Perspective: Though change has slowly been creeping into the national pastime, a catalyst such as 21-year-old rookie Elly De La Cruz still can shake us up.
That night Martinez, ever the old-school preservationist, derided the rookie’s “antics.” By Thursday, however, he gave De La Cruz props, consenting the game needs players such as him.“Yeah, look, and I said this last night: I love watching him play. He’s an exciting player. He’s very talented,” Martinez said. “He plays with a lot of excitement. You can tell he has fun. . . . I’ve seen the way he does some things that are really, really good.
And when was the last time any of us have heard a 10-year veteran such as Reds catcher Curt Casali say out loud:“He’s must-watch TV,” Casali said. “I’ve never seen somebody who can do the things that he can do. I think he’s just scratching the surface of his true ability. Coming in, people might call him ‘raw.’ And he is. He’s 21 years old. He’s brand new to big league baseball, and he’s coming and he’s doing things that nobody else has ever done.
Which is why people keep clicking to watch him. Merlos, the interpreter as well as the Reds’ social media manager on the road, told me the team’s tweet with the most engagement this seasonwelcoming De La Cruz to the majors. The reel featuring De La Cruz sliding into first base to beat a tag for an infield hit is the only video on the team’s Instagram to surpass 1 million views this season.
channel, attempts to grow the cool factor of baseball, he knows De La Cruz content gets more hits than most other posts.“With Elly and a bunch of other players — people call it ‘showboating,’ people call it ‘unprofessional.’ But what we do, we’re trying to match that energy and show it off as well,” Holland said. “Yeah, there’s been that stigma, but the world in general is shifting away from that stigma.
De La Cruz has the present-tense game to liberate baseball from the confines of its past. The new-age skills and showmanship, but in a package that must feel palatable for even the purists. Some may brand his behavior “antics,” but a changing society — one the game needs to embrace — might view it, rightfully, as entertainment. And those casual fans are more likely to keep returning to this kind of show. De La Cruz has arrived, and so has change. Baseball better be ready.
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