Reds Beat: Elly De La Cruz Has ‘Never Seen A Guy Play’ Like Shohei Ohtani

CINCINNATI — Count budding superstar Elly De La Cruz among those already a very big fan of Dodgers megastar Shohei Ohtani.

Speaking with reporters before Friday’s series opener, De La Cruz talked at length about what he feels he’s accomplished in his first year and how he’s keeping his spirits up during Cincinnati’s 6-20 stretch.

Then the topic turned to one of the stars on the other side of the field. The 22-year-old Cincinnati shortstop was asked what impresses him the most about the Dodgers’ slugger.

“I mean, that guy swings hard,” De La Cruz said through Reds interpreter Jorge Merlos. “I’ve never seen a guy swing that hard in my entire life. Even when he’s running the bases, he’s running so hard, on ground ball, or whatever. I’ve never seen a guy play like that.”

While he says he’s never had a conversation with Ohtani, De La Cruz famously poked Ohtani in the left arm to make sure he was human in August of 2023, when Ohtani was with the Angels and the Reds were playing the Angels in a three-game series.

De La Cruz did have some fun at Ohtani’s expense, kidding with reporters that he could beat Ohtani in a foot race.

“I’m going to say I’m going to win, but he’s fast,” De La Cruz said. “But I’m the fastest man in the world.”

De La Cruz did get to show off his powerful arm in the fourth when he fired an 83.4 mph bullet to first baseman Jeimer Candelario to nab Ohtani by a half-step to end the inning.

Despite their brief encounter last season, De La Cruz said he hasn’t had any extended conversations with Ohtani about the way he approaches the game.

“No, I haven’t had any conversations with him but I would love to, for sure,” De La Cruz told me. “I definitely want to learn Japanese, though.”