Reds' De La Cruz runs into history, steals all 3 bases in 7th inning
It's Elly De La Cruz's world. We're all just living in it.
The Cincinnati Reds rookie dazzled the baseball world again with some historic baserunning on Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers. De La Cruz first drove in what ended up standing as the game-winning run by ripping an RBI single with two out in the top of the seventh inning. Moments later, he turned on the jets and stole his way around the bases.
De La Cruz needed only two pitches to steal second and third. Seconds after sliding headfirst into third base, he caught Brewers reliever Elvis Peguero napping and swiped home before another pitch was thrown.
ELLY DE LA CRUZ STOLE EVERY BASE@ellylacocoa18 pic.twitter.com/FrDKGn3pwl
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 8, 2023
De La Cruz is only the fourth Reds player to pull off the feat and the first since Greasy Neale on Aug. 15, 1919, at the Polo Grounds. Hans Lobert and Dode Paskert are the only other Reds to do it, in 1908 and 1910, respectively. De La Cruz is also the first Red to steal home since Brandon Phillips in 2009, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
While stealing all three bases in one inning has been done 55 times in MLB history, most of those instances came before the Second World War. Just 15 players have pulled it off since 1961, the beginning of baseball's expansion era. The last to do it before De La Cruz was Miami's Jon Berti against the Mets in 2020.
Elly De La Cruz of the @Reds is the only MLB player in the last 50 years to steal second, third and home all with the same batter at the plate.
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) July 8, 2023
"It's so much fun to watch, so much fun to be part of," Reds manager David Bell said, according to The Associated Press. "It's one of those plays that's so rare, especially on two pitches to steal a base like that. The speed is obvious, just elite speed like maybe we've never seen, but also how heads-up it was."
De La Cruz, the Reds' top prospect entering this season, has needed barely a month to become one of baseball's most exciting and must-watch players. Over his first 29 big-league games, the 21-year-old infielder is hitting .328/.366/.533 with four homers, 16 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases while being caught just twice.
The surprising Reds beat Milwaukee 8-5 on Saturday, improving their record to 22-6 since calling up De La Cruz on June 6. Cincinnati is now two games up on the Brewers for first place in the NL Central.