Ronald Acuña Jr. Didn’t Hesitate Saying Where Venezuela’s WBC Win Ranks in His Career

Ronald Acuna Jr. was fired-up after helping Venezuela book a spot in the World Baseball Classic championship game against Team USA. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Winning the World Series is one of professional baseball’s highest honors, one that perhaps can only be topped by... winning the World Baseball Classic.

Braves slugger Ronald Acuña Jr. is just one victory away from securing that prize with Venezuela set to face off against a star-studded Team USA in the WBC final Tuesday night. Following Venezuela’s 4-2 win over Italy in which Acuña helped book his team’s first-ever trip to the WBC championship game, the Braves star was seen taking an emotional moment on the field to soak it all in.

He later gave a very straightforward answer on where the international victory would rank in his baseball career thus far:

“This is No. 1 for me in my career. I love Atlanta a lot, but before I played in Atlanta, I was born in Venezuela. Venezuela made Ronald Acuña Jr,” he told reporters postgame.

Ronald Acuña Jr.: “This is No. 1 for me in my career. I love Atlanta a lot, but before I played in Atlanta, I was born in Venezuela. Venezuela made Ronald Acuña Jr.”

— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) March 17, 2026

It’s an unsurprising answer from Acuña, who was on the Braves’ roster during Atlanta’s World Series-winning run in 2021 but didn’t play due to a torn ACL he suffered in July ‘21. Once relegated to the sidelines and forced to watch his teammates contend for the MLB’s biggest prize, Acuña is now back to full health and trying to bring unrivaled glory to his home country.

He’s already helped make history as Venezuela defeated Italy to reach its first WBC final in the tournament’s 20-year history. Acuña’s single in the seventh inning against Italy helped spark some momentum against the Italian underdogs, followed by consecutive RBI singles from Maikel Garcia and Luis Arraez that gave Venezuela a 4-2 lead late in the contest.

Venezuela previously knocked out defending champion Japan in the quarterfinals before beating Italy to set up what’s expected to be a thrilling WBC championship game against the United States. The two teams last met in the quarterfinal of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, which ended with Trea Turner hitting a grand slam in the eighth inning to clinch Team USA’s 9-7 comeback win and hand Venezuela its first loss of the tournament. Three years later, Acuña and his teammates will no doubt be looking for a taste of revenge.

“Baseball gives you these kind of opportunities. Life is so ironic,” Acuña said. “I'm very happy to play the United States again. They are all superstars, but we have a great team as well. We are going to play our game. Let's see what happens tomorrow.”

How Ronald Acuña Jr. is performing at the 2026 World Baseball Classic

Acuña has predictably been one of the standout driving forces of Venezuela’s offense during this year’s WBC run, which marks his second career appearance in the tournament. In pool play, the 2023 NL MVP went 3-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base in Venezuela’s 4-0 win over Nicaragua in pool play. Entering the quarterfinal against Japan, Acuña had drawn a team-high six walks; he wasted no time making his impact in the game by trading leadoff homers with Shohei Ohtani en route to Venezuela’s 8-5 come-from-behind upset victory.

In Monday night’s semifinal win over Italy, Acuña drove in the tying run during a late-game rally before his teammates helped take care of the rest, and Venezuela held on to beat the Italians, 4-2.

Acuña has suffered two ACL injuries (one on each knee) in the last five years but is at full strength this tournament. Venezuela will need Acuña to put together another vintage performance to rival Team USA’s big bats in Tuesday’s championship game.

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