During the seventh inning of Monday's game between the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, Braves superstar outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. was knocked to the ground by one of two fans who ran onto the field.
The whole fiasco seemed harmless at first. As Acuña stood in right field during a pause in the game, one fan entered the field of play from the outfield bleachers, approached Acuña, gave him a hug and took his phone out to take a selfie. Acuña didn't seem to mind, considering he returned the fan's hug. Then the situation escalated. You can watch a video of the collision below.
even the first fan, the more harmless selfie taker, is pretty far out of line just for making physical contact with a player. then comes the second pic.twitter.com/qlvWSh45Dx
— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) August 29, 2023
Three Rockies security guards pounced on the fan, trying to pry him away from Acuña and escort him off the field. After a few awkward seconds, the security guards finally managed to get the fan off of Acuña — only for a second fan to enter the fray.
Fan No. 2 ran up to Acuña so fast that the Braves outfielder, who was clearly alarmed, held up his arm to halt the fan's momentum. But Acuña's stiff-arm didn't slow the second fan down, and he knocked into Acuña, who then tripped over one of the Braves security guards — who was trying to corral fan No. 1 — and fell onto the grass back first.
Luckily, Acuña was unharmed from the tumble. As the fans were finally carried off the field, Acuña, then back on his feet, exchanged a few words with fan No. 1 before distancing himself from the aftermath.
After the game, Acuña was asked about the fan encounter.
"I was a little scared at first, but I think the fans were out there and asking for a picture," Acuña said via a translator. "But security was able to get there, and so I think everything's OK. Everyone's OK."
When asked about the punishments he hoped the two fans would receive, Acuña responded with, "The truth is, I think the fans are in the stands, and at any moment, I think they could charge the field, and I'd say the important thing is that we're all OK, and I hope they're OK, too."
The whole situation didn't stop Acuña from slugging, as he still went 4 for 5 on the night with a two-run home run, two stolen bases, a double, five RBIs and four runs scored in a game that Atlanta won 14-4. In fact, Acuña's first stolen base was his 60th on the year, making him the fourth player in MLB history with at least 25 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a single season. He's now one home run away from being the first player in MLB history to achieve 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a season.
While the encounter turned out fine for everyone, the two fans were wrong for running up on Acuña. We all love sports, and are all passionate about our favorite players — but there's a line between passion and fanaticism that should not be crossed by fans. To any fans out there who ever think of running onto the field: Show some respect for the game, for the players and for yourself. You're giving the rest of us a bad rap.
