Cincinnati Reds All-Star Elly De La Cruz became the first shortstop in MLB history to record a 25-home run, 65-stolen base campaign on Saturday. He is the youngest player to do so regardless of position. However, the 22-year-old has much loftier goals for the future.
Following his record-setting accomplishment, De La Cruz responded to a question while speaking with reporters about one day joining Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani in the 50-50 club.
Considering that Ohtani was the first to do it on Sept. 19, equaling the feat would be challenging. Nevertheless, De La Cruz has made a habit of making the difficult look easy early in his career.
On Saturday, De La Cruz had a four-RBI day, finishing 3-of-5 with a double and homer No. 25 in the Reds’ 7-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. While he’s the first shortstop to join the 25-60 club, he’s only the fifth member overall, along with Ronald Acuna Jr. (2023), Rickey Henderson (1990, 1986), Eric Davis (1986) and Joe Morgan (1973), per Stathead.
With a stellar start to his career, De La Cruz has already etched his name in the record books in other ways, too. He’s the only player to register 100 extra-base hits and 100 stolen bases through their first two seasons in the league and just the third player in the live-ball era to swipe 100 bags in that space, joining Vince Coleman and Henderson, according to Bleacher Report.
There’s no way of predicting whether De La Cruz will post a 50-50 season one day. However, the desire and skill set are there for a player who has yet to finish his second full MLB season.
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