Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds becomes the first player in a century to accomplish this remarkable feat..
De La Cruz has hit 6 home runs and stolen 10 bases in the first 20 games this season, placing the Cincinnati Reds star in rarefied baseball history.
The Cincinnati Reds secured a significant victory against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, pushing their record above .500 for the first 20 games of the 2024 season.
Emerging star shortstop Elly De La Cruz has been a key player, drawing four walks and scoring a run in Saturday night’s game. De La Cruz currently boasts a .290 batting average, six home runs, 15 RBI, a 1.033 OPS, and a 1.2 WAR. Additionally, he leads the National League with 10 stolen bases.
MLB.com’s Sarah Langs reports that De La Cruz is one of only two MLB players since 1900 to tally five home runs and 10 stolen bases in the first 20 games of a season. The last player to accomplish this was Ken Williams for the St. Louis Browns back in 1922.
That season, Williams went on to lead the American League in home runs, RBI, and total bases.
De La Cruz was a highly-touted prospect heading into 2023, and he made an immediate impact upon reaching the majors last summer. He finished seventh in NL Rookie of the Year voting with a .235 batting average, 13 home runs, 44 RBI, 25 stolen bases, a .710 OPS, and a 0.8 WAR in 98 games.
This season, De La Cruz appears to have honed his power hitting and base-stealing abilities even further. While it’s still early to determine if he’ll be an MVP contender or league leader by October, Reds fans should be optimistic about his impressive start to the year.
