Elly De La Cruz of Sabana Grande de Boya, Dominican Republic has had a fine season for the Cincinnati Reds. On Saturday, De La Cruz made Major League Baseball history by becoming the first shortstop ever and fifth player all-time to hit 25 home runs in a season and record 65 stolen bases as the Reds defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-1 at the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Three-run home run
De La Cruz’s three-run shot came in the bottom of the fourth inning and put the Reds up 6-0 at the time. It was a deep fly ball down the right field line and also scored left fielder Will Benson of Atlanta, Georgia and second baseman Jonathan India of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The home run went 423 feet, with two out, and off of Pirates’s starting pitcher Jared Jones.
Who were the other four?
De La Cruz is joined by Reds second baseman Joe Morgan of Bonham, Texas (26 home runs and 67 stolen bases), Reds outfielder Eric Davis of Los Angeles, California (27 home runs and 80 stolen bases), left fielder Rickey Henderson of Chicago, Illinois who accomplished the feat twice (28 home runs and 87 stolen bases with the New York Yankees in 1986 and 28 home runs and 65 stolen bases with the Oakland Athletics in 1990), and Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. of La Guaira, Venezuela (41 home runs and 73 stolen bases in 2023).
De La Cruz in 2024
De La Cruz has exactly 25 home runs and 65 stolen bases in 2024. He has also had the most stolen base attempts (81), and been caught stealing the most times in the Majors this season (16). Plate protection has also been an issue for De La Cruz as he has struck out a Major League leading 210 times. In 155 games, 597 at bats, and 675 plate appearances, he has scored 104 runs, and had 156 hits, 35 doubles, nine triples, 74 runs batted in, 69 walks, a batting average of .261, on base percentage of .343, slugging percentage of .476, 284 total bases, two sacrifice bunts, and one sacrifice fly. The sacrifice bunts came in a 9-6 Reds win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 24 and in a 4-1 Reds win over the Colorado Rockies on June 4. The sacrifice fly came in a 6-3 Reds win over the Toronto Blue Jays on August 19.
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