Cincinnati Reds Star Elly De La Cruz Shuts Up Umps After Having Bat Checked, Drills 455ft Homer

Cincinnati Reds phenom Elly De La Cruz cannot be stopped.

Any attempt will be seen as 'poking the bear,' which umpires and Washington Nationals did on Wednesday before he shut them up.

In the third inning of the Reds and Nats game, Washington manager Dave Martinez and the umps interrupted De La Cruz's at-bat after noticing a small cover on the knob of his baseball bat.

The cover was designed for a swing tracker, but the umps asked De La Cruz to remove the piece despite contacting MLB to confirm permission for the bat cover.

De La Cruz continued with his at-bat, eventually striking out. He returned for an at-bat in the fifth inning and obliterated the ball deep to right, traveling 455 feet into the upper deck.

Sweet revenge.

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After smashing the home run, his fourth of the year, De La Cruz pointed to the bare knob on his bat, asking the umps and Nats if they wanted to recheck the bat.

The Nats skipper said in the postgame that while liking De La Cruz as a player, he's not a fan of the "antics."

"I love the way he plays the game. I didn't like his antics after he hit the home run, we can do without that," Davey Martinez said. "He's only got two weeks in the big leagues. But he's gonna be a good player."

Elly has only been with the club for a month since being called up from the Triple-A Louisville Bats.

Still housing vets like Joey Votto to lead the way, the Reds have led a balanced attack to stay atop the NL Central at 48-39, with De La Cruz as Cincinnati's spark.