“The Jet Stole Home!”

How Elly De La Cruz Got The Cincinnati Reds Out Of The Biggest PR Pickle Of All Time

For the last 30 years, The Cincinnati Reds have been in the middle of the pack at their best, and the scum underneath the bottom of the barrel at their worst. I don’t intend to tell you how Elly De La Cruz has turned around this Cincinnati Reds team between the foul poles. Any YouTube highlight reel or look at the NLC standings will give you that. Today, I want to tell you how one man got the Reds out of the single biggest PR disaster in the history of sports.

One of the great heartbreaking moments in sports movie history is when Scotty Smalls swipes his Stepfather’s prized Babe Ruth autographed baseball and brings it out to the sandlot for game use. Naturally, he hits his first homer with the signed ball, and as it soars over the outfield wall toward “The Beast”, your heart sinks. You realize his moment of great triumph will be shortly followed by the single worst moment of his life when he discovers the ball was not, in fact, signed by “The Great Bambi”.

The problem began with a lack of baseball ability and ended with a lack of baseball knowledge. Tragic stuff. That is, until Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez decides to take the situation into his own hands - but we’ll get to that later.

Cut to April 3rd, 2021. Nicholas Castellanos belted a homer in the opening-day series against the rival Cardinals. An act the miserable Redbirds clearly took exception to because the next time he came to the plate, Jake Woodford plunked him in the upper part of his ribs. An obvious no-no in the baseball world. Several batters later, Castellanos led off of third base as a wild pitch got past Molina and he broke for home, beating Woodford's glove to the plate and proceeding to flex in the face of his enemy.

If you’re unfamiliar with the moment, here is an expert breakdown by the legend himself, Jomboy: Benches Clear after Castellanos Flexes over Pitcher, a breakdown

As a Reds fan, the opportunities to celebrate true passion and love for the game have been few and far between, so this moment changed EVERYTHING. It said to our toughest rival and the rest of the league we will no longer tolerate being the red-legged stepchild of the league. I loved it. Even though the team did not see the postseason success you would want, you still had pride in the fact the team was comprised of ballplayers who gave a rip.

And then…..

The Reds ownership promptly traded nearly all of the contributing members of the club, including the head of the snake Castellanos claiming it was time to “realign the payroll”. It was later revealed by Nick himself that he would have given strong consideration to returning to Cincinnati but was never even contacted by ownership. I was in New Orleans on a work trip at the time. I canceled my dinner plans so I could sit in my hotel room, sulk, and grieve the loss. Sad sure, but nothing could have prepared us for what came next.

Phil Castellini, the silver-spooned son of the Reds owner Bob Castellini, chose Opening Day of 2022, a hollowed holiday in The Queen City, to make a statement via 700 WLW. In response to the backlash of trading away the bulk of the team, Phil spoke out to the Reds faithful with a line I will never forget “Where you gonna go?”. The goal was to put the fans in their place by threatening to move the team to a different city if we didn’t shape up and patronize the team regardless of the on-field product. The signed “Babe Ruth” ball had been hammered over the fence with those remarks.

The year saw fans attend games with bags over their heads, the lowest attendances in recorded history, and all culminated with a 100th loss in their final outing. Billboards were purchased using the hashtag #SellTheTeamBob. It was a miserable time with no hope in sight as the Reds media team did all they could to shift the narrative away from the negative press at the face of their organization, similar to the hair-brained attempts by The Sandlot boys to recover the Babe Ruth ball from The Beast’s den.

Then came the unthinkable. Just a calendar year later, with a below %2 chance to even reach the playoffs, came Elly De La Cruz. Our Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez. His arrival coincided with the longest win steak since 1957 (12 games), the first cycle since 1989 (IN 6 INNINGS!), and the biggest adrenaline shot a sports fanbase has ever received. The man had “pickled The Beast”. As jaded as the large portion of Reds fans found themselves, it was impossible not to get chills at the sight of Elly and the rest of the young roster taking first place in the National League Central.

The most seismic splash came the night of July 8th. The Reds in the heat of a competitive series with their biggest competition atop the NLC standings in Milwaukee. Elly poked an RBI gap single and, in a way that is becoming shockingly normal, stole second. The team was electrified and quickly became awestruck at what took place next.

De La Cruz took a daring lead off of second base, so daring that he was able to swipe third base as well without even a throwdown. More electricity. Amidst the base-thieving chaos, The Brewers’ pitcher Peguero took a beat to compose himself. During which time, Elly decided to break for the plate. Before anyone knew what was happening, he was gliding across the plate in Pete Rose fashion, leaving teammates and Reds fans everywhere looking like they had seen a ghost. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Click here to see John Sadak to his best “Smalls” impression.

Since that night two weeks ago, The Reds have had their ups and downs, even dropping out of first place, though it is a close fight. Even still, this team is primed to be good for years to come. There is undoubtedly still a bitter component to the sweetness the Cincinnati faithful have experienced this year, but I can say with certainty Elly De La Cruz got The Cincinnati Reds out of the biggest PR pickle of all time.