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Reds Star Elly De La Cruz Makes Big Announcement About Cool MLB Honor
Elly De La Cruz is going to be on the cover of MLB The Show 25. The Cincinnati Reds superstar will follow in the footsteps of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Shohei Ohtani.
De La Cruz made the announcement on Instagram in Spanish saying "you already know I'm going to be everybody." Obviously, it was quite an honor for De La Cruz, but his use of an exploding head emoji also implies that even he was surprised by the news.
As big an honor as this is for De La Cruz, it's just as big for the Cincinnati Reds who do not appear to have ever had a player popular enough to be on the cover of a video game.
De La Cruz had a breakout season in 2024, leading the league in stolen bases (and strikeouts) and making his first All-Star team. His power at the plate and speed on the basepaths made him one of the most exciting players to watch on a nightly basis. And on defense you were also never sure if you were going to see something spectacular from the 6'5" shortstop with an absolute cannon of an arm.
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Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.