"Elly Looks like a kid meeting his hero" - MLB fans buzz as Yankees captain Aaron Judge shares frame with Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz
On Wednesday night, Aaron Judge and Elly De La Cruz played on the same field for the first time. Both men have performed well in the first game of a three-game set between the Reds and Yankees. MLB's official Instagram account captured an iconic moment of both men standing at second base.
De La Cruz, 6'5, measures up well to Aaron Judge, the tallest fielder in MLB at 6'7. Fans were amused to see the two superstars next to one another.
During the Reds' 5-4 win over the New York Yankees, De La Cruz logged a triple, a home run, and two runs scored. By doing so, the Dominican took just 85 games to reach 15 home runs and 40 stolen bases. He has joined an elite club with this feat, with only Eric Davis, Rickey Henderson and Ronald Acuna Jr. doing so in fewer contests.
Aaron Judge, for his part, also contributed to his team. The Yankees captain homered 381 feet in the bottom of the seventh off of Cincinnati Reds pitcher Sam Moll. Although it was Judge's MLB-leading 32nd homer of the year, the Yankees still fell 5-4 to the visiting Reds.
Although Judge is ten years older than De La Cruz, both men have become baseball's most famed and esteemed players. Judge set the single-season home run record in 2022 by clobbering 62 bombs. Meanwhile, Elly De La Cruz hit for the cycle. He became the first Reds player to steal second, third and home in the same inning, within one month of his MLB debut last summer.
Elly De La Cruz has time to reach Aaron Judge's level
Although Judge undoubtedly has a more esteemed career to date, at Elly's age, he had yet to play in MLB. Last year, Elly De La Cruz's former teammate Joey Votto compared him to the Yankees' slugger.
"Couple that with, he has the most power maybe in the game. He's easily up there with [Aaron] Judge, Giancarlo [Stanton], Shohei [Ohtani]. He's everything you could ask for in a prospect," Votto said via Yahoo Sports.
As both men have significant time left in their respective careers, it is exciting to think about what might be in store for fans next.