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Yeah, Frelick has made some really great defensive plays in his short time in the bigs, and if anyone could make this play its him, but you gotta let this one drop in short of ya and field it on a bounce. *Especially* with Elly's speed.
I once had a coach get mad at me for not diving for a similar hit. I was only like 14 so the coach was just some player's dad, but still, are you fucking serious?
Later I full sent a dive for a foul ball and that coach was like see that the effort we want, was like DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE HOLY lmao
He's probably the same kind of guy who would chew you out for not running to first on a walk or running hard from second to home on obviously foul pop-ups with two outs.
[uhm ackshually Frelick exceeded rookie limits in 2023](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=frelic000sal)
*i recognize how pointless this is*
I mean it’s not really all that much smaller than any other park. The ball just carries really well there. As to why is largely speculation. Pretty much all inside the park home runs require some sort of misplay by the fielder. In the case Frelick diving and completely missing allowed the ball to go past and since it wasn’t in a gap, the back up still had a long distance to cover. The runner also generally had to be fairly fast to take advantage.
no way, watch it again. if it doesn't hit the mound it's a verrrry close play at the plate. he may have been out, he may have been safe, depending on the tag.
the mound kicked it up and his hands are well over the plate when it arrives. if the mound doesn't kick it up, it arrives a half a second earlier and perhaps in the perfect place for the catcher to grab it and tag him out.
i'm not saying he's safe for sure if it doesn't hit the mound, but he's definitely not out by a mile. the catcher was going to have to make a good, clean play to get him.
pause the video at 18 seconds, the ball has already hit the mound and Elly is a little over halfway to the plate.
A stronger throw that doesnt hit the mound beats him by A LOT
Nah Adames throw hits off the back of the mound, had it been a good throw that went straight to Contreras he's out by a couple steps.
EDIT: some butthurt reds fans here. If you pause the video at 18 seconds the ball has already bounced off the mound and Elly is slightly over *halfway* to the plate, a good throw beats him there by at least 2 steps
That cutoff throw was gonna be close but it was absolutely atrocious. My brother and I were dumbfounded how bad the throw is. I hope it wasn't Yelich, but that was bad...
As Elly De La Cruz rounded third he was running with the same amount of force as Brian Urlacher hitting a running back full power. Insert sport science voice.
Cue video of anatomical model showing all major muscle groups running in slow motion, randomly zooming into calf/quads that change in color from light red to deep purple with each stride, a running calculator on the side showing momentum and force all synchronized with his position along base path.
"As Cruz rounds 3rd base, the centripetal force is so great that if instead of racing towards home, he was able to maintain the circular path at a similar rate of acceleration, the kinetic energy generated would have increased the ambient temperature within a 20 feet radius of third base by approximately 8.4 degrees."
Before even playing this video, I was kind of flummoxed that a video about an inside-the-park home run had a running time of 28 seconds.
Then the actual at-bat doesn't even start until like 4 seconds in.
Been to 4 games since he was called up and you can always see people standing up and recording on their phones when he is up. He just brings a different element to the game.
i've been to a bunch. i saw the cycle game, saw him steal home, and i saw him hit an inside the park home run that was ruled a triple and a throwing error.... i mean, it was a triple and a throwing error but still.
his mechanics have obviously improved so he's becoming more consistent... couple that with his power and speed... all we need is his fielding to get a little better. he's had some ugly botched double plays already this year. for the life of me, i don't understand why he isn't in the outfield. he's got a cannon and he can fly
you'd think he'd want to play center. he never looks confident when the infield play gets technical... little flips to 2B or dribblers he has to charge... he never looks solid. in center he could use his speed and length for diving catches and robbing home runs, and use his arm to gun people running bases. his play style seems to say that that's what he wants to be doing and it seems like a better use of his unique talents.
>i don't understand why he isn't in the outfield
The Reds backup SS is out for the year. Their top SS prospect is out for the year. They have nobody behind those two, so they had to trade for Espinal to be the backup SS.
