


Ronald Acuña Jr. felt Philadelphia’s famous brotherly love on Thursday night.
The Braves superstar was basking in the boos after the Braves had defeated the Phillies 4-1 at Citizens Bank Park to capture the National League East crown.
As the celebration began on the field, Acuña put his hand to his ear and raised his glove to the air as the boos reigned down from the stands.
Then, he threw both hands in the air as if to welcome even louder boos from the home crowd.
“Ronald Acuña hearing the boos, he’s saying bring it right now,” play-by-play man Brandon Gaudin said on the Braves’ Bally Sports South broadcast.
After the win, he posted a video on his Instagram account with the quote: “IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT, STOP IT. IF YOU CAN’T STOP IT, ADMIRE IT. IF YOU CAN’T ADMIRE IT, KEEP IT DOWN SO EVERYONE ELSE CAN ENJOY THE SHOW.”
Acuña hasn’t made many friends in Philadelphia over the last couple of days, which includes Phillies manager Rob Thomson, who spoke on Wednesday about Acuña’s home run celebrations on 94.1 WIP.
Acuña had flapped his arms in the air as he rounded the bases after hitting his 37th home run in Tuesday’s 7-6 win over the Phillies.
“I like our guys to act like they’ve been there before,” Thomson said.
On Wednesday before the game, the manager clarified a bit and said he wasn’t trying to take a direct shot at the Braves.
“That was nothing to do with the Atlanta Braves and what Ronald does, or [Marcell] Ozuna,” Thomson said, according to the Associated Press. “They can do what they want. I can’t control that. I just mentioned that I preferred people act like they’d been there. I wasn’t trying to start a controversy or anything like that.”
Acuña’s 199 hits this season lead all of Major League Baseball, and his .335 batting average is fourth among all hitters.
He is one of four qualified hitters with an OPS over 1.000 this season.
With Wednesday’s 4-1 victory, the Braves clinched their sixth consecutive division title.
Atlanta will head to Miami for a three-game series against the Marlins over the weekend and then host the Phillies next week.