Elly De La Cruz Blasts 457-Foot Home Run Clean Out of Great American Ball Park

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz delivered the standout moment of Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, even in a losing effort. With the Reds down 4-1 in the ninth inning at Great American Ball Park, the 24-year-old connected on a 98.2 mph four-seam fastball from Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips and sent it an estimated 457 feet — far enough that the ball struck the concourse behind the power stacks and bounced completely out of the stadium.

Statcast measured the blast at 457 feet with an exit velocity of 114.1 mph and a launch angle of 32 degrees, numbers that would make it a home run in all 30 Major League ballparks, according to data circulated widely on social media. One fan-run tracking account, using an independent projection model, estimated the true distance at 604 feet. It was De La Cruz’s 27th home run of the season and accounted for Cincinnati’s only run in the 4-1 defeat, a loss that clinched a playoff berth for Los Angeles.

The Reds’ own social media team leaned into the spectacle, posting that De La Cruz had hit a baseball out of the ballpark “literally.” Manager Terry Francona drew laughs when asked whether anyone had retrieved the souvenir ball, quipping to reporters that he might pick it up himself on the way home.

Moments like these are catnip for baseball’s media ecosystem. Clips of the towering homer spread rapidly across social platforms, with broadcasters, highlight accounts, and fans amplifying the footage within minutes — the kind of organic, viral sports content that drives engagement for rights holders and networks alike. Fox Corporation, whose namesake sports and entertainment properties compete for baseball audiences and advertising dollars around marquee matchups like Dodgers-Reds, saw its shares (NASDAQ: FOXA) close at $68.53, up 3.93% from the prior close of $65.94, valuing the company at roughly $26.8 billion.

De La Cruz, one of baseball’s most physically gifted young players, has built a reputation for jaw-dropping plays — and this moonshot, in a nationally watched game against one of the sport’s marquee franchises, only added to the growing reel. For a Reds team playing out the string of a difficult season, the moment gave fans at least one reason to remember a tough Monday night.

What to watch

• Whether De La Cruz adds to his home run total in the Reds’ remaining games this season.
• The Dodgers’ continued playoff run, including any future broadcasts featuring Cincinnati on the schedule.
• Upcoming MLB broadcast-rights developments relevant to networks including Fox Corporation, which reports quarterly earnings next.

Source: original release