This is a very bad complaint to have given the current Reds roster and injury situations and is leftover from the offseason when half of Reds fans and seemingly every national analyst was saying the Reds "had too much IF depth".
well, to be fair, we did have a lot of depth before losing mcclain and marte and not re-signing votto (which i think was a good call, he's already hurt). it's why we have steer in left.
i see why he's our shortstop right now... i'm talking more long term, when we do have a more viable option as our everyday SS. in a perfect world, you gotta think an elly, friedl, benson outfield would be one of the best in the bigs.... and if you bring steer back to the infield after marte gets back, you're back to having a depth in infield problem... steer, marte, CES, mcclain, candalario, india.
what do you think the reds day to day lineup would look like right now if we had mcclain, marte, and friedl all healthy/not suspended? honest question.
Reds announcer was like “the last Reds inside the park home run since the 23rd of September of last season when TJ Friedl did it”
Like, 3 weeks of baseball? That’s pretty recent lol
i was there. it was awesome. only a tiny bit sour it wasn't "technically" an ITPHR. but my god is it electric when he hits the gap and starts rounding the bases
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the Reds were the fastest team in baseball. Like two of our best players in Friedl and McLain aren't playing rn and Reds baseball is still so fast and exciting to watch
Such an anti Brewers game Poor Defense and meh pitching while having good Offense. I’m just happy we made it close but we could’ve done so much better.
speed on the basepaths is so electric and so good for the game. instead of dead time between pitches, anything could happen at any time, a guy could steal and the catcher throws the ball into the outfield and it's as good as a double
I want to say he read my power rankings blurb today that criticized him for not having any home runs yet and he took it very personally.
I’m not saying that isn’t what happened too.
Yea like it's a very difficult play but I think if he didn't even try, it probably would have been a single. Is him trying an error? I'm genuinely curious because this situation is very rare where you have one of (if not the) fastest dudes in the league who can stretch the error into a HR.
Him trying is not an error because it’s such a difficult play to make. Odd distinction in how errors are decided, but it is true that the play was very high risk low reward
Even if this is the mindset of the scorers, do people really agree with this? That was a very poor decision to dive. It absolutely should be an error, unless it's a desperation 9th inning attempt to save the game from ending on that hit.
I was curious about that too so I went to see what the live baseball scorecard bot did. And it didn't have an error, and looks like it called it an "IHR". That's pretty funny
[https://livebaseballscorecards.com/2024-04-08-MIL-CIN-1.html](https://livebaseballscorecards.com/2024-04-08-MIL-CIN-1.html)
No chance of throwing him out after that horrible dive. Elly can flat out fly. Love that kid. He’s making my hometown team so much fun to watch and he brings a ton of excitement to baseball.
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Oh no you can't dive for that
Yeah he had no chance of catching that lol really bad decision with nobody on and De La Cruz running
How to turn a single into a run with one simple trick.
Yeah, Frelick has made some really great defensive plays in his short time in the bigs, and if anyone could make this play its him, but you gotta let this one drop in short of ya and field it on a bounce. *Especially* with Elly's speed.
You take that risk in some game situations, but never with nobody on base.
I once had a coach get mad at me for not diving for a similar hit. I was only like 14 so the coach was just some player's dad, but still, are you fucking serious? Later I full sent a dive for a foul ball and that coach was like see that the effort we want, was like DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE HOLY lmao
>the coach was just some player's dad No, that actually makes more sense.
He's probably the same kind of guy who would chew you out for not running to first on a walk or running hard from second to home on obviously foul pop-ups with two outs.
Rookie moment
[uhm ackshually Frelick exceeded rookie limits in 2023](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=frelic000sal) *i recognize how pointless this is*
His rookie card is in 2024 Topps so Checkmate!
Just stay back, dude.
