For young MLB fans, No. 44 only has one meaning: 'I wanna be like Elly'

USA Today

24-07-2025

Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz is a two-time All-Star at age 23, capturing the imagination of fans across MLB.
WASHINGTON — It is in some ways the soundtrack to the Cincinnati Reds' season: A high-pitched chorus of youngsters, Sharpies in hand, shouting for their favorite player.
Yet the love that America's youngest baseball fans have for Elly De La Cruz extends far beyond the Queen City.
As the National League's greatest players exited the field following batting practice before last week's All-Star Game in Atlanta, Shohei Ohtani, the game's global superstar, was flanked by his translator and a security officer, per usual. Yet the 6-foot-3 Ohtani went virtually unnoticed as he slipped into the dugout, dwarfed – in both stature and, for the moment, attention – by the 6-5, dreadlocked figure behind him.
'Elly. Elly! Elly, PLEASE!' screamed the throng of youngsters, almost all of them clad in Braves caps yet some of them sporting the No. 44 jersey worn by one of the game's most dynamic talents.
And while De La Cruz's ability to play a capable shortstop, slug homers and steal bases with equal aplomb – he's on pace for a 29-homer, 42-steal season – appeals to all audiences, his superhero vibes have a particular resonance with the young.
Earlier this month, Major League Baseball released its top-selling jerseys for the first half. De La Cruz ranked 15th on a list in which the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees comprised the top six positions and seven of the top 16.
A slightly deeper dive reveals even greater resonance with the kids: De La Cruz ranks 10th among sales of youth-sized jerseys, according to data provided by MLB.
It is a brewing phenomenon evident across the major leagues and all the way to outposts like Corpus Christi, Texas.
'He understands that he is a role model and he's still young in this game,' says Reds catcher Jose Trevino, the Texas native who played three seasons in New York with Aaron Judge, No. 2 on the jersey list behind Ohtani. 'So, when he finds this relationship between him being a superstar and those kids, he goes out of his way to make sure those kids feel that kind of presence.
'It's superstar-esque. Everything about him is great. But I think him being able to relate to those young fans is cool. You see kids from my hometown that people are making jerseys for and they're like, 'Oh, why are you No. 44?' And they start listing all these numbers.
'And it's, 'No, it's for Elly De La Cruz. Elly De La Cruz.' You saw it with No. 99. Now you're seeing it with No. 44.'
Indeed, De La Cruz, 23, chose a number greatly associated with baseball badassery, from Hank Aaron to Reggie Jackson to a Reds legend who preceded him, Eric Davis. It looks even larger than life draped across his long torso, especially when he extends his frame to make a play at shortstop or gobble up the basepaths with his long stride and 91st percentile sprint speed.
That supersized appearance somehow makes him more accessible to those who congregate near ropelines and thrust their hands under protective netting, hoping to establish connection with a talent that, once between the lines, becomes almost otherworldly.
'Maybe because I always try to be myself. I don't try to be somebody else. And I always have fun,' De La Cruz tells USA TODAY Sports. 'Whenever I can, I go to them, say hi, take a picture with them.
'Not every time, because sometimes we're working. But whenever I can, I do that.'
An inspiring giant
Greater forces have certainly tried to capitalize on that connection. De La Cruz joined Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes and Baltimore's Gunnar Henderson as cover athletes on MLB The Show's 2025 edition. The league itself produced a Claymation-style short featuring De La Cruz bursting through walls and sending baseballs into the stratosphere.
Yet all that national promotion and blue-chip platforming has its limits if the star in question fails to resonate on a personal level with fans.
'He's so personable,' says Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott, who spent All-Star week palling about Truist Field with De La Cruz. 'I think (kids) see him and see how much fun he's having playing the game and how loose he is. He's still young, so he's still a kid himself. We all have that in us, still.
'The kids want to see him, they want to talk to him, they want to get their picture taken with him because they want to be like him. They may not be 6-6, but he inspires them.
'He's a good kid himself, too. It makes total sense.'
For De La Cruz, emerging as something of a face of the game and buzzworthy figure has been balanced by his growth as a player. It's easy to forget he's in just his second full season, with a very high ceiling to reach while doing the everyday things that can get him there.
Elly De La Cruz: American idol
The growth is evident. While De La Cruz was an All-Star both this year and last, his overall offensive profile is far healthier now.
He's upped his on-base percentage from .339 to .357, and his adjusted OPS from 119 to 127. And after striking out 218 times last season, most in the majors, De La Cruz has trimmed his strikeout percentage from 31.3 to 24.3, while his walk rate has inched north of 10%.
Defensive metrics tell a murkier story, as they often do. De La Cruz was worth 14 outs above average last season, but that's dropped to -2 even as his fielding percentage has bumped up from .954 to .966. The Reds consensus is De La Cruz is making the routine play more routinely this season, even if the metrics are unkind.
'He's being a lot smarter, a lot more in tune with himself, with what he can do,' says Abbott, the ace of a 53-50 Reds club on the doorstep of the NL wild card race. 'He's still going to have some growth, still going to have some maturity. It's going to be scary when all that stuff hits.
'When he's making every play, hitting 500-foot homers, throwing 95 across the diamond – when he's doing all that, it's a very fun game to watch.'
Even if he were playing Gold Glove-caliber shortstop, De La Cruz's frame and speed might suggest an eventual move to the outfield. Regardless of locale, the singlemindedness that compels De La Cruz to post every day – he and the Mets' Pete Alonso have played in an NL-high 103 games this season – will follow him around the diamond.
'I just try to play the game right. Try to do my job every day,' he says. 'I want to represent my country and the team I play for.
'I just want to do it right.'
That singular mindset and commitment to routine sometimes means De La Cruz must bypass the throng of kids to get his work in, a situation he says is 'tough, because a lot of those kids come to see us playing. Sometimes we've got to do something; we don't have time to sign.
'It's sad, but we gotta do it like that sometimes.'
And sometimes, the role is reversed.
When De La Cruz was growing up in the Dominican Republic, he idolized Derek Jeter because, he says, the Yankees legend 'was a great leader, and respected the game.'
After De La Cruz made the NL's 2024 All-Star squad, there was his chance, on the Fox set, to tell Jeter just that on live television. The laconic Jeter expressed his appreciation.
And De La Cruz extended his hand across the table, beaming, and in all earnestness told his idol, 'It is a pleasure to meet you.'
Kid meets idol, a tale older than time. And with every passing year, it is De La Cruz making those memories, and then taking the field and giving his admirers something with which to aspire, unlikely as it may be to repeat his feats.
'He's the modern player: You get your speed, you get your power, you get your arm strength. He's got all the tools in the world,' says Trevino.
'If I'm a kid, I'm like man, I wanna be like Elly – fast like Elly, hit the ball far like Elly.'
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