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Elly De La Cruz Made the Funniest Defensive Play of the MLB Season

Cincinnati Reds star shortstop Elly De La Cruz continues to be must-see TV .

Andy Nesbitt

Red shortstop Elly De La Cruz made the funniest defensive play of the MLB season during a win over the Rays.
Red shortstop Elly De La Cruz made the funniest defensive play of the MLB season during a win over the Rays. /
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Cincinnati Reds star shortstop Elly De La Cruz continues to be must-see TV for what he can do at the plate, in the field, and also on the basepaths. The best part about his game, however, is just how much fun he has playing the sport that he loves.

That was on display during Friday night's 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays when he recorded the funniest force out of the MLB season.

De La Cruz, who hit the season's most ridiculous home run earlier in the week, fielded a grounder and than ran over to second to get the third out of the inning. He had some fun with it, though, as he waited for Yandy Diaz to almost get to second before tapping the bag.

Look at how close this was:

Never change, Elly De La Cruz.

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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