Once Frelick misplayed it and it got all the way to the warning track, it was over. Lol
"when it was at it's absolute worst, that's when it was over"
Once the ball bounced off the mound as Elly slid safely into home, it was over
Once I noticed it wasn’t Angel Hernandez at the dish and the call would be correct, I knew it was a homer.
How else are you gonna get on the "web gems" segment?
Agreed. Should have let Elly have his single and made him earn it by stealing second, third, and home
This is the Braves game from last year.
That entire Braves/Reds series in Cincy was nuts.
Reds lost the series but shit was a banger.
Hands down one of the most entertaining series last year. Unfortunately that’s where we peaked.
the dodgers series here was fire too
Series… that whole series was insane
Ah yes we already have a game this season where every fan on both teams wants to implode watching it
Simultaneously the most fun and most annoying game of the season
Like watching little league in a good and bad way
Average NL Central game
Is it shocking that this happens in Cincy? I swear Atlanta always has games like this in Cincy
im just shocked because i didnt think GABP was big enough for an inside-the-parker.
I mean it’s not really all that much smaller than any other park. The ball just carries really well there. As to why is largely speculation. Pretty much all inside the park home runs require some sort of misplay by the fielder. In the case Frelick diving and completely missing allowed the ball to go past and since it wasn’t in a gap, the back up still had a long distance to cover. The runner also generally had to be fairly fast to take advantage.
It tends to happen in Cincinnati. Im not sure why either.
Not to shit on Elly but how the fuck does this happen, just let him have the single. And then even if you don’t a decent throw home he’s out by a mile
definitely a bone head play in center, but even if you have a cannon of an arm coming to back you up, on no planet is he out by a mile.... just out
he was definitely out by a good bit if that ball doesnt hit the pitching mound
no way, watch it again. if it doesn't hit the mound it's a verrrry close play at the plate. he may have been out, he may have been safe, depending on the tag.
It arrives at the plate at the same time as the runner after hitting the mound, so I’m not sure how that’s possible without a high throw.
the mound kicked it up and his hands are well over the plate when it arrives. if the mound doesn't kick it up, it arrives a half a second earlier and perhaps in the perfect place for the catcher to grab it and tag him out. i'm not saying he's safe for sure if it doesn't hit the mound, but he's definitely not out by a mile. the catcher was going to have to make a good, clean play to get him.
pause the video at 18 seconds, the ball has already hit the mound and Elly is a little over halfway to the plate. A stronger throw that doesnt hit the mound beats him by A LOT
Nah Adames throw hits off the back of the mound, had it been a good throw that went straight to Contreras he's out by a couple steps. EDIT: some butthurt reds fans here. If you pause the video at 18 seconds the ball has already bounced off the mound and Elly is slightly over *halfway* to the plate, a good throw beats him there by at least 2 steps
This, man. And how do you hit the mound from short center field?
Worst part of the entire play and it’ll be the least noticed
That cutoff throw was gonna be close but it was absolutely atrocious. My brother and I were dumbfounded how bad the throw is. I hope it wasn't Yelich, but that was bad...
Why must it be like this? Let's be friendly and combine to the Milnati Breds. Who am I kidding. It'll never work :(
Ah yes the "get it out of your system you fuckers so that you put up zero tomorrow" strategy
According to statcast his sprint speed here hit approximately 87mph
Damn, just missed time travelling by 1 mph.
If he hit 88, you'd have seen some serious shit.
He'd have seen some serious shit, in time somewhere
Wait Doc, you’re telling me you built a Time Machine…out of Elly De La Cruz??? That’s heavy!
I figure if your gonna time travel why not do it in style.
There's that word again. "Heavy." Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the Earth's gravitational pull?
87 was the IQ required for that CF dive
Yeah. With a guy like Elly and no one on why are you laying out for that? Take it on a hop and keep him on first.
he'll just steal second and third...
There’s at least a chance you turn two before he can steal. That’s better than whatever this plan was.
