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In a sport steeped in tradition and governed by unwritten rules, the Cincinnati Reds rookie, Elly De La Cruz represents a refreshing shift towards a new era in Major League Baseball, changing the way the game is played and experienced. In just a short timeframe, the 21-year-old, along with a few others, is proving to be the embodiment of a new game that isn't afraid to be brash and relish on big moments. It's a movement that Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez appears abhorrent to.
Dave Martinez, Elly De La Cruz – the past versus the present
In a game against the Reds on Wednesday, Martinez asked umpires in the second inning to check a knob on the bottom of De La Cruz's bat. Whether it was a ploy by Martinez to simply try to throw off the young superstars' at-bat is unknown. The stoppage did cause De La Cruz to strikeout, however. Although De La Cruz well made up for it in the fifth-inning by hitting a 455-foot bomb to right center, meanwhile letting Martinez know by pointing to the now infamous bat knob.
The bat knob casing was later revealed by Reds manager David Bell as a legal device that's used to measure metrics on swings.
This wasn't nearly as good as George Brett's pine tar incident from 1983. However, De La Cruz pointing to a device at the end of his bat that helps further measure analytical data, is fitting for baseball in 2023.
Elly De La Cruz reminds us to “Let the kids play”
Within a mere month of entering the big leagues, De La Cruz has sent shockwaves throughout the baseball world. He's a clear ambassador of a new movement within the league. One that doesn't adhere to ghosts of the past like Martinez seems to cling to. Baseball has made great strides over the last several seasons that goes back to as early as 2019, where they insisted, “Let the kids play”.
At the time, the league was just getting to really know the likes of Ronald Acuna Jr., Tim Anderson, Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and others. They were among a handful of players that were reminding viewers that the game of baseball could be fun, even after such long time of becoming increasingly dull.
In a sport that has historically adhered to unwritten rules and restrained from displays of emotion, De La Cruz has went in the opposite direction. By embracing his exuberance and love for the game, he's rejecting the constraints of outdated traditions and is therefore helping the sport move forward instead backwards. From bat flipping to raising his four fingers after blasting one of his mammoth home runs, reminding everyone of his number, De La Cruz embodies the joyful essence of the game that's felt suppressed for a century. It's an ideology that's still not quite accepted yet, as evidenced by Martinez.
Martinez is the clear opposition to this new way of living, as he seems to yearn for the old school approach to the game. He quickly reminded everyone of that after calling out De La Cruz for his “antics” and insisting that the rookie hasn't earned that right yet.
Whether you agree with De La Cruz's style of play, it's hard to argue that his unabashed expression of joy on the field exemplify the direction that baseball should be heading. If the MLB is truly seeking to appeal to a wider audience and shed its outdated image, players like De La Cruz are the answer, while Martinez is another hinderance.
