Elly De La Cruz
In the top of the third inning on Friday night, when the Cincinnati Reds were behind the Baltimore Orioles 1-0, De La Cruz stepped up to bat with two outs and teammates on base. He faced Orioles’ pitcher Cade Povich’s initial offering—a slow 79 MPH curveball—and hit it hard.
De La Cruz struck the ball towards center field, where it smacked the top of the fence and soared abnormally high into the sky. He paused at second base, believing it had not cleared the boundaries. However, his fellow players were adamant that it ought to be ruled as a home run. Ultimately, De La Cruz also began twirling his fingers, signaling for review, and the umpires proceeded with checking the instant playback.
Following an extensive review, the team determined that the ball struck the correct area of the wall, qualifying it as a home run. Consequently, De La Cruz was permitted to complete his circuit around the bases. This marked De La Cruz’s fourth home run of the season.
All he needed to do was waggle his digit.
More MLB Coverage from Sports Illustrated
This piece was initially released on
www.si.com
as
Elly De La Cruz Transformed a Double Into a Home Run With Just a Waving Motion
.
