Legend of Cincinnati Reds SS Elly De La Cruz moves at 106.9-mph – or so it seemed

Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer
Elly De La Cruz throws to first on a play last week against the Phillies.
Elly De La Cruz throws to first on a play last week against the Phillies.

SAN DIEGO – Nick Lodolo’s Cy Young-quality night? Jeimer Candelario’s two big hits to end an 0-for-19 skid? Another home run by Elly De La Cruz?

Nobody in the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse was talking about any of that when writers entered the room after the Reds’ 5-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.

“Scribes, the only thing worth writing about tonight,” catcher Luke Maile said, “is that a human being threw a ball 106.9 mph. Across the diamond.”

Wait, what?!!

“Tweet that one!” left fielder Spencer Steer said. “I’ll tweet it.”

The clubhouse buzzed in every corner with wonderment and awe at — of all things — an errant throw with two outs in the bottom of the ninth Monday night.

Because the number that flashed on the MLB feed Reds staffers saw in that moment was thought to be beyond human limits — and certainly beyond any velocity ever recorded on a throw.

“By a lot,” Maile said.

Former Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman set the major-league velocity record with a 105.1-mph pitch 14 years ago as a rookie in this same San Diego ballpark and has since matched it. Nobody has ever exceeded it.

Until Elly De La Cruz on this night?

Although Elly De La Cruz got much of the attention in the Reds' 5-2 victory Monday night, Nick Lodolo was spectacular. After giving up a leadoff home run to San Diego's Jurickson Profar (pictured), Lodolo walked two in the second inning then retired the final 18 batters he faced. His line: 7 innings, 1 hit, 2 walks and 11 strikeouts. He is now 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA in four starts, all resulting in Reds wins.

A shortstop?!

“Incredible,” closer Alexis Diaz said in Spanish.

Maybe too incredible, even.

Whatever the Reds saw on their feed, MLB could not validate the number because of what it considered bad data; in other words, a system issue tracking the throw.

So De La Cruz doesn’t get the record, at least officially.

But add one more to the 22-year-old’s growing list of legendary moments — official or not.

To his credit, De La Cruz seemed more concerned that the throw did not result in an out when asked about it afterward.

He didn’t even seem sure if it felt like his hardest throw.

Perhaps most impressive about the whole scene that played out in that clubhouse in those several minutes of wall-to-wall awe was that everybody in that room believed it was possible.

That’s the stuff of legends.

All of which played out after just the 127th big-league game of De La Cruz’s career.

“I knew it was hard, but I didn’t know it was that hard,” Candelario said of the ball that rose just beyond his leap. “It was so hard, it just kept rising.”

The hardest anyone’s ever thrown a ball to Candelario while playing first?

“Maybe,” he said. “Or maybe one of his other throws.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Elly De La Cruz makes the impossible seem believable

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