Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. was confronted and taken down by two fans who ran onto the field at Coors Field on Monday night during a game between the Rockies and Braves. Nobody was injured.
"I was a little scared at first, but I think the fans were out there and asking for a picture," Acuña said through a translator. "But security was able to get there, and so I think everything's OK. Everyone's OK."
Acuña, who was in right field for the Braves during the bottom of the seventh inning, was first approached and hugged by a fan who had his phone out and was attempting to take a selfie with the National League MVP favorite. As security guards tried to pull the first fan off Acuña, a second, seemingly more aggressive fan sprinted into the fray. Acuña ended up on the ground, prompting Braves teammates to run toward the incident.
As the fans were restrained and forcibly escorted off by security, the second fan continued to resist. But Acuña said afterward that even the more aggressive of the two was merely trying to get a photo. Neither intruder said anything to Acuña unrelated to the topic of getting a photo.
"I think there were three of them? I saw someone else somewhere," Acuña said. "But anyway, the second guy, he was asking for a picture too, and I couldn't say anything to him because at that point, security was already there, and we were already kind of tangled up."
It's not the first physical incident involving rogue fans at Coors Field this season. In April, Denver police investigated after a fan tackled Dinger, the Rockies' triceratops mascot.
"That's disappointing for me that it happens, especially in our ballpark, in our town," Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters after the Acuña confrontation. "That bothers me. It bothers me in general, when I see it elsewhere, in all sports."
Acuna went 4 for 5 on the night with a two-run home run, two stolen bases, a double, a walk, five RBIs and four runs scored. He became the fourth player in MLB history with at least 25 home runs (29) and 60 stolen bases (61) in a single season, leading Atlanta to a 14-4 win in the series opener. He's one home run away from becoming the first 30-60 player of all time.
Braves starting pitcher Bryce Elder, who was in the clubhouse and didn't witness the fan incident live, said he had never seen anything like it. "But I've also never seen anybody that's hit 30 homers and 60 stolen bases," Elder said, "so maybe that's what comes with it."
"I don't think they had any ill intentions," Atlanta left fielder Kevin Pillar said. "I think that was pretty evident early on. Still, we have these rules and regulations in place. We're supposed to feel safe on the field. Thankfully, they weren't there to do any harm. You just never know during those situations what people's intentions were. Luckily they were just extreme fans of Ronnie."
Acuña was hesitant to demand severe consequences when asked if he thought the fans needed to be punished convincingly enough to de-incentivize such incidents.
"I don't know what to say," he said. "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."
Braves manager Brian Snitker also didn't see the confrontation live. He was in the bathroom below the dugout. "You don't know what people, what they can do when they come out there," he said. "So it's a scary situation."
Pillar and center fielder Michael Harris were playing catch on the opposite side of the outfield grass as security charged the first intruder.
"You kind of look (out of) the corner of your eye, and you see some people on the field, security doing their job," Pillar said. "And then when Ronnie fell down, your mindset changes a little bit. You go over there, and you don't think about any repercussions. You just want to get him out of there safely. … I'm gonna fight for my guy. Make sure he's OK first. And he seemed fine.
"Then you just kind of just want to diffuse the situation. Honestly felt like Ronnie wanted to get a photo with them. You know, they worked so hard to get on the field and do that. And I was like, 'Ronnie, let's just get out of here.' And kind of pushed him away."
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