Atlanta Braves honor Gold Star families as Acuña faces season-ending surgery

ATLANTA – Ronald Acuna Jr. won’t soon forget his Sunday in Pittsburgh and neither will Atlanta Braves fans after the star player tore his ACL.

“I was scared,” Paula Mcalum said. “I didn’t really know what it was, but I knew he had already injured his leg and so I was just worried.”

“An injury-prone year it seems,” Tony Rhodes said.

Fans react to Acuna’s season-ending injury

Acuna tore his left ACL during Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

This happened while he was looking to steal a base when his knee buckled. Acuna suffered the same right knee injury in 2021. The Braves said he will undergo surgery soon.

“It’s a disappointment for him, for the team, for the fans who didn’t get a chance to see him 100% like we saw last year,” Ashley Hill said.

“I saw on the news this morning that he was out and we’re really disappointed about that, but we wish him a speedy recovery,” Kimberlee Adsit said.

Gold Star families honored by Braves

Despite losing one of the Braves’ star players on Sunday, Monday’s Memorial Day game at Truist Park remains special. Adsit and his family are here to pay tribute to Georgia native Corporal Stephen “Coty” Sockalosky, who died in 2010 during the war in Afghanistan.

“We’re doing the flag on the field, we’re really excited to be a part of it,” Adsit said.

Corporal Sockalosky was a huge Braves fan. He took the team with him overseas and made sure they were represented on his Humvee. The Braves logo is even on his tombstone.

“Being here on Memorial Day, this is sacred ground,” Adsit said. “You can’t tell him anything in heaven right now.”

Monday’s Memorial Day game is a big deal for many of the Gold Star families who are honored here. They are hoping for a win despite Acuna’s season-ending injury.