Snitker questioned what he should have done when Kelenic failed to run out a fly ball
Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. accused manager Brian Snitker of employing a double standard on Sunday in regards to treating his players differently.
During Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Twins, outfielder Jarred Kelenic was tagged out after he took a home run trot on a batted ball that failed to clear the fence. Snitker “protected Kelenic by replying: ‘Was I supposed to’ when asked if he had said anything to Kelenic,” MLB.com’s Mark Bowman posted on social media.
In a since-deleted reply to Bowman, Acuña’s responded: “if it were me, they would take me out of the game.”
Acuña, who has yet to play this season on account of the torn ACL that ended his 2024 prematurely, certainly has a point. Back in August 2019, the Braves benched him after a similar play. At the time, Snitker said the following: “He didn’t run. You’ve got to run. It’s not going to be acceptable here. As a teammate, you’re responsible for 24 other guys and that name on the front is a lot more important than that name on the back of that jersey.”
Acuña later said he wouldn’t miss longtime Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman after the latter departed through free agency, in part because of how he was treated during his rookie season. (Freeman had, by his own account, tried to instill what he perceived as the organization’s culture.)
It’s unclear why Snitker didn’t take the same approach with Kelenic, who hasn’t provided the Braves with nearly the same level of production that Acuña had when he was pulled from that 2019 game. Indeed, Kelenic came into Sunday hitting just .170/.250/.319 (59 OPS+). The Braves as a whole have been one of the most disappointing clubs in the majors this season. Atlanta entered Sunday with a 7-13 record, good for last place in the National League East.
