SI

Elly De La Cruz Seems to Be a Big Fan of Torpedo Bats After Two-Homer Game for Reds

Tim Capurso

De La Cruz hits a home run.
De La Cruz hits a home run. / Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
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Cincinnati Reds star shortstop Elly De La Cruz, like every baseball player and fan, has heard all about the torpedo bat. And he wanted to see for himself what all the fuss was about. So, De La Cruz, in the lead-up to the Reds' game against the Texas Rangers on Monday night, took some practice hacks with the torpedo bat.

Then he decided to try out the innovative lumber, which has been all the rage in baseball since several New York Yankees used the bats in a power surge over the weekend, in a game. De La Cruz belted two home runs, including a 436-foot tape-measure shot, and drove in seven runs in the Reds' 14-3 win over the Rangers.

And the torpedo bat?

"I just wanted to know if it feels good—and it definitely does," De La Cruz told reporters after the game, adding that the bat felt "really good."

De La Cruz's manager Terry Francona, like another skipper in the National League Central, isn't sold on the bat's impact on hitting, though.

"I think it's more the player than the bat," Francona said after the game. "I meant that before the game and I still do. What I told him, the most impressive thing was the line drive to left field. You better make some pretty good pitches if he is on balance like that."

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To reiterate Francona's point, De La Cruz is an electric player who clubbed 25 homers and swiped 67 bases last year in what figures to be the first of many All-Star seasons in his career. He doesn't need a torpedo bat to put up numbers.

So, will he use the bat again?

When asked that very question, De La Cruz simply burst into laughter.

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

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