Fastball

Elly De La Cruz Breaks Historic Record with Achievement on Friday Night

The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night as Elly De La Cruz broke an awesome record in baseball history.

Brady Farkas

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) runs to third base in the sixth inning of a MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati. Braves won 7-1.
Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) runs to third base in the sixth inning of a MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati. Braves won 7-1. / Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
In this story:

The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-3 on Friday night at Great American Ball Park. After the win, Cincinnati is 75-80. Though they will miss the playoffs again this year, they do have a chance to finish at .500 or better with a great last seven games of the season.

In the win, Reds star Elly De La Cruz went 1-for-4 with two runs scored, a walk and a stolen base. His 65 stolen bases lead the major leagues. With the steal, he also broke a longstanding record in baseball history.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com on social media:

fewest career games to at least 100 SB & 100 XBH:

Elly De La Cruz: 251
Juan Samuel: 253

De La Cruz made his debut in 2023 and has become one of the most exciting players in the entire sport. He's hitting .260 this season with 24 homers, 70 RBI and the 65 steals. He has an OPS of .814 and made his first All-Star Game earlier this summer.

Though the Reds have had a disappointing season, the future is still bright as De La Cruz will pair with Spencer Steer, Noelvi Marte and Matt McLain to make up an exciting infield for years to come.

As for Samuel, he spent 16 years in the big leagues with seven different teams. He was a three-time All-Star who hit 161 home runs and stole 396 bases. Samuel stole 72 bases back in the 1984 season as a member of the Phillies.

The Reds and Pirates will play again on Saturday afternoon at 1:10 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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