Cincinnati Reds star Elly De La Cruz caused a brief delay in his team’s game against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.
De La Cruz caught the umpires’ attention in the second inning at Nationals Park as he strode toward the plate with a small device that looked like a button cover on the bottom of his bat.
Although he was small and didn’t stand out much, he seemed to leave the referees very confused. They briefly called the league office before asking De La Cruz to remove the article.
After being inspected, De La Cruz was allowed to put the device back on his bat for his second plate appearance the next inning. According to Bally Sports Cincinnati, the button was actually a cover for a Blast Motion sensor that can read and track metrics on every swing.
This is nothing new for De La Cruz. As the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Charlie Goldsmith pointed out, he’s been using the button cover since he was called up to the Reds last month.
The Blast Motion sensor collects data on a number of things including swing metrics, impact metrics, ball flight, and swing quality. Blast Motion was named MLB’s official bat sensor technology in 2016, although the sensor itself is not approved for in-game use at the majors. Minor leagues allow players to use sensors in live games.
De La Cruz, however, was hitting with just his empty catcher cover on his bat, which is allowed.
The brief interaction with the referees didn’t seem to deter De La Cruz at all. He hit a solo home run in the fifth inning that went 455 feet into the upper deck in right field.
It was his fourth home run this season and his 14th RBI. This gave the Reds a 5-1 lead.
De La Cruz has shined since being recalled from the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate in Louisville last month. The 21-year-old hit for the cycle in his 15th MLB game on June 23, which was the first cycle by a Reds player since 1989 and made him the third fastest to do so in history. of the league.
De La Cruz entered Wednesday’s game with a .308 batting average. He had four hits in the team’s 8-4 win over the Nationals on Tuesday, making him the first player 21 or younger with two four-hit games in his first 25 games in the league. the league since 2001, by ESPN.