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.
“Oh yeah. I would like to do,” De La Cruz said via Bally Sports Cincinnati. “But, it’s hard to do.”
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.
