Ronald Acuna is OK, but Jose Urena is Everything But OK

Ronald Acuna, Jr. was hit by the first pitch of Wednesday night's Braves-Marlins game. The pitch was thrown by Miami's Jose Urena, and it was thrown intentionally at Acuna. The 20 year old Brave has been the hottest and most electrifying player in the Major Leagues for the past two weeks. He has led off the past three games with a home run, has homered in five straight games, and has hit eight home runs in the past eight games. Evidently, Urena's way of pitching Acuna differently meant throwing at him with the very first pitch in the bottom half of the first inning. The pitch, which resulted in both benches clearing twice, was the fastest first-pitch of Urena's career. The act of throwing at Acuna with the first pitch was gutless, cheap, bush league, and unprofessional, even in a sport where brushing a hitter back off the plate has always been a part of the game. Going after a player with intent simply because he has been wearing your team's pitching out is not a part of baseball. Here's hoping Major League Baseball comes down heavy and hard on Jose Urena, both in fines and suspended starts.