Elly De La Cruz is the 1st Reds player to hit for the cycle since Eric Davis in 1989
On Friday night at Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati Reds rookie Elly De La Cruz did something that hadn't been done since 1989.
![Cincinnati Reds third baseman Elly De La Cruz hits for the cycle](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3712,h_2088,x_0,y_186/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/64/01h3pfcfeqbttvvsgvbj.jpg)
On Friday night, Elly De La Cruz led the Cincinnati Reds to a huge win over the best team in the National League. The Reds took down the Atlanta Braves by a final score of 11-10.
It was a huge win for the Reds, as it proved that Cincinnati deserves to be in the discussion as one of the best teams in the NL this season.
It would be a crime to speak of this game without going through the full details of how Elly De La Cruz took the baseball world by storm after hitting for the cycle.
Elly De La Cruz is the 1st Reds player to hit for the cycle since Eric Davis in 1989.
With the Cincinnati Reds trailing 5-0 after a brutal start from Luke Weaver, Elly De La Cruz led the second inning off with an 116.6 mph rocket double off the right center field wall. According to Baseball Savant, his was his hardest hit ball so far this season.
In his next at-bat, De La Cruz recorded his third career home run on a fly ball that, according to Baseball Savant, would have been a fly out seven of the 30 MLB ballparks. But, the 368-foot blast cleared the fence in right field and drew the Reds within one run of the Braves.
Two innings later, the rookie sensation singled on a broken bat flare up the middle, and the idea of De La Cruz hitting for the cycle began to creep into the minds of all of those in attendance at Great American Ball Park.
Then, in the bottom of the sixth inning, Elly De La Cruz made history. At just 21 years old, the rookie sent a rocket into the right center field gap and De La Cruz was thinking three all the way. The infielder showed off his blazing speed and slid safely into third base, recording the first cycle by a Reds player since Eric Davis accomplished the feat in 1989.
THE MOST EXCITING 10.83 SECONDS IN SPORTS ⚡⚡⚡@ellylacocoa18 pic.twitter.com/3lJjyhWRkc
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 24, 2023
34 years ago, Reds legend Eric Davis, wearing the same number 44 as De La Cruz, tallied a cycle. No Red since has achieved the feat. According to the Dayton Daily News, De La Cruz is the youngest player to hit for the cycle since Houston Astros player César Cedeño did so in 1972.
Elly De La Cruz has just begun to scratch the surface of what could be an electrifying career. The rookie has turned every single Cincinnati Reds game into must see TV.
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