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Young Braves fan from Guatemala meets Ronald Acuna
The family traveled to Atlanta for the first homestand of the season
COBB COUNTY - This season so far has proven what so many Braves fans already know: Ronald Acuña, Jr. can do it all. That includes, apparently, clobbering cliches. During the team's first homestand of the year, Acuña took the old phrase "never meet your heroes" and knocked it right out of the park.
"I think he'll never forget [that moment]," said Carlos Morales.
Morales, along with his wife and 5-year-old son Luca made a trip from their home in Guatemala City, Guatemala to Atlanta to watch Luca's beloved Braves; especially his absolute favorite player, Ronald Acuña, Jr. During the team's first home game on Friday night, Luca watched every move Acuña made and his parents, smartly, recorded a video every time Acuña was at bat. That paid off when Acuña hit a towering home run, and Luca, in Carlos' arms, was overcome with emotion.
"I didn't expect that reaction," said Carlos Morales. "When he started tearing up, I was [choked up, too]. It was like making a dream come true to him."
Carlos posted the video on Twitter, hoping his friends back home would see it, and maybe tag Acuña so that the outfielder could see it as well.
"We didn't expect anything, really," said Morales. "We thought it was a beautiful moment, and that was it."
Soon, he started getting messages. From friends and relatives at first, then other baseball fans. The video soon took off: it's currently been seen over 800,000 times, and Acuña himself even retweeted the post.
When the family got to the park the next day, they told an Atlanta Braves employee they were the family from the famous video. Not long after, Acuña was walking out of the dugout to meet Luca and the family and share a brief chat.
"I don't remember what I said!" said Carlos. "Luca remembers saying, 'hi, I play baseball! Hi!' We were all too nervous."
The family got to see several games, before flying back to Guatemala on Tuesday.
"I think I can just call it the best trip of our life," said Carlos.
Luca also had a message for his favorite player that he finally got to see in person.
"You can do it Acuna, I love you, never give up," said Luca in Spanish, translated by Carlos.
Carlos says the only way to top that family trip would be to see the Braves again in person ... as they one day win the World Series.