Cincinnati Reds sensation Elly De La Cruz gave Patrick Mahomes a signed bat — and sent a message.
The Cincinnati Reds have won nine of their last ten games behind the red-hot bat (and legs) of rookie infielder Elly De La Cruz. Already on the fast track to stardom, De La Cruz is garnering attention from sports fans the world over.
One such fan is two-time Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Mahomes recently asked De La Cruz for a signed bat and ball during Cincinnati's trip to Kansas City. The young star obliged, but he did more than sign the bat. He left the world's greatest QB a rather confident message.
Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz lets Patrick Mahomes (and everybody else) know how confident he is
"Fastest Man in the World" — those are the words Elly De La Cruz left Patrick Mahomes. It's quite the statement coming from a baseball player, but the 21-year-old is certainly walking the walk (or, more aptly, running the run). Here's De La Cruz beating out a routine groundout to third base, which ultimately was not a groundout because of his Ferrari-esque acceleration.
This man was several steps past first base once the ball arrived. And the Rockies' third baseman absolutely roped that ball to first; it's not like he beat out a soft little lob.
De La Cruz has played in 12 games for Cincinnati, racking up six stolen bases already. He's getting it done across the board — and especially at the plate, where he's slashing .271/.352/.417 with 13 hits, one (massive) home run, five RBIs, and 11 runs in 48 at-bats.
Cincinnati is currently first place in the NL Central and De La Cruz is sprinting ahead of the pack for NL Rookie of the Year. He caught everyone's attention with a 458-foot home run in his second career game, but that was only the beginning. De La Cruz is seemingly violating the laws of physics and expanding the possibilities of human achievement in every game.
Heck, I might even believe him when he calls himself the fastest man in the world. Who am I but a humble witness? The Reds are certainly thrilled with the early returns on their top prospect, but has De La Cruz asked Mahomes if the Chiefs need a new running back?
