Elly De La Cruz Hit A HR From Each Side Of The Plate In The Same Game Because Of Course He Did

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz is one of the best athletes in baseball, and he showed why today.

In the first inning of a preseason matchup against the Cleveland Guardians, De La Cruz stepped up to the plate and eventually found himself in a 2-2 count. On the next pitch, he roped a ball to deep right-center field to bring in the game’s first run. Light work kinda stuff for the superstar.

The next time he came up to bat was in the fourth inning, but something was slightly different. Instead of batting left-handed, he dug in on the opposite side of the plate. It was a different stance, but it ended in the same result: a solo shot to pretty much the same spot as his first dinger.

That ended up being his only two at bats for the day, a 6-3 win for Cincinnati. Two solo shots, one from each side of the plate. Easy day at the office.

Many players have done exactly what De La Cruz did, and some have done it at least 10 times in their career. While what the Reds star did is not unique, I’m still blown away by this.

Back when I played youth baseball (which feels like ages ago at this point), I was a switch hitter - but not very good at it. While I could rake with my right side, I was less consistent on the left. Being able to hit home runs off major league pitching on either side of home plate is nothing short of insane. 

Doing it in the same game makes it even cooler.