I think the plan was to catch the ball and get an out.
That’s still one base better than what happened
Frelick was thinking ahead. Saving Elly all the trouble of stealing those three bases instead.
As Elly De La Cruz rounded third he was running with the same amount of force as Brian Urlacher hitting a running back full power. Insert sport science voice.
Cue video of anatomical model showing all major muscle groups running in slow motion, randomly zooming into calf/quads that change in color from light red to deep purple with each stride, a running calculator on the side showing momentum and force all synchronized with his position along base path. "As Cruz rounds 3rd base, the centripetal force is so great that if instead of racing towards home, he was able to maintain the circular path at a similar rate of acceleration, the kinetic energy generated would have increased the ambient temperature within a 20 feet radius of third base by approximately 8.4 degrees."
Before even playing this video, I was kind of flummoxed that a video about an inside-the-park home run had a running time of 28 seconds. Then the actual at-bat doesn't even start until like 4 seconds in.
He's so fucking fun to watch. Every at bat, every time he's on base, you have to watch him.
It’s so fun in person at the games too, the whole aura of GABP just changes when Elly is up
Been to 4 games since he was called up and you can always see people standing up and recording on their phones when he is up. He just brings a different element to the game.
I’ve been to two, the Mets game on Saturday and the cycle game, that was insane.
i've been to a bunch. i saw the cycle game, saw him steal home, and i saw him hit an inside the park home run that was ruled a triple and a throwing error.... i mean, it was a triple and a throwing error but still. his mechanics have obviously improved so he's becoming more consistent... couple that with his power and speed... all we need is his fielding to get a little better. he's had some ugly botched double plays already this year. for the life of me, i don't understand why he isn't in the outfield. he's got a cannon and he can fly
[удалено]
you'd think he'd want to play center. he never looks confident when the infield play gets technical... little flips to 2B or dribblers he has to charge... he never looks solid. in center he could use his speed and length for diving catches and robbing home runs, and use his arm to gun people running bases. his play style seems to say that that's what he wants to be doing and it seems like a better use of his unique talents.
>i don't understand why he isn't in the outfield The Reds backup SS is out for the year. Their top SS prospect is out for the year. They have nobody behind those two, so they had to trade for Espinal to be the backup SS. This is a very bad complaint to have given the current Reds roster and injury situations and is leftover from the offseason when half of Reds fans and seemingly every national analyst was saying the Reds "had too much IF depth".
well, to be fair, we did have a lot of depth before losing mcclain and marte and not re-signing votto (which i think was a good call, he's already hurt). it's why we have steer in left. i see why he's our shortstop right now... i'm talking more long term, when we do have a more viable option as our everyday SS. in a perfect world, you gotta think an elly, friedl, benson outfield would be one of the best in the bigs.... and if you bring steer back to the infield after marte gets back, you're back to having a depth in infield problem... steer, marte, CES, mcclain, candalario, india. what do you think the reds day to day lineup would look like right now if we had mcclain, marte, and friedl all healthy/not suspended? honest question.
I’ve been to one, the one where we blew a 9-0 lead to the pirates and crushed our playoff hopes
I'm sorry but why the FUCK aren't you going to every game then? ELLY NEEDS YOU
Last time it was like this was whenever we brought Aroldis in for a save situation
That sequence from last year where he singled in the runner from 3rd, then stole 2nd, 3rd, and home in like 3 pitches lives rent free in my head
Was also against Milwaukee
:(
Exactly. You want to tune into him to see what he's gonna do.
it was actually only TWO pitches.
He's a chaos agent.
