For nearly a century nobody in the National League has won a Triple Crown in Major League Baseball (MLB). Today, the Dominican outfielder for the Atlanta Braves, Marcell Ozuna, is nearing that milestone. He is first in batting average, second in home runs, and first in runs-batted-in (RBI). His home run rival is the fantastic Shohei Ohtani of the LA Dodgers, himself a truly marvelous player who is establishing records.
However, Ozuna is batting at a pace that could bring him to be the first National League player since Hall of Famer Joe-Ducky-Medwick of the St. Louis Cardinals won a triple crown in 1937. Last week he was hitting .309 and crushed a home run off the pitching of Zack Wheeler to lead the Braves to a victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Oh yes, he also went 3-3 against the Angels a couple of days before.
And, of course, the very exciting Elly de la Cruz also made history last week as he joined the very exclusive 20/60 Club in Major League Baseball. Only four other players have achieved this feat of 20 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a season and at least two of these players, Rickey Henderson and Joe Morgan are in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
But wait! There is more. De la Cruz is the youngest player ever to do this, and he has not yet played a full baseball season. He joined the Cincinnati Reds in the middle of last season, so this is his first full season of play. To enter the record books, Elly de la Cruz simply stole third base in a very tight game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Moments later he scored the tying run on an infield ground ball to the shortstop. Neither of these moves are considered to be easy at that level of play. Elly will be 23 years old in January 2025.
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El Dia
El Dia
El Caribe
26 August 2024