Elly De La Cruz Safely Slid Into Home Over a Teammate’s Bat Without Disturbing It

Stephen Douglas | May 19, 2025

Elly De La Cruz flies safely into home against the Pittsburgh Pirates. / Photo by Justin K. Aller / Getty Images

Elly Da La Cruz walked in the first inning of the Cincinnati Reds game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.

Four pitches later, Austin Hays doubled into the left field corner. Of course, De La Cruz scored from first on the play because he is so darn fast, but the real notable part of the play was the fact that Hays' bat was still laying in the batter's box when De La Cruz dove headfirst towards the plate at full speed.

And he slid right over it and never touched the bat.

Austin Hays drives in Elly De La Cruz from first base on that RBI double! 💨

📺: FS1 pic.twitter.com/r7llVguIbM

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 19, 2025

How does he have that much control of his body when he's diving headfirst at that speed to not disturb that bat in the slightest?

Elly De La Cruz dives on a bat. / @Reds

Just kidding he didn’t touch it. / @Reds

De La Cruz probably just got lucky. The fact that he's so fast he can score from first on a ball that is fielded cleanly and then followed by two pretty good throws also means there's no time for anyone to even consider moving the bat.

Later in the game, De La Cruz drove in a run of his own on what was ruled a double off the wall. Just like Hays earlier in the game, he ended up on third on the play. Being the good teamamte that he is, De La Cruz made sure to toss his bat aside before taking off so that TJ Friedl, who scored on the hit, didn't have to slide over any obstructions.

That's a great piece of hitting, 44 ⚡️@ellylacocoa18 pic.twitter.com/Oc3ocNlabF

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 20, 2025

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