Elly De La Cruz Had MLB Fans in Awe With Epic Grand Slam vs. Pirates

Elly De La Cruz impressed on his bobblehead night.

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) makes a gesture to fans after hitting a homer in the third inning of a MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates. / Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Elly De La Cruz did not disappoint on his own bobblehead night.

In the third inning on Saturday, the Cincinnati Reds shortstop hit a grand slam on Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Andrew Heaney, giving the Reds a 4-0 lead. The grand slam marked De La Cruz's third home run of the season, and the first since he crushed two homers in the Reds' win over the Texas Rangers on March 31. It also was the second grand slam of De La Cruz's career.

ELLY DE LA CRUZ GRAND SLAM ON HIS BOBBLEHEAD NIGHT?

*bobbles head yes* pic.twitter.com/5Q0zEGBQF5

— MLB (@MLB) April 12, 2025

The switch-hitter left fans in awe as he belted the grand slam from the right side of the plate, notable since De La Cruz is typically a better hitter from his left side.

It's cool that on the night of his switch hitting bobble head, Elly De La Cruz homers from the right side.

He easily could have decided in the minors to just hit from his stronger left side, but switch hitting meant a lot to him. He worked at it and worked at it, and the…

— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) April 12, 2025

I cannot believe Elly De La Cruz plays baseball for my favorite team

— De La 🐐 (@EllyDeLaGoat) April 9, 2025

hey this guy elly de la cruz is pretty good pic.twitter.com/OdMz06bWX6

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 12, 2025

Turn on Pirates game and Elly De La Cruz is up….. pic.twitter.com/XWCLmcswDo

— Paul Zeise (@PaulZeise) April 12, 2025

The word “aura” is tossed around a LOT. But Elly De La Cruz has it. No doubt about it. 😮‍💨 https://t.co/pLuMQk9IWs

— Gina Muscato (@GinaMuscato) April 12, 2025

Sellout crowd, bobblehead night, and THIS HAPPENS

Elly.
De.
La.
Cruz.

Absolute chills pic.twitter.com/hwNNXxlG5p

— Aadhi De La Cruz (@321AadhiR) April 12, 2025

Last season on De La Cruz's bobblehead night, Great American Ball Park set a weekday attendance record with 42,427 fans coming on a Wednesday night, the largest crowd the stadium had seen on a weekday that wasn't Opening Day. With another slew of fans at Great American Ball Park on Saturday for this year's bobblehead night, De La Cruz delivered with the massive grand slam.

A site that needs to be seen to be believed - the crowd entering GABP as gates open on Elly De La Cruz bobble head night pic.twitter.com/BrUY0yj2xN

— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) April 12, 2025

Coming off a breakout season in 2024 that saw De La Cruz make his first MLB All-Star Game, the 23-year-old is currently slashing .236/.288/.400 with two home runs and 12 RBIs. Those numbers should rise after Saturday's grand slam.

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