Ronald Acuña Jr. Mashes Dingers While Playing Stickball On The Streets Of Venezuela After Pulling Up In A Tricked-Out Jeep

Ronald Acuña Jr.'s 2022 MLB season ended Oct. 15th, when the Atlanta Braves lost game four of the NLCS to the Philadelphia Phillies. With the offseason ahead of him, the 24-year-old superstar shifted his priorities toward some down time.

To do so, he left the United States behind and headed south to his home country of Venezuela.

Acuña, who was born in La Guaira, Venezuela, was spotted in Barquisimèto over the weekend. He pulled up in style, driving a tricked-out, jacked-up Jeep.

If Acuña rolling through town wasn't cool enough, he also joined in with the locals as if he was just one of them. With a massive crowd gathered around him, he partook in a game of "chapita."

What is the game that Ronald Acuña Jr. was playing?

Chapita has been a popular activity for baseball fans in Venezuela for many decades. It is a unique kind of stickball that is played on the streets with recycled materials.

Overall rules and base-running is similar to the basic forms of baseball. However, there are only two bases in addition to home plate and only two or three fielders.

In lieu of a bat, hitters use broom handles. In lieu of a ball, pitchers use bottle caps— aka, chapitas.

Pitchers throw the cap and batters try to hit it to the wall. Balls and strikes are called just like in baseball.

Hitting a bottle cap with a broomstick is extremely difficult and many professional players from Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries grew up playing Chapita, or some variation of the game that might have a different name. Like Vitilla in the Dominican Republic. No matter what it's called, it requires some serious hand-eye coordination.

Acuña Jr. got back to his roots and picked up right where he left off during the MLB season— hitting dingers. It was quite the scene as he got ahold of the pitch and sent the bottle cap flying into the wall across the street.

If the moment wasn't special enough, multiple people who gathered around to watch him play were wearing his jersey. It just goes to show how beloved Ronald Acuña Jr. is in his home country.