Cincinnati Reds star Elly De La Cruz reached a milestone on Friday night that no MLB player has reached in nearly 30 years.
De La Cruz singled in the top of the first inning, then stole second base. When he came up in the fourth inning, De La Cruz again singled, advanced to second on the play via an error, then stole third base. The two steals were De La Cruz’s 24th and 25th stolen bases on the season in what was Cincinnati’s 38th game of the year.
Sarah Langs of MLB noted that De La Cruz is the first player to steal 25 bases in his team’s first 38 games since Kenny Lofton in 1996. It’s an achievement that’s only been reached 13 times in MLB history. In addition to Lofton and De La Cruz, 25 bases in 38 games has also been achieved by Clyde Milan (1913), Lou Brock (1974), Tim Raines (1981), Rickey Henderson (1982, 1986, 1988), Alan Wiggins (1984), Vince Coleman (1985, 1987, 1991) and Gerald Young (1988).
Elly De La Cruz is up to 25 SB
only others with 25+ SB in their team’s 1st 38 games, since 1901:
1996 Kenny Lofton
1991 Vince Coleman
1988 Rickey Henderson
1988 Gerald Young
1987 Coleman
1986 Henderson
1985 Coleman
1984 Alan Wiggins
1982 Henderson
1981 Tim Raines
1974 Lou Brock… https://t.co/f2MulsRdVr— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 11, 2024
No MLB player has reached 80 stolen bases since 1988, when Henderson and Coleman both got there with 93 and 81, respectively. Coleman stole 109 bags in 1987, the last player to top 100.
De La Cruz has also only been caught stealing four times this season. So, it’s likely that he’ll continue to have a green light as the season progresses. If that happens and he stays healthy, De La Cruz has a chance to have more stolen bases than any MLB player has had in a single season in quite some time.
[Sarah Langs on Twitter/X]
