Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz may have set a new MLB record on Tuesday night on a play that produced a negative result for his team.
De La Cruz fielded a ground ball off the bat of Xander Bogaerts during the bottom of the ninth inning of Cincinnati’s 5-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Monday night. Rather than making a quick transfer and getting the ball to first, De La Cruz took his time and unleashed as hard of a throw as he possibly could in an attempt to beat Bogaerts by a half-step.
The throw was high and so hard that first baseman Jeimer Candelario was unable to react in time. The ball went off of Candelario’s glove and out of play. According to Statcast, the throw was clocked at 106.9 mph.
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If that speed reading was accurate, De La Cruz’s throw was the fastest ever recorded in MLB history. The previous record for arm strength in the Statcast era was Colorado Rockies center fielder Nolan Jones’ 105.7-mph throw home in a game last September. De La Cruz’s throw would also be faster than the fastest pitch ever recorded, which was a 105.8-mph fastball from Aroldis Chapman in 2010.
It is possible that the reading on De La Cruz’s throw was inaccurate, but the Reds star is known for having one of the strongest arms in baseball. He also took a couple of hops and appeared to put everything he possibly could into that throw. If a pitcher can do this without a crow hop, it is not impossible to believe that Statcast had it right with De La Cruz.
