For Ronald Acuña Jr., it’s been a long road from La Guaira to becoming a major league superstar for the Atlanta Braves. He made his MLB debut in 2018, won Rookie of the Year, and later earned MVP honors in 2023. Along the way, his career has delivered plenty of memorable moments.
He has won a World Series with the Braves. He recently won a World Baseball Classic with Venezuela. He’s also collected a long list of individual accolades. Now, Acuña is giving fans a glimpse of the person behind the player with a new Spanish-language podcast, “La Bestia with Ronald Acuña Jr.,” which premiered September 16 via iHeartMedia’s My Cultura Podcast Network and Rimas Sports.
Remezcla spoke with Acuña about the podcast, where he sits down with family, friends, and fellow stars to talk about everything from family and pressure to identity, ambition, and legacy. We also talked about how settled he is in the U.S. despite not knowing much English, and who listeners can expect to hear as a guest.
“More than anything, because you’re very criticized when you play a sport, and sometimes people don’t think a baseball player is a human. But we’re normal people too. Being yourself is difficult because of the sport we chose. Sometimes fame is complicated. But I think, more than anything, this is for people to get to know the person I am, and the feelings I have.”
He also wants to share how he got to where he is, and what he struggled with along the way. “In my case, when you come to the U.S. without knowing any English, it’s difficult. Sometimes, for example, I had to wait for other players to go to eat so that I could go, because I couldn’t order food. And when I started, I ordered rice with beans and chicken at Pollo Tropical. That’s what I ate every day because I knew how to order it. Sometimes I brought food from the stadium with me, and it wasn’t because I didn’t have money, but because I didn’t know how to speak English.”
It wasn’t just about ordering food. “Sometimes, there was a team meeting with all the players. If you don’t know how to speak English and everyone laughs, then you ask and then the joke is over, it’s gone.”
Acuña, however, always had the game—and his dedication to it. “It’s a lot of work. Playing ball is difficult. You have to be on top of it. It can’t be on top of you. In the sense that you have to be there every day, training, training. If you fail, you have to keep going. And that’s until you retire, because if you don’t put in the effort, you’re done.”
That’s just a glimpse of the anecdotes we’ll hear on his podcast. The first episode featured Acuña’s father, and future guests are expected to include Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Gleyber Torres, Luisangel Acuña, Guaynaa, and more.
And because Acuña is big on music, he has some dream guests, too. “I would like to do one with Bad Bunny, with Mora. With Arcángel.” And if Acuña’s presence at the casita during Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show tells us anything, it’s that we might actually see that happen.
For now, you can listen to “La Bestia with Ronald Acuña Jr.” through the iHeartRadio App, Amazon Music, YouTube, and major podcast platforms.
This feature is a part of our 2026 Our Heritage Month collection.