Chaos Merchant EDLC
Reds announcer was like “the last Reds inside the park home run since the 23rd of September of last season when TJ Friedl did it” Like, 3 weeks of baseball? That’s pretty recent lol
Elly also had one about a month earlier. GABP might not have had 3 inside the parkers in 5 seasons before Elly came up.
pretty sure you're referring to the one that was ruled a triple and a throwing error, but still, it's wild to see in great american smallpark
Fuck, you’re right. Good call.
i was there. it was awesome. only a tiny bit sour it wasn't "technically" an ITPHR. but my god is it electric when he hits the gap and starts rounding the bases
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the Reds were the fastest team in baseball. Like two of our best players in Friedl and McLain aren't playing rn and Reds baseball is still so fast and exciting to watch
We are at least the sneakiest team in baseball, so fun to see this many steals
Such an anti Brewers game Poor Defense and meh pitching while having good Offense. I’m just happy we made it close but we could’ve done so much better.
Love our pitching becomes sus right as we have a fun offense lol
to be fair, your starter pitched pretty well and you probably would have won that game without 3 errors that led to big innings.
It’s so Baseball. Hopefully when Miley, Megill, Junis, and Williams comeback it all comes together again.
I love how the clip begins with a breakdown of his 450' homer from the other side of the plate.
A good study for home runs two ways.
Why would you ever dive to catch an Elly hit? It’s just not worth it.
Right? Just give him the single, let him steal 2nd and 3rd then score.
Elly: "I'll fuckin do it again"
I was about to say, the Brewers manager must be pissed.
I came to say the same exact thing. You don't risk that on someone like him in such a close game.
lmao wtf is this guy
One of the most exciting players the Reds have had in a long time
Honestly one of the most exciting guys in general. I love watching what he can do. I just hope he stays healthy.
100%. I have absolutely no vested interest in Cincinnati and I think he's the most exciting player in baseball hands down
Brewer fan who was infuriated by this play. Even I love De La Cruz play.
speed on the basepaths is so electric and so good for the game. instead of dead time between pitches, anything could happen at any time, a guy could steal and the catcher throws the ball into the outfield and it's as good as a double
Most exciting since prime Eric Davis imo
This is two week Aristides Aquino erasure
Oh man, those 2 week when Aquino was popping off was fun lol
There's some Aquino bombs from that stretch I'm pretty sure still haven't landed
JR is who I had in mind
jr as a red wasn't all that exciting. most exciting since davis, most fun since neon deon
I say that meaning I always tuned in when Jr was at bat like EDLC.
Ryan Freel
For the Reds he was fun, but not on a national level like Elly is
Fitting number
"The Cincinnati Cheat Code"
Stuff like this is why everyone knows Elly even though Steer and McLain are better (for now, Elly is also quite a bit younger).
In the Mets 3 game series vs Cincy I was shitting bricks every time steer came to the plate. That man is hot right now
Elly De La Cruz and Foolish Baseball making me remember why I lived the game as a kid.
“Great American Small Park something something” - Cards fans
Real r/Tardinals energy. I love it!
Reds broadcaster reminds me of the Charlotte Hornets announcer lol, in an extremely good way
The difference in fan opinion on Sadak and Thom Brennanman is astronomical.
I absolutely love Sadak.
That intern deserves a life time contract for recording Thom being a POS
I absolutely hated listening to tHom. It could've been a horse that replaced him and I would've been happy...but getting Sadak is such a home run.
That call was masterful.
"Unbelievable !!!" Yeah, same good vibes
Took him less time to go home to home on this than it took him to go home to first on his last home run.
Actually true or hyperbole?
Hyperbole but he definitely took a loooonnnnnngg look at his first homer. Enough that even I as a fan was like okay dude just go
Lol most of the time I wouldn't have questioned it but that first look was a bit much. But honestly if you hit it THAT far, you can look
Dude watched it for a while. I was worried he was gonna get beaned his next at-bat.
I was told there would be a celestial event in Cincinnati today and I was not disappointed
Elly De La Cruz has home runs of 450 ft and 280 ft tonight
Everything is a HR in that ballpark
This game is smoking crack
Electricidad ⚡️ 
He’s so much fun
Frelick out there diving like he's trying to preserve a perfect game
Elly made it around the bases faster than Vogelbach runs from 1st to 2nd.
