Cincinnati Reds’ SS Elly De La Cruz has a heart of a champion. This man loves the game of baseball, and will do anything to see his team succeed. It doesn’t matter if it’s by using his brilliant speed to turn a single into a triple, or by flashing the leather to make a ‘web-gem’ style play; this man is on another level when it comes to what he can do on the field.

He is a warrior, he is an elite human being, and he showed us his heart yesterday when he “puked and rallied” in the Reds’ match-up against the St. Louis Cardinals.

pic.twitter.com/oMeSl74lNE

— cboxmedia (@cboxmedia2024) June 21, 2025

It was a scary moment in the fourth inning for one of the league’s brightest young stars, as he keeled over while playing shortstop at Busch Stadium, and began to puke in shallow left field. It was such a jarring moment for Manager Terry Francona and co., to the point where play needed to be stopped so that the trainers could run out and tend to the star.

The general consensus at the time surrounding why this happened to Elly was because of the heat, and the copious amounts of water that he consumed prior to taking the field in the fourth, as mentioned by Terry Francona when asked about the moment;

“I actually watched him,” said Cincinnati Manager Terry Francona. “He drank a bunch of water. I mean a bunch! And then he went right out and got rid of it.”

Thankfully, like any man with a heart of a lion, the 23-year old from the Dominican Republic was able to stay in the game. He was able to go on his own personal “rally” of sorts, and SMACK a nuke into the (basically) empty seats in left-center field.

Elly De La Cruz puts the @Reds ahead in the 7th inning with a LONG home run! pic.twitter.com/GSlY1mZI02

— MLB (@MLB) June 21, 2025

Unfortunately, the rest of the team couldn’t hold onto the lead that he helped build for them. After Elly’s BOMB, the pitching staff would go on to give up a total of four runs in the final three and two-thirds innings against the lack-luster St. Louis Cardinals, leading to a disappointing 6-5 loss in extras for Cincinnati.

It was a tough ending to a very tumultuous outing for the 2024 All-Star. But don’t use this loss as a knock on #44. He did everything he could (and then some) to help his team win that game. The man is a killer! He is someone who (sadly) isn’t getting the recognition that he deserves outside of the state of Ohio.

But you know what? It’s a tale as old as time. EVERY CHAMPION knows the significance of the “puke and rally.” They know that when the going gets tough, and you are at your lowest, that you need to be able to find your footing and keep pressing on if you want to be the best. And THAT’S what Elly did in Missouri on Saturday.

Hopefully he doesn’t do the same thing today though. It’s supposed to be another SCORCHER! But in the end, as always…..what do I know? I’m just a guy from the Midwest, with a beer and a laptop, trying to make sense of this world.