Few players have made life in the major leagues look so easy so quickly like Elly De La Cruz has in 2023. Through his first 41 games, the 22-year-old phenom has stretched the physical limits of the game: He broke the record for the fastest infield assist ever recorded—then broke it again. He stole three bases over the course of a single inning as part of a bravura sequence that comprised about a minute of real time.
And for his latest feat of wonder? He hit a ball out of the entire stadium.
Facing the Brewers on Monday night, De La Cruz’s night got off to a tough start after he was robbed of a home run by Milwaukee center fielder Joey Wiemer. Always the showman, the Reds rookie made sure that in his next plate appearance, the ball would be nowhere near arm’s reach of any Brewers fielders. In fact, he cleared the American Family Field confines altogether.
OH MY, ELLY DE LA CRUZ 🤯
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 25, 2023
(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/xpOLXh5gUS
What made the play even more impressive was that it came right after the Brewers’ scoreboard operator tried to troll De La Cruz with a cheeky mention of his first plate appearance. The lesson, of course: don’t poke the bear, especially when the bear in this analogy is as talented as De La Cruz has proven to be.
The Brewers trolled Elly De La Cruz on the scoreboard so he proceeded to hit a thousand foot home run pic.twitter.com/hCjlqzxY62
— Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) July 25, 2023
Statcast measured the blast at 456 feet, a number that feels both impressive and underwhelming when compared to the sensory overload that comes with watching the swing and majestic flight of the ball. De La Cruz just missed hitting the promotional Toyota Sequoia advertisement displayed in center field, which would have only added to the spectacle of the moment.
De La Cruz is certainly not a finished product, and there have been and will continue to be instances when growing pains bite him as he begins his MLB journey. But his display on Monday only further proves what we’ve known for some time now: on the diamond at the game’s highest level, there’s nothing he can’t do.
