The most exciting show in baseball

Elly De La Cruz was relaxing with a group of teammates in the visitors’ clubhouse at Camden Yards on Monday when news broke that he had been named National League Player of the Week after just his 17th game in the major leagues.

“Why did it take so long?” asked one of his teammates.

“Yeah,” added another, “Matt did it in his first week.”

The impatience played and comparisons to Matt McLain, his teammate and fellow rookie, underlined how promising the future of the Cincinnati Reds – and their present – appears to be.

McLain, a 23-year old infielder, had won the same honor as De La Cruz at the end of May, after only his first full week of play. De La Cruz, 21, arrived 22 days later and it took him less than three weeks to be named the best player in his league – at least a week.

De La Cruz and McLain are part of an almost erratic Reds rookie class that also includes Spencer Steer, 25, who was the NL Rookie of the Month in May, and Andrew Abbott, 24, who was so successful in his first three big league starts Also included this year, the Elias Sports Bureau had to go back to the introduction of the elevated mound in 1893 to put his achievement into context: He is the only pitcher to open a career with three scoreless starts of at least five innings each.

Abbott won again on Tuesday, in a start against the high-flying Baltimore Orioles, improving to 4-0 with an earned run average of 1.21, and the bold Reds are 43-38 through Thursday, just 19 wins short of total from last year, and maybe a whole year ahead of schedule.

A total of 11 Reds have made their major league debut this year and 14 rookies have played in games. But the one who has garnered the most attention is De La Cruz, a lithe, six-foot-tall infielder with jetpack speed and ball-busting power. He has broken into the league this month, weaving his way into superlative conversations and helping complete the Reds’ transformation from a team of promise into one of the most intriguing stories of the year.

“He’s just made a huge difference to our team,” said David Bell, the Reds’ manager.

With De La Cruz’s sudden impact, the Reds won 13 of his first 17 games, including a 12-game win streak that matched the franchise’s longest in the modern era, which had begun in 1957.

Last year the Reds lost 100 games, but many expected some improvement. Few predicted this.

During his wildly crowning week, De La Cruz batted .440 with two home runs and six extra-base hits. He slowed down a bit early this week, but for those who watched De La Cruz in spring training or at Class AAA Louisville, where he hit 12 home runs and 11 doubles in just 38 games this year, not even a brief slump can be expected. suppress.

After De La Cruz became the first Red since Eric Davis in 1989 to hit for the cycle, Joey Votto, Cincinnati’s veteran first baseman, actually uttered the words “Mickey Mantle” to describe De La Cruz’s rare combination of speed and power for a switch hitter. to describe. . Undeterred by a few days in which De La Cruz took no hit, Votto promised many more bursts of thump and hiss.

“I’ve read books about Mickey Mantle and I know something about him,” Votto said Tuesday in Baltimore. ‘I can’t really think of anyone else. Is he going to get Mickey’s career? Who knows? But he’s going to hit balls that they say, ‘Does he have more power than Ohtani? Does he have more power than Aaron Judge, than Giancarlo Stanton?’ He will.”

Votto, who recently returned from shoulder surgery that short-circuited his 2022 season, played two games last year at Class AA Dayton during a rehabilitation stint. According to Votto, in one, De La Cruz hit a ball down the right field line, over the fences and into the street, leaving witnesses baffled. Votto saw more of the same in Class AAA Louisville this year, and this month in the major leagues as well, noting that De La Cruz was able to adapt quickly when needed.

But what immediately grabs everyone’s attention, besides De La Cruz’s unusual height for an infielder, is his majesty on the basepaths.

“Just watching him move is different,” Votto said. “There’s hardly anyone I’ve ever seen moves like he does at height. The speed, the grace. Most runners of his caliber aren’t 6-5, and they’re not in baseball.”

McLain, who hit his sixth home run of the season on Tuesday and helped the Reds end a three-game losing streak after their 12-game heat, played alongside De La Cruz in Class AA and marveled at his extra-base hits created with his quick footwork. Most notably, McLain said, De La Cruz faltered on second base in one game after what appeared to be a double, until the lead man on a two-man cutoff lobbed the relay. De La Cruz turned on the boosters and flew into third place.

“When he goes for extra bases, it’s incredible,” said McLain, who batted .316 through Wednesday and played a confident defense.

Now De La Cruz does it all at the highest level with a touch of flair and fun.

“One hundred percent,” De La Cruz, who is from the Dominican Republic, said through an interpreter. “I have as much fun as possible and enjoy every moment.”

De La Cruz grew up in Sabana Grande de Boya, the youngest of nine siblings, including his twin brother, Pedro, who is nearly a foot shorter than Elly at 5 feet 8 inches. The Reds signed De La Cruz on a tryout when they had gone to look for another player. Lean and eager, De La Cruz caught their eye and now seems almost apologetic that he was the one who was chosen.

“None of those guys were there to see me,” he said. “In the end they asked me my name. It is clearly not my choice that they chose me.”

The signing fit into Cincinnati general manager Nick Krall’s strategic plans to build a more athletic roster. Some have commented that the Reds, along with the Orioles, against whom they played two out of three in a fun three-game series this week, are better suited to succeed under the new rules of baseball, which emphasize athleticism over tactics . But Krall said the Reds were also looking for more speed and mobility under the old rules.

Their aggressive style is contagious. Last week, they received 126,724 fans for their three-game series against Atlanta (the Braves won twice, with each of the three games decided by one point). It was the highest attendance for a three-game regular season series in the Great American Ball Park’s 21 years.

“It’s incredible,” Krall said. “Cincinnati has great fans, but we’ve never had that before. You see them busy with this team. They’re really having a good time.”

The Reds’ biggest concern is their starting pitching, which through Wednesday ranked 28th in the majors with a 5.31 ERA.

Injuries have plagued the staff, making rookie Abbott their ace and stopper. But the bullpen has been a save, anchored by Alexis Díaz, 26, who was 22 for 22 in save odds through Wednesday. He is the younger brother of Mets closer Edwin Díaz, but Alexis’ demeanor reminds at least one veteran teammate of a former Yankee, the great Mariano Rivera.

“I don’t want to make fun of Alexis,” catcher Curt Casali said, “but he’s kind of flirting with that reputation. I don’t know if he had a heartbeat before, but certainly not anymore.”

Most of these exciting young players have progressed through the minor leagues together, and Krall believes the relationships and trust they’ve built on the farm will help foster a winning formula in Cincinnati, adding to the optimism . The Reds qualified for the wild card round of the 2020 playoffs, but they haven’t won a postseason series since 1995, before all these young players were born. Now they want more than just the weekly awards.

“It’s really just the beginning of everything we’re trying to accomplish here,” said De La Cruz.