MLB PREVIEW 202035“It looked like an
American Legion
team,” Snitker says.
“What a novel idea:
young guys having
fun playing baseball.”
As it turned out,
the mood deserved
to be light: Atlanta
n\ek0.Å-,#Óijk
in the NL East for a
second straight year.
The team was four
outs away from an
NLCS appearance,
and the future
remains bright, even
with third baseman
Josh Donaldson
now in Minnesota.
The team returns
the two faces of the
franchise—faces that
mostly wear grins.
Acuña, now 22, and
Albies, 23, were the
third- and fourth-
youngest MLB
regulars last year,
older only than Blue
Jays third baseman
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
and Nationals
c\]kÓ\c[\iAlXeJfkf#
both 20. Acuña, the
2018 NL Rookie
of the Year, stole
37 bases (tops in the
league) and slugged
+(_fd\ilej Ó]k_
while improving his
defense. (He very
well could have had
a 40–40 season with
a more aggressive
start; he attempted
only two steals in
_`jÓijk*/^Xd\j%
Albies, already
excellent with the^cfm\#Óe`j_\[k_`i[
in the league in
doubles, with 43, and
triples, with eight.
They would be
captivating if they
played with all the
good humor of a
pair of accountants,
but the baby Braves
bound across the
Ó\c[n`k_Xafpk_Xk
invigorates fans and
teammates alike.
Acuña is all tools,
just as capable of
demolishing a pitch
into the third deck
(average HR distance
in ’19: 418 feet,
which trailed only
Mike Trout among
hitters with more
than 20 dingers)
as gunning down arunner (10 assists,
tied for fourth in the
NL). Albies is a spark
plug: It takes him
just 4.04 seconds on
average to make it
]ifd_fd\kfÓijk#
and if he’s trying to
stretch a single into
a double, he’s likely
to make it. After
each success, they
celebrate as if it’s
k_\Óijkk`d\%
There is much
more celebration to
come from the pair:
Atlanta signed them
to bargain contracts
last April—Acuña
for eight years
Xe[(''õd`cc`fe#
and Albies for
seven years and
*,õd`cc`fe% ÇN\Êi\
more than best
friends, we’re
brothers. I love him,”
Albies said of Acuña
after signing.)
Acuña hails from
Venezuela and
Albies from Curaçao.
They communicate
with one another
mostly in Spanish
(Albies also speaks
English, Dutch and
Papiamento) but
their exuberance
needs no translation.
At a time when
detractors criticize
baseball’s plodding
pace and dearth of
stars, Acuña and
Albies offer a respite.
Their manager
can’t look away.
“If they’re on the
Ó\c[Xe[k_\^Xd\Êj
in play, don’t go
to the bathroom,”
Snitker says. “You
might miss
something.” —S.A.Because...
METS FANS’
LONG
NIGHTMARE
NEARS AN ENDThough New
York made two
playoffs in the
2010s and won
a pennant, the
decade will be
remembered
most for what
never arrived:
stability,
spending,
Jason Bay’s
bat....But the
’20s promise
long-overdue
change in the
form of new
ownership.
While a deal
between
longtime
owner Fred
Wilpon and
hedge-funder
Steve Cohen
fell apart
in February
(reportedly
over what role
current COO
Jeff Wilpon,
Fred’s son,
would have
after the sale),
the Mets say
that they
will continue
to pursue
potential
buyers. For
anguished
fans who have
gone 33 years
and counting
without a
title, regime
change cannot
come soon
enough. —J.D.14
JO
HN
BA
ZEM
OR
E/A
P/S
HU
TTE
RST
OCK