Cincinnati Reds infielder Elly De La Cruz has been in the big leagues for barely a month, and he may already be the most exciting player in baseball. He certainly proved that again on Saturday with a play that few are even willing to attempt.
De La Cruz managed to steal second, third and home all during the same at-bat during the seventh inning Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers. The phenom singled in a run to break a 5-5 tie, then stole second with Jake Fraley at the plate. One would have been forgiven if they expected De La Cruz to stop there, but he went for third on a 1-2 pitch after noticing that the Brewers were not actually making an attempt to cover third.
De La Cruz still wasn’t done. Time was never called and pitcher Elvis Peguero was not paying close attention, so the Reds shortstop kept walking toward home and then broke into a full sprint once he felt he could make it. Peguero’s throw to the plate was late, and De La Cruz had essentially created a run out of thin air.
You won’t see many steals of home in an MLB season. You’ll pretty much never see it after the baserunner already swiped two bags during the at bat, especially since there was no actual fielding error involved.
De La Cruz has flashed his speed on plenty of occasions already, but this was pretty ridiculous by anyone’s standards. He came into Saturday hitting .325 with four home runs and 13 stolen bases, and those numbers are only going up.
More must-reads: