Atlanta Braves All-Star Ronald Acuña Jr. was named the National League Outstanding Player in the 2023 Players Choice Awards.
Acuña took first place in the voting, beating out teammate Matt Olson and Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts, who finished in second place. Betts previously won the American League Outstanding Player Award in 2018 with the Boston Red Sox.
Acuña had the first 40-50 season in MLB history and topped that even further by finishing the year with 41 home runs and 73 stolen bases. He also hit .337/.416/.596 with 35 doubles, 106 RBI, 149 runs scored and a 170 wRC+ with a total of 8.3 WAR.
The likely 2023 NL MVP also led the Majors in stolen bases and on-base percentage and finished first with 217 hits. Acuña’s 1.012 on-base plus slugging was tops in the NL as well.
He set the Atlanta Braves’ modern era franchise record for stolen bases in a season and he is the first player since Joe DiMaggio in 1937 to collect at least 200 hits, 100 RBIs, 145 runs and 40 homers in a season.
Acuña was also the winner of the MLB Outstanding player award, defeating Betts and Los Angeles’ Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani.
The Players Choice Awards have special significance to players because the winners are chosen by their peers.
How Ronald Acuña Jr. compared to Mookie Betts and Matt Olson
Heading into August, Acuña and Betts were nearly identical in their season-long performances. That was fueled in part by a red-hot month from Betts. But through the end of the season, Betts saw his production dip while Acuña continued to perform well to run away with the award.
Betts finished the year batting .307/.408/.579/ with 40 doubles, 39 home runs, 107 RBI, 14 stolen bases, 126 runs scored and a 167 wRC+, finishing tied with Acuña with a 8.3 WAR thanks to his defensive edge.
Betts finished among the top three in the NL in wRC+, OPS+ (163), doubles, slugging percentage, on-base plus slugging (.987) and extra-base hits (80), and he also set a new MLB record for most RBI out of the leadoff spot.
Meanwhile, Olson hit .283/.389/.604 with 27 doubles, 54 home runs, 139 RBI, 127 runs scored, a 160 wRC+ and 6.7 WAR. Olson led the Majors in home run, RBI and games played (162), and was first among all NL players in slugging percentage.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
