Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. appears to have reopened an old chapter with former manager Brian Snitker, and this time he didn’t sound interested in smoothing things over.
During a recent episode of his Spanish-language podcast, “La Bestia,” featuring William Contreras and Jackson Chourio, Contreras asked Acuña about Atlanta’s coaches now that Snitker is no longer managing the club.
A translated clip shared by Phillip Feliz captured Acuña’s response.
“All good bro. They didn’t bother me again. You know that c***sucker thought he was the king.”
Snitker stepped down after the 2025 season following 10 years as Atlanta’s manager and moved into a senior advisory role. Walt Weiss, Snitker’s longtime bench coach, replaced him.
Taken by itself, Acuña’s remark would be striking enough. The history between the two makes it much harder to ignore.
Ronald Acuña Jr., Brian Snitker Had Previous Public Tension
The most memorable moment came Aug. 18, 2019, when Acuña was still just 21-years-old.
Acuña admired a deep drive against the Los Angeles Dodgers that hit the right-center-field wall. Because he didn’t run hard out of the box, what should have been an extra-base hit became a single.
Snitker pulled him from the game.
“He didn’t run,” Snitker said at the time. “You’ve got to run. It’s not going to be acceptable here.”
Acuña publicly accepted the decision then, saying Snitker made the choice he felt he had to make.
Six years later, however, a similar play involving Jarred Kelenic brought the episode roaring back.
Kelenic admired a long drive against the Minnesota Twins in April 2025, then was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double after the ball stayed in the park. When Snitker was asked whether he had spoken to Kelenic about the play, he replied, “Was I supposed to?”
Acuña, who was rehabbing a torn ACL at the time, responded on X with a since-deleted post: “If it were me, they would take me out of the game.”
The comment immediately drew attention because of the obvious parallel to 2019.
Acuña later apologized directly to Snitker and his teammates. He called the post a “moment of frustration” and publicly denied holding hard feelings toward his manager.
His latest comments make that old episode look a little different now.
Acuña’s Focus Turns Back to Braves’ Postseason Run
Snitker’s departure didn’t end his relationship with the organization. He remains with Atlanta as a senior advisor after finishing his managerial career with 811 wins, six consecutive NL East titles and the 2021 World Series championship.
Acuña, meanwhile, is playing under Weiss as the Braves try to make another October run.
His postseason hasn’t started particularly well.
Through Atlanta’s first five playoff games, Acuña is 3-for-18, batting .167 with no home runs and no RBIs. He has scored four runs and stolen three bases, but his OPS sits at .485.
That follows a regular season in which Acuña hit .255 with 20 home runs, 55 RBIs and 21 stolen bases over 107 games.
Atlanta survived the Wild Card Series against Philadelphia and split the first two games of the NLDS with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Braves haven’t needed Acuña to carry them yet, but that will become harder to sustain the deeper they go in October. The former NL MVP has just three postseason home runs in his career and is batting .244 across 127 playoff at-bats.
For now, though, his podcast comment offers a revealing look backward.
What appeared publicly to be a repaired relationship after Acuña’s 2025 apology may not have been quite that simple.
Snitker is no longer making the lineup card. Acuña, apparently, still remembers how things went when he did.
Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. Appears to Take Scathing Shot at Brian Snitker on Podcast