Everyday Elly De La Cruz sets tone as April MVP for Cincinnati Reds with MLB first
SAN DIEGO – Elly De La Cruz might eventually need a day off. Probably.
Someday.
Maybe next month?
Maybe August?
“I don’t have an off day for him on the radar right now,” Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell said.
Not if Bell wants to keep scoring runs on the radar.
The Reds’ clear first-month MVP, De La Cruz has almost singlehandedly kept an otherwise struggling lineup afloat through April, the constant beacon and biggest threat – one of the biggest threats in the league – through a month of injuries and illness for most of the lineup regulars.
He and Spencer Steer are the only Reds who haven’t missed a game so far. Along with Jake Fraley, they’re two of the three to provide consistent production all month.
But nobody has done what De La Cruz has so far – ever.
When he opened this week’s series in San Diego with a tone-setting homer in the first inning Monday, it gave him eight home runs to go with his major-league-leading 18 steals – all eight of the homers in a 20-game stretch after going homerless in the Reds’ first nine games.
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The home run total and 17 of the steals came in April – the first MLB player with at least that many homers and that many steals in ANY calendar month (since at least 1901), per mlb.com stat guru Sarah Langs.
Not that De La Cruz is charting his personal stats or even setting goals for any milestone numbers.
“I’m just playing the game, day by day,” he said.
“I want to win.”
He’s the biggest offensive reason the Reds have been able to do that so far.
That 5-2 win over the Padres Monday – De La Cruz’s 127th game in the big leagues – clinched the Reds’ first winning April since 2013, which perhaps not coincidentally was their last 90-win season and last full-season playoff year.
Maybe even more impressive, De La Cruz has been a fielding beacon at shortstop for the Reds since a rough second week of the season defensively.
Until a high throw in the bottom of the ninth Monday trying to prevent an infield hit and end the game, he hadn't committed an error since April 9, occasionally showing spectacular range and more than occasionally flashing 90-plus mph arm strength.
“There’s still going to be growing pains,” Bell said. “It’s still all part of the normal process. That’s why we look so close at how Elly is handling it, the work he’s doing, his process to keep getting better. We’re thrilled with all of that.”
Every day, in fact.
Until further notice.
Until November if you ask De La Cruz – 100-steal pace, rigorous position and all.
“I want to play every day, the whole season,” he said.
With 22-year-old legs, maybe he can.
Not that management is going to actually let that happen — whatever might be on the radar at this point in the season or not.
“The game and the conversations we have with Elly every day will tell us the right time,” Bell said. “As long as he’s healthy and as long as he’s playing with a lot of energy – yes, we want to be proactive and make sure he keeps going like that.”
But the Reds have scheduled off days Thursday and Monday, and again at the end of their next road trip – an especially long, three-city trip to the west coast that ends May 19.
Maybe then?
Maybe not?
“I know he wants to play every single day,” Bell said. “That mindset is something I want to support, and I don’t want to take that away from him. But I’ll definitely be aware of looking for days if he needs it.”
Especially considering that the way he looks right now, De La Cruz might not get an All-Star break.
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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Everyday Elly De La Cruz sets tone as April MVP for Cincinnati Reds