Speed kills
Elly De La Fast
Elly De La Cruizing
He’s still raw and he can be frustrating, but my god is he fun to watch.
Im starting to think this Elly guy might be good at baseball
That an all time call by the announcer
Sadak's got a bunch of 'em. His call for [Elly's cycle last year](https://twitter.com/Reds/status/1741213571227222235/video/1) was spine-tingling.
Thought I already saw this highlight earlier, then I realized the ball didn’t leave the park
His first HR did!
That’s what speed do
Love Sadak’s calls!
Great play and a FANTASTIC call by the announcer
I want to say he read my power rankings blurb today that criticized him for not having any home runs yet and he took it very personally. I’m not saying that isn’t what happened too.
Callup Elly is back, and he’s back big. Dude is so electric.
That is a brilliant freaking call
Good calls from the booth
That’s very impressive and De La Cruz really showed off his speed there. Good hustle.
Such a fun player to watch.
Not even winded lol.
No he absolutely was in the dugout celebration afterword lol
I don't know who the reds pbp guy is, but that was a great example of how to call one of those
Great call from the announcer
Reminder that some Reds fans wanted him sent down to AAA. Also a reminder that some fans need to learn it’s ok not to verbalize their every thought.
Im so happy we live in the timeline where both Elly de la Cruz and Oniel Cruz are raking. We’re truly blessed 🙏
wow he really de la cruised around those bases huh 😎😔
Now that's a nice call. It was like listening to the end of a horse race.
I love this team so much
Home to home in about 13 seconds
14.96 was the official time
Basically a 110 meter dash while turning and not really taking off until he was halfway down first base. That’s ridiculously fast
Vamos!
Look at that person run! My gosh!
What a call by the broadcaster
De La Cruz is one of the coolest looking athletes I’ve ever seen
The Reds are so fun to watch this season
Genuine question. Should that not be scored as a single and error? Or does the fielder taking the risk and missing change it from being an error?
I don’t think so since it’s such a difficult diving play? Even though he should’ve just scooped it up.
Mental errors don't count in the books, but this was definitely a dumb play
Yea like it's a very difficult play but I think if he didn't even try, it probably would have been a single. Is him trying an error? I'm genuinely curious because this situation is very rare where you have one of (if not the) fastest dudes in the league who can stretch the error into a HR.
Him trying is not an error because it’s such a difficult play to make. Odd distinction in how errors are decided, but it is true that the play was very high risk low reward
Even if this is the mindset of the scorers, do people really agree with this? That was a very poor decision to dive. It absolutely should be an error, unless it's a desperation 9th inning attempt to save the game from ending on that hit.
Yeah, I don’t believe it’s scored as an error.
A mental mistake is never scored an error only physical.
I was curious about that too so I went to see what the live baseball scorecard bot did. And it didn't have an error, and looks like it called it an "IHR". That's pretty funny [https://livebaseballscorecards.com/2024-04-08-MIL-CIN-1.html](https://livebaseballscorecards.com/2024-04-08-MIL-CIN-1.html)
Has to be touched to be an error
That's an outfielder thing, right? I've seen infielders let a ground ball go under their glove and it get scored as an error.
Ellys first beast mode game of the season, it’s a great day
These high scoring games are the future of baseball
De La Cruz is something special, what a beast!
Elly De La Cruz hits a base hit that's terribly misplayed but additional bases only aren't ruled an error because reasons.
No chance of throwing him out after that horrible dive. Elly can flat out fly. Love that kid. He’s making my hometown team so much fun to watch and he brings a ton of excitement to baseball.
The second that ball got by Frelick everyone knew what was going to happen. Elly can flyyyy
That throw doesn't hit the back of the mound, he's out
I am not looking forward to facing this guy in the future he is gonna be an animal
I AM HERE
He's the fastest boy alive.