Elly De La Cruz just won't stop making history in the early days of his promising MLB career.
The Cincinnati Reds phenom stole his 100th career base Friday night in the fourth inning of a matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park, swiping second base against right-hander Mitch Keller.
Per Opta Stats, De La Cruz is the first player in MLB history to notch at least 100 stolen bases and 30 homers over his first two seasons in the big leagues. De La Cruz has mashed 37 homers—and counting—over his first 250 career games.
Career stolen base No. 100 for Elly. ⚡️
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) September 20, 2024
@ellylacocoa18 pic.twitter.com/0IPdP10pdR
De La Cruz's accomplishment is even more impressive when stacked up against more MLB history.
He is one of four players in league annals to tally at least 20 homers and 75 stolen bases in his first two seasons, joining Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. and two other players who competed many decades ago—New York Yankees outfielder Ben Chapman and Cincinnati Reds outfielder Bug Holliday.
MLB players with 20+ homers and 75+ stolen bases in first two seasons*
*statistics courtesy of Stathead
De La Cruz also is on the verge of becoming MLB's first player to lead all of baseball in both stolen bases and strikeouts.
Despite the 204 punchouts entering Friday's game, De La Cruz still has a .343 on-base percentage, high above MLB's league average of .312 this season. And he's clearly making the most of his time on base with 65 steals—14 more than Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani in second place.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Elly De La Cruz Creates Exclusive Club in MLB History With Milestone Stolen Base.
