Last season, Elly De La Cruz was called up by the Cincinnati Reds and electrified both the team, and all of baseball. With a combination of power and speed that makes him seem more like a video game character De La Cruz almost immediately began turning heads, and making some baseball history along the way.
Elly De La Cruz makes more baseball history
The young Cincinnati superstar made more baseball history Monday night
Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
Here at the start of his first full season in the big leagues, De La Cruz is picking up where he left off a season ago.
On Monday night the Reds defeated the Milwaukee Brewers by a final score of 10-8. De La Cruz, batting sixth in the lineup and starting at shortstop, went three-for-four on the night with a pair of home runs, as well as a stolen base.
Which, when you consider how he accomplished those events, made some baseball history.
In the bottom of the fifth inning De La Cruz came to the plate with the Reds leading 8-3 and dug into the batter’s box, the switch hitter batting from the left side of the dish. J.B. Bukauskas left a pitch up in the zone, and 450 feet later the Reds had a 9-3 lead:
In the next inning De La Cruz flashed his speed, stealing third base for his sixth SB of the young season. But if you thought that was a good example of his wheels, the seventh inning provided a better one.
De La Cruz came to bat with the Reds holding a one-run lead in the bottom of the seventh. With the Brewers having gone to left-hander Bryan Hudson, De La Cruz was now hitting from the right side of the dish. He laced a high fastball to shallow center, and with center fielder Sal Frelick playing him deep, the ball dropped in front of the diving center fielder.
That’s when De La Cruz got on his horse:
Just how quickly did De La Cruz round the bases?
In under 15 seconds:
Here is one more view of the play, from behind home plate:
As he came across home plate with his head-first slide, he slid into the record books.
According to OptaSTATS, De La Cruz is now the first player in MLB history to: Homer from both sides of the plate, hit an over-the-wall HR and an inside-the-park HR, score four-plus runs, and steal a base in the same game:
Electric, indeed.
And yet more historic moments from the young Reds superstar.
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