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This Atlanta Braves player got married and broke a baseball record all in one day. Talk about a grand slam.

Sep 1, 2023, 23:14 IST
Insider
Ronald Acuña Jr. celebrates after hitting a grand slam.Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
  • Ronald Acuña Jr. had a big day on Thursday.
  • In the morning, Acuña married his longtime partner Maria Laborde in an intimate ceremony.
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For most people, getting married would be more than enough activity for one day.

But on the day the Atlanta Braves' Robert Acuña Jr. became a married man, he also made MLB history.

On Thursday, Acuña, 25, married his longtime partner Maria Laborde, 23, in a last-minute ceremony in California just hours before the right fielder won an away game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. During the second inning, Acuña broke a record when he hit a history-making grand slam.

Maria Laborde and Ronald Acuña Jr. on their wedding day.Maria Laborde/Instagram

Acuña and Laborde, who have been together for four years and share two children, got engaged in January, and they originally planned to get married in their native country Venezuela after baseball season ended, ESPN's Alden Gonzalez reported.

But Laborde would have had to leave the US at the end of the week for three months to comply with the rules of her Venezuelan visa, and as the date loomed closer, Acuña decided to spring into action so he wouldn't be separated from his family, ESPN reported.

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"If we go to the playoffs, if we go to the World Series, and they're not with me, it's tough," he told ESPN. "I want my family to be here with me."

According to ESPN, Acuña pulled together a wedding ceremony within 24 hours with the help of his manager, saying "I do" at Whispering Oaks in Agoura Hills, California, 45 minutes from the team's hotel before heading to his game.

He then went on to dominate in the game, hitting a grand slam in the second inning. The homer made Acuña the first player in MLB history to have 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a single season, ESPN reported.

Ronald Acuña Jr. hits a grand slam during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 29, 2023.Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

"I'm very thankful," Acuña said during a post-game press conference, according to the Associated Press. "I feel very privileged."

ESPN also reported that Acuña preserved a ticket from the game and wrote a message on it in Spanish to give to Laborde. It read, "For the rest of my life, I hope you never forget this incredibly special day for us."

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He told ESPN he hopes to his honeymoon will take place after the World Series.

Representatives for Acuña, Laborde, and the Atlanta Braves did not respond to a request for comment.

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