NEWSLETTER
Remember when the Atlanta Braves stopped their game with the Cubs last season when Ronald Acuña Jr. made some history by stealing his 70th base of the season?
After swiping the bag, Acuña took the base out of the ground in the 10th inning after becoming the first player in major league history to swipe 70 bags and hit 40 home runs in the same season. That meant that the Braves grounds crew had to stop the game to come out and replace the base. As if that wasn’t enough of a stoppage during the 10th inning of a late-September game with postseason implications, the team began to show a highlight package of Acuña’s stolen bases last season.
Cubs broadcasters Boog Sciambi and Jim Deshais took exception to the delay and seemed to criticize it on the broadcast. The next day, Boog doubled down on his criticism:
“Last night, 5–5 in the 10th [inning], Game 158, yeah, I mean, you probably could’ve waited to take the base after the game, and they probably could’ve waited to play the highlight montage until afterward. That was my thought,” Sciambi said. “Like, do I care today? No. … I woke up this morning. I don’t give a crap.”
The Braves went on to win, 6–5, right after the stoppage when Ozzie Albies hit a single to bring Acuña home with the winning run.
At the time, the Cubs were tied with the Marlins for the final NL Wild Card spot. We know how that played out, hence why the Cubs fans took exception to the move by Acuña and the Braves.
The Braves even had some fun with the Cubs broadcasters, when the Cubs went to Atlanta earlier this year:
Ian Happ Made History on Thursday, and the Cubs Made Sure the Braves Knew It
Well, it was the Cubs’ turn to have some fun with the stolen base celebration on Thursday when Ian Happ became the “first player in MLB history to steal a base on Thursday, May 23, 2024, at Wrigley Field in the bottom of an inning.”
That’s funny. Very funny, actually. It was less funny yesterday, given the result of the game against the Braves, but still, it deserves some run around here for its humor and creativity.
