- The Washington Times - Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was confronted by a pair of fans who ran into right field at Denver’s Coors Field during Monday’s game.

The incident occurred in the middle of the seventh inning shortly after the Braves scored four in the top of the inning to take a five-run lead over the Colorado Rockies.

As one of the fans gave Acuna a hug, security tried to pry him off — only for the second fan to sprint up to the throng and be tackled by more security personnel. Acuna was knocked over. Neither of the two fans was identified. 

Baseball fan Billy Grossman caught the fracas on camera and posted the footage to X.

Acuna was not injured in the scrum and remained in right field as the Braves went on to score five more runs to win 14-4.

“I was a little scared at first,” he said after the game through an interpreter, according to The Associated Press. “I think the fans were out there and asking for pictures. I really couldn’t say anything because at that point security was already there and we were already kind of tangled up, but security was able to get there and everything’s OK.”

Braves teammate Kevin Pillar said, “I don’t think they had any ill intentions; I think that was pretty evident early on. … Thankfully, they weren’t there to do any harm. You just never know during those situations what people’s intentions were. Luckily, they were just extreme fans of Ronnie.”

Acuna, a front-runner for NL MVP, became the first player to steal 60 bases since 2017. He is also the fourth player ever to hit 20-plus homers and steal that many bases in a single season.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.

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