La Vida Baseball

2018 La Vida Awards: Our Favorite BFFs

By Henry Pacheco

Long gone are the days when teammates just practice and play together and go home. Now, the bonds of brotherhood are stronger than ever. Players who are on the same team and even different teams have mutual respect for each other.

Today players who are on the same team (and different teams) end up standing side-by-side in each other’s weddings, godparents to their children and in some cases their BFF. The winner and honorable mentions below are perfect examples of BFF goals.

Honorable mention:
Carlos González and José Altuve – Venezuelan Brothers

Although on different teams, when these two get together, it’s always family time. Altuve shared a pic of the two hugging on his Instagram with the caption “Family.”

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Family ??

A post shared by Carlos González (@cargo5) on

And then there’s all the hugs.

They two even went as far as to help each other out when strategizing on how to beat the Dodgers in the postseason. They also talk about their love of their families and their home country of Venezuela.

The Venezuelan brotherhood is alive and well, even when playing on different teams.

Honorable mention:
Yasiel Puig and his entire fan base

There are over 7,000 uses of the hashtag #PuigYourFriend on Instagram. Throughout last season, Puig posted pics with his teammates, members of his Wild Horse foundation, celebrity fans and most importantly, his family. How could Puig not be your friend?

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I will never forget meeting Melissa and Jovani. Melissa is an amazing mother who embraced Jovani with open arms, adopting him when she was just 17 years old. If we all showed the same unconditional love for all children the way Melissa does, this world would be a much better place for generations to come. A big thank you to my best friend @irvbauman for your generous spirit. God bless. . . . Nunca me olvidaré del día que pude llegar a conocer a Melissa y Jovani. Melissa es una madre increíble que adoptó a Jovani con los brazos abiertos cuando ella tenía solo 17 años. Si todos mostráramos el mismo amor incondicional para todos los niños como lo hace Melissa, este mundo sería un lugar mucho mejor. Muchas gracias a Mr. Irv por su gran generosidad. Eres mi amigo del alma. Dios me los bendiga a todos siempre.

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Winners:
Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuña, Jr. – Los Bravos

The bromance between these two caught our attention early in the season, but it was in August when they expressed their friendships through a hug that went viral and caught the attention of the baseball world.

What they showed is that they aren’t afraid to express their bond and brotherhood, even through a hug on national television.

Acuña “is like my little brother, Albies told us. “We love each other a lot. Since we were in the minor leagues, we developed a great friendship, and it’s good to have him here in the major leagues. We support each other, and we are happy when the other does something positive.”

Albies shared this post on Instagram just last week after his “little Son,” Acuña, Jr. won the NL Rookie of the Year award.

Acuña shared this pic of his hermano on his Instagram:

Looking fly, guys.

Featured Image: La Vida Baseball

2018 La Vida Awards