Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. on what he’ll miss about Freddie Freeman: ‘Nothing’

The Atlanta Braves will open the 2022 season Thursday in opposition to the Cincinnati Reds with out Freddie Freeman on their roster for the primary time since 2010. It’ll be a wierd sight.

Over the previous 11 years, Freeman turned a beloved cornerstone, concluding in October with the membership’s first World Sequence title in 26 years. However the Braves and the primary baseman surprisingly went their separate methods final month. Atlanta acquired Matt Olson from the Oakland Athletics. Freeman signed with the Dodgers. The sequence was surprising. Freeman was anticipated to return and end his profession in Atlanta.

One Braves star received’t miss him.

In an Instagram Reside interview carried out in Spanish with Dominican journalist Yancen Pujols, Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. on Wednesday stated he and Freeman clashed throughout their 4 seasons collectively.

“Me? Nothing,” Acuña stated when requested what he’ll miss most about Freddie Freeman.

Acuña, 24, stated the 2 gamers didn’t discuss a lot. He relayed a narrative from his rookie season in 2018 when Braves veterans referred to as him into the supervisor’s workplace and wiped the attention black off of his face as a result of they didn’t prefer it. Freeman was presumably one of many veterans.

“While you come up as a rookie, there’s all the time any person who needs to present it to you,” Acuña stated. “You come along with your minor league swagger. You do your eyeblack . . . your sun shades, your hat a bit crooked. Lots of people have a look at it incorrect and I don’t look have a look at it incorrect as a result of it’s a part of the sport. So, lots of veterans gave it to me, once I got here up in 2018, lots of them gave it to me.”

Acuña stated he didn’t communicate up as a result of he was a rookie. The Venezuela native, 21 on the time, was named Nationwide League Rookie of the 12 months after hitting 26 house runs with a .917 OPS. An All-Star in 2019 and 2021, Acuña tore his ACL final July and watched the Braves win the World Sequence with out him. Acuña isn’t anticipated to return to the Braves lineup till subsequent month.

“I’m not saying I’m a veteran at the moment,” Acuña stated, “however nobody goes to return and take one thing off my face at the moment.”