Elly De La Cruz is different.
He might be the only player in baseball who could make the throw that he made on Tuesday night to deny Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez an inside-the-park home run.
The Cincinnati Reds‘ shortstop De La Cruz uncorked a throw that Statcast legitimately measured at 105.3 miles per hour.
That’s absurd.
It’s real.
And it’s magical to watch.
How Elly De La Cruz Threw 105.3 MPH
De La Cruz didn’t have a choice.
Hernandez hit a liner to center that got past a diving centerfielder and rolled all the way to the wall.
There was no one on base, so the only suspense was how far Hernandez would go, and he decided he wasn’t stopping.
The Reds had to chase the ball down and throw it to the cutoff man De La Cruz, who was midway into centerfield when he received it.
At that point, he turned and fired one of the greatest darts a shortstop has ever thrown.
On the money. Out.
STATCAST SAYS THIS THROW FROM ELLY WAS 105.3 MPH… pic.twitter.com/4SS32476ff
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) September 9, 2026
If you’re sitting there wondering how De La Cruz threw in the ballpark of the fastest pitch of all time, but did it from shortstop, it’s because he was able to get momentum and torque from fully wheeling into his throw with a step toward home as he fired.
Elly has made some exceptional throws before, but this one is a whole new level. It may just stand alone for his whole career. It will be tough to top this.
That’s Not All
Maybe the craziest part of this is that De La Cruz had already done something awesome in the top half of this inning.
Facing superstar pitcher Tarik Skubal, De La Cruz hit a home run 444 feet.
So yeah, in the same inning, he hit a 444-foot bomb off an ace and then made this ridiculous throw. There’s definitely no one quite like Elly.
He actually had the two-best exit velocities in the game, putting up both 109.4 miles per hour and 108.9 miles per hour on two different contacts.
He did have some company for throw velocity, sort of. Dodgers reliever Edgardo Hernandez topped out at 103.0 MPH.
Still, De La Cruz can apparently throw even harder than that. It wouldn’t be quite as fast on a mound, because a windup doesn’t include the kind of extra steps a player can get while in the field.
But man, it’d be fun to see Elly toe the rubber one time and try to unleash his best fastball. It’d likely cross the plate with some serious heat on it.
Reds’ Elly De La Cruz Made 105.3 MPH Throw