances, three Silver Sluggers, a World Series title, and an NL MVP award in his six big-league seasons. In 2023 at age 25, Acuña hit 41 homers and stole 73 bags for the 104-58 Atlanta Braves to become the first-ever member of the 40/70 club.
Presented here is the finest Acuña item we’ve had the pleasure of handling and his most significant game jersey to come up for auction. On August 14, 2018, the Venezuelan outfielder put the finishing touches on his ROY campaign with a milestone performance in Atlanta. Coming into the contest, he had homered in four straight and was looking to make history. Leading off the bottom of the first, the right-handed slugger swung at the first pitch he saw from Marlins pitcher Trevor Richards and launched a no-doubter deep into the left-field bleachers of SunTrust Park. At just 20 years old, Acuña became the youngest in MLB history to hit home runs in five consecutive games. But he wasn’t done. In the 7th inning, with the Braves leading 7-6, Acuña jumped on the first pitch again and lined a three-run shot to the opposite field for his second big fly of the game (#19 of the season and his career). It marked the first multi-homer game of his young career. He went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and four RBI as Atlanta beat Miami, 10-6.
Ronald Acuña Jr. wore this home jersey on 8/14 and it has been conclusively photo-matched by Sports Investors and Game Used Gamers to his first career 2-HR game. According to MLB certification, he wore it again the next day (8/15 vs. MIA), but exited as a precaution in the second inning after getting plunked in his first at-bat. The GUG paperwork also documents game usage on 8/13 vs. Miami with an apparent photo-match to Game 2 of the doubleheader when Ronald went deep for HR #17.
The white Braves jersey comes in Size 46 with proper Majestic tagging on the left front tail onto which an MLB Authentication hologram (JD424558) has been affixed. Along the inner right tail is a separate white tag with the year, size and manufacturer barcode. Across the chest is the Braves’ tri-color tomahawk logo. On the reverse is Acuña’s name in navy blue and his No. 13 in red-on-navy tackle twill. The shirt exhibits ample wear throughout (fraying, pilling, etc.). It appears to have been washed due to multiple game usage.
Includes full paperwork from Sports Investors Authentication, Game Used Gamers, and MLB Auth.