Atlanta's Ronald Acuña Jr. unanimous NL Most Valuable Player after 41-homer, 73-steal season

NEW YORK — (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. had been waiting for this moment.“From the day I got to the league right away I always knew I wanted to be the MVP,” the Atlanta Braves right fielder said through a translator. “It’s always been a dream of mine and I’m living the dream come true.”Acuña was a unanimous winner of his first National League Most Valuable Player award on Thursday, taking home the honor after becoming the first big leaguer with 40 homers and 70 stolen bases in a season.Could he do it again, or even become the first 50-50 player?“I’m not trying to predict anything, but as long as I’m healthy I believe anything is possible.” he said.Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani won the American League award, becoming the first two-time unanimous MVP. There have been 21 unanimous winners, and this year marked the first time two occurred in the same year.Acuña received all 30 first-place votes and 420 points in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.Mookie Betts got all 30 second-place votes and 270 points, followed by Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Freddie Freeman with 227 points. Betts earned the 2018 AL MVP award with
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