Elly De La Cruz’s first few days in the majors have been loaded with peaks and valleys. He’s smacked exciting extra base hits and flashed video-game speed on the bases. He’s also struck out 10 times in 19 at-bats.
A single play Saturday showed both the good and the bad the Cincinnati Reds and their fans can expect from the young phenom. In the seventh inning against the St. Louis Cardinals, with Cruz on first base, Spencer Steer lined a ball into the gap in right-center.
De La Cruz flew around the bases, but third base coach J.R. House threw up a clear stop sign as De La Cruz neared the bag.
The speedy rookie blew right past the stop sign and raced home … where he beat the throw to score.
After the game, when asked about the play, De La Cruz boasted, “I am the fastest man in the world.”
Coaches have fined or otherwise disciplined players for running stop signs and missing other coaching signs, and De La Cruz made a clear rookie mistake. Still, was it a base-running blunder, or a wonder, since he used his blazing speed to score. It should be noted he probably would have been out had the relay throw not been so far off line.
Fans debated that very question on Twitter.
He’s got the speed, but very lucky the throw was up the line a little. There’s a reason the 3rd base coaches are there. You can bet if he does that too often they’ll have a nice long chat about it. Worked out this time for him though.
— Scott (@Banditman39) June 10, 2023
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.