Before becoming the first player in MLB history to hit 30 home runs and steal 60 bases in a single season, Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. had some more important business to take care of.
Hours before Thursday night’s game against the Dodgers, Acuña and his fiancée, Maria Laborde, were married in an intimate ceremony at a chapel west of Los Angeles.
The wedding came together in less than 24 hours after Acuña asked his business manager to find a venue in the Los Angeles area so that he and Laborde could get married during the Braves’ series against the Dodgers, according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.
Quite a day for @ronaldacunajr24, who got married before making MLB history in tonight's game! 🙌🤍 pic.twitter.com/dYv8UInGUV
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 1, 2023
Acuña and Laborde got engaged in January but pushed up the date of their wedding due to the terms of Laborde’s visa. Otherwise, she would have had to return to Venezuela with the couple’s two children at the end of the week and wouldn’t be allowed back in the United States for three months. Acuña didn’t want his family to miss out on the end of the Braves’ magical season, so the couple decided to get married to solve the visa issue.
“It means a lot to me,” Acuña told ESPN. “The kids were born here, but the mom needs to come and go. I don’t like that process. It’s really a hassle. If we go to the playoffs, if we go to the World Series, and they’re not with me, it’s tough. I want my family to be here with me.”
The Braves arrived in Los Angeles at 2 a.m. on Thursday morning after their series in Denver, and Acuña got just five hours of sleep before making the 35-mile trip to the wedding venue in Agoura Hills, Calif., for the ceremony, according to Gonzalez.
Then, that night, Acuña hit a grand slam off of Dodgers starter Lance Lynn that was his 30th homer of the season. Having already reached the 60-steal threshold earlier this week, Acuña is the first player in MLB history to post a 30–60 season. Not a bad day for the MVP candidate.
