(Los Angeles) The fight for the title of National League Baseball MVP will go to the limit as Ronald Acuna of the Atlanta Braves and Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers continue to wow the gallery.
Acuna is having the best campaign of his career with the Braves, who have the best Majors record and are pretty much guaranteed to win the title in the East.
For his part, Betts is enjoying his best moments since winning the American League MVP in 2018 with the Boston Red Sox. The Dodgers are heading unopposed to a 10th West Division title in 11 years.
The two stars put on a good show over the weekend at Dodger Stadium. Acuna particularly attracted attention, helping the Braves win three of four games.
Betts also had his moments and Acuna seemed to be having fun with the race between the two.
“It’s something special because Mookie and I have a good relationship,” he said with the help of an interpreter. When we have the chance to speak, we do. »
Betts insisted that this competition was not personal.
“I’m not playing against Ronald Acuna,” he said before the first game of the series. I’m playing against the Braves. We want to beat the Braves. He is a sensational player and it doesn’t take anything away from him when I say I don’t play against him. »
Acuna set the tone in Game 1, hammering a grand slam in an 8-7 victory just hours after tying the knot near Los Angeles in an intimate ceremony that took even his teammates by surprise. That home run made him the first player in Major League history to hit 30 home runs and steal 60 pads in a season.
Betts hit two home runs in the same game, the first of three consecutive losses for the Dodgers.
Acuna added homers in the next two games.
In the last meeting on Sunday, the Dodgers avoided the sweep by winning 3-1. Betts was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Acuna was eventually shut out in four at bats.
Acuna, a 25-year-old right fielder from Venezuela, was the National League’s Most Outstanding Rookie in 2018, the same year Betts helped the Red Sox win the World Series.
Betts, now 30, is having his best campaign since that time.
He batted .455 in August, shattering a Dodgers record for hits and runs (35) in a month. Betts became only the third player in major league history to hit at least .450 with at least 50 hits and 10 home runs in a month, joining Lou Gehrig (June 1930) and Babe Ruth (July 1923 and 1924). , according to ESPN Stats
Acuna and Betts lead or are in the top 10 in most National League offensive categories.
Acuna leads in hits (184), rushing average (.419) and stolen bases (63).
Betts leads in slugging average (.614) and ranks fourth in homers (38, a personal high), second in runs (117) and fifth in walks (78).
Defensively, Betts has the advantage over his young rival. He hasn’t made an error in right field, while Acuna has a .981 efficiency.
Betts has also been employed at shortstop and second base this season.
“I don’t mind where I play,” Betts said. The batting box is one thing, then the defense is another. They are two separate things. »
Acuna reached another level in his sixth season in the Majors.
“Baseball is a game of growth,” he said. I like to see that I continue to learn by listening to my coaches, by receiving information from them. I worked very hard in the off season to prepare. »
Betts could become just the second player to earn MVP honors in both leagues. The legendary Frank Robinson did it by winning the honor with the Cincinnati Reds in 1961 and then with the Baltimore Orioles in 1966.
“It makes a difference when you come to the stadium and have fun, especially when you need a big hit in the sixth,” Betts said. You know your teammates are going to cheer you on and you want to win for each other. »
