Elly De La Cruz stands alone.
In the early stages of an MLB career that has already featured plenty of varieties of history, the Cincinnati Reds superstar has now made some baseball history that has simply never been done before.
He achieved it by homering on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, as you can see the end of his trot pictured atop this article.
It was Elly’s 25th home run of the season, and he already has 25 steals. Given that De La Cruz has yet to turn 25, he’s definitely in historic company — particularly when you consider what he has already done before.
Elly De La Cruz Makes MLB History
De La Cruz is the first shortstop in MLB history with multiple seasons of at least 25 home runs, 25 stolen bases and 5-plus Wins Above Replacement all before turning 25.
Just Baseball provided this awesome tidbit with this post on X:
The first shortstop in MLB history with multiple 25 HR / 25 SB, 5+ bWAR seasons before turning 25:
Elly De La Cruz ⚡️
One of the most electric young players we’ve EVER seen! pic.twitter.com/cog3s97lFa
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) September 10, 2026
There is something particularly interesting about De La Cruz as an example of greatness.
He’s one of those guys who already had irked some fans by having some struggles during the 2025 season. Some were ready to write him off as a guy who would never reach his potential.
But in the modern major leagues, players are arriving younger on a more consistent basis, and so it means that these phenoms in MLB haven’t necessarily had the season that rookies and inexperienced players from past eras did.
There can be growing pains and struggles, even whole months and seasons of rough patches, but that doesn’t mean the talent isn’t there.
With De La Cruz, of course, the talent was never in question even a little bit. He’s one of the most physically gifted players on the planet.
With this record, De La Cruz has made it clear just how special he is.
What To Make of the Reds
The problem now is simply that the Reds had a miserable season. Even with De La Cruz being his best self in a lot of ways, Cincinnati struggled as a whole.
It raises all sorts of questions for the offseason, because the Reds should be building a more competitive roster around a cornerstone like De La Cruz.
Elly is still young and still getting better — a scary thought for other teams — but he also might not want to stay in Cincinnati forever if they don’t start winning more baseball games.
This offseason could be a mess with a potential lockout, but if there’s a chance for the Reds to improve their team, they’re going to have to make that happen, because Elly needs some help to turn this ship around.
Reds’ Elly De La Cruz Makes Never-Done-Before Baseball History