Acuna says Freeman not missed, ‘lots of clashes’

Sports

ATLANTA — Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. acknowledged an internal rift with former teammate Freddie Freeman during an interview late Wednesday, saying there’s “nothing” that he’d miss about the first baseman.

Acuna, speaking in Spanish to Dominican Republic-based sports reporter Yancen Pujols late Wednesday night on Instagram Live, was asked what he’d miss most about Freeman, who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers last month after the Braves had traded for Matt Olson.

“Me?” Acuna responded to the question. “Nothing.”

Acuna was then asked if he had been close with Freeman over the past four seasons with the Braves, who are coming off a World Series championship.

“We were close in that we shared the same stadium,” Acuna said, “but we had a lot of, how do you say …”

“Lots of clashes,” Pujols interrupted.

“Lots of clashes,” Acuna said, nodding.

Acuna, who is still recovering from an ACL injury suffered last season, reportedly will likely address his comments before the season opener Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds.

According to the interview, the crux of Acuna’s issues with Freeman, a five-time All-Star and the 2020 National League MVP, stemmed from disagreements during the 2018 season, when Acuna was a rookie.

“When you come up as a rookie, there’s always someone who [wants to tell you how to do things],” Acuna said. “You come up from the minor leagues with the big eye black, the sunglasses, the hat low, and a lot of people see that as wrong. And the other person doesn’t see it as wrong because it’s part of the game.

“A lot of veterans [picked on me] when I was a rookie, and they called me into the office themselves and told me: ‘No, you can’t use that.’ And they took [the eye black] off me with a towel like that. And I said, ‘OK, that’s fine.'”

Pujols then asked Acuna if he stayed quiet.

“Yeah, of course. I can’t say anything, you know?” Acuna said. “I just said, ‘One day I’ll be a veteran.’ I’m not saying I’m a veteran right now, but nobody’s going to take the eye black off my face now, you know?”

Freeman and the Dodgers open the season at the Colorado Rockies on Friday.

ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez contributed to this report.

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