Sports are enhanced when the best players take the field.
This is hardly a hot take, and one of baseball’s biggest lights is now out. Ronald Acuna Jr., the Braves’ talented outfielder and reigning MVP, tore his ACL earlier this season, and Bryce Harper has made it clear that he wants him back.
I asked Philadelphia Phillies All-Star Bryce Harper about Braves Ronald Acuńa Jr…
“I want him back in this game because the game is a better place when he’s leading off for the Atlanta Braves” pic.twitter.com/FybxQ4wF3l
— Zach Klein (@ZachKleinWSB) July 15, 2024
Atlanta and Philadelphia share a strong rivalry. Not only are there genuine rivalries between the fan groups, but the two teams are also among the greatest in Major League Baseball.
Despite the hostility between Braves and Phillies fans, the players hold the highest regard for one another. Baseball is better with Ronald Acuna Jr., as is Bryce Harper, who has lost time with an elbow injury over the last two seasons.
This should not cause any controversy. Braves fans should want to see Bryce Harper and every rival’s star play, and those fans should feel the same way about the Braves. More than just enjoying the game at the best level, it is preferable to defeat your most despised opponents with full power.
The game is missing one of its greatest pitchers, Spencer Strider, who, like Acuna, suffered a season-ending injury early in the year.
At the All-Star break, the Braves are 8.5 games behind the division-leading Phillies, and catching up will be difficult without Ronald Acuna and Spencer Strider, but stranger things have happened.
