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Reds Announcer Had Classic Jinx Right Before Elly De La Cruz's First Grand Slam

This was too good.

Tim Capurso

Cincinnati Reds star Elly De La Cruz swings the bat during a game against the Atlanta Braves on September 9.
Cincinnati Reds star Elly De La Cruz swings the bat during a game against the Atlanta Braves on September 9. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
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There's nothing quite like an announcer's jinx. Cincinnati Reds play-by-play announcer John Sadak provided a classic example of this during their 8-4 win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night at Target Field.

Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz stepped up to the plate in the top of the seventh inning with the bases loaded, setting the stage for Sadak.

"Elly De La Cruz does not yet have a grand slam in his career," Sadak said as Twins relief pitcher Jorge Alcala delivered the first pitch of the at-bat to the Reds star.

In a perfect sequence of events, De La Cruz swung and drilled a hanging slider over the right field wall, prompting a memorable call from Sadak.

"High fly, he does now! The first granny for Elly De La Cruz," Sadak exclaimed on the broadcast.

In terms of announcer jinxes, it doesn't get much better than this. And in terms of seasons by a Reds switch-hitter, it doesn't get any better than De La Cruz's, as the Reds star set a new franchise record for the most home runs by a switch hitter in a single season, with 24.

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

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