That Elly De La Cruz, he’s a good boy, that one. Play baseball real good. He run fast, like a rabbit chased by a hound dog. He ain’t gonna be no free agent for a long, long time, not till after 2029, they say. That’s a long way off, like waitin’ for a slow cow to come home for milkin’. So the Reds, that’s his team, they got plenty of time to find other good players, you know? Put ’em all together, like a good stew, make a team that can win everything. Elly De La Cruz free agency ain’t somethin’ we gotta worry about now.
He got struck out, that Elly, more times than I can count on my fingers and toes, 362 times they said. Like swingin’ at a fly with a hole in the swatter. But that’s okay, he’s still learnin’. He’s young, like a spring chicken just outta the shell. He’s gonna get better, just you wait and see. He’ll learn to hit that ball, send it flyin’ over the fence, like a bird takin’ flight.
He can steal bases, though, that Elly. 84 times he’s done it! Faster than a greased piglet at the county fair. And he gets them extra-base hits, too, 80 of ’em. And walks, he got 83 walks, which is good. That means he ain’t just swingin’ at anything. He’s got a good eye, like a hawk watchin’ for a mouse. They say nobody else has done that, not since way back when, 1900 they said. That’s older than dirt! Elly, he’s somethin’ special, that’s for sure. Elly De La Cruz free agency is a long way down the road, and that’s just fine.
- He run fast.
- He steal bases good.
- He get lots of hits.
- He a good boy.
The Yankees, they a rich team. They like to buy them good players, spend all that money, like a drunken sailor on payday. They got a way of doin’ things, a strategy, they call it. They want the big names, them fancy players that cost a lot of dough. But they gotta be careful, gotta balance things, like keepin’ a wobbly table steady. Elly, he’s a big name now. Maybe they want him one day. But not today. Elly De La Cruz free agency ain’t today, so they don’t need to worry.
The Reds, they did somethin’ big, they signed Mookie Betts. Another big name, like a prize-winning bull at the state fair. Now he and Elly gonna play together. That’s gonna be somethin’ to see, like watchin’ two strong horses pullin’ a plow. The Reds, they ain’t messin’ around no more. They buildin’ somethin’, like a farmer buildin’ a barn, piece by piece. They want to win, and they want to win now.
Elly, he the best at stealin’ bases, they say. He the best in the whole darn league, faster than a scalded dog. They got all these new ways of lookin’ at it now, all these numbers and such, like countin’ the beans in a jar. But all you gotta do is watch him, and you can see, he’s good. He and the Reds, they gonna steal a lot of bases, like a raccoon stealin’ eggs from a henhouse. They gonna be hard to beat, like tryin’ to catch a chicken in a thunderstorm. Elly De La Cruz free agency is way off, so the Reds have him for a good long while.
That agent fella, Scott Boras, he’s a slick one. He gonna tell Elly not to sign no papers, not till he’s a free agent, not till he can get the most money, like a hog farmer gettin’ the best price for his hogs. That’s what he does, he gets them players lots of money, more than they know what to do with. It ain’t right, but that’s the way it is, like the sun comin’ up in the east.
Elly, he’s tall and skinny, like a beanpole. He’s young, but he’s gonna grow, gonna get stronger, like a young tree reachin’ for the sky. He got lots to learn, but he’s learnin’ fast. He bats and he throws, he does it all. They got all these things written down about him, his age, his height, all that stuff, like measurin’ a field before plantin’. But all you gotta do is watch him play, and you can see, he’s got it. He’s got that somethin’ special, like a four-leaf clover in a field of grass. Elly De La Cruz free agency is far off, but when it comes, he’ll be ready. He’ll be ready to get all that money. A lot, like all the stars in the sky.