Welcome back to MLB Notebook, brought to you by The Batter’s Box Podcast! In this column, we’ll examine news and notes from around Major League Baseball — oftentimes through a Toronto Blue Jays-tinted lens.

<blockquote>Elly De La Cruz continues his stunning start</blockquote>
There probably isn&#8217;t a more deserving franchise than the Cincinnati Reds to have a player like Elly De La Cruz come up through the system and have such an electric debut. He&#8217;s built off of his first couple of games to show that his rapid rise in the prospect rankings wasn&#8217;t just pure hype.
After recording a 458-foot home run with a 114.8 MPH exit velocity, the second-hardest-hit home run in the Statcast era to begin a career, De La Cruz also legged out a triple in 10.83 seconds. That&#8217;s the fastest home-to-third time tracked this season. With three extra-base hits in his first two games, he became the fifth youngest player to do so in the past 40 seasons, the first since Manny Machado in 2012.
The 21-year-old entered the game against the Royals slashing .296/.406/.519, with his 4 RBIs and 4 SB making him the first player to do so in his first seven games since 1985. And, with another stolen base against Kansas City, Elly De La Cruz put himself ahead of every other Red except for Billy Hamilton with five SB in eight MLB games.
It isn&#8217;t just offence either, as he&#8217;s been showing some flashes of his 5-tool star projection with his defence.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
If you haven&#8217;t had a chance to watch Elly De La Cruz throw the baseball, here it is!
Elly De La Cruz had the PERFECT chance to show off his arm strength on this 4-6-3 double play!
Wow! ⛽🔥
⚡<a href="https://twitter.com/ellylacocoa18?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ellylacocoa18</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Reds?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Reds</a> <a href="https://t.co/XEhgssoJWe">pic.twitter.com/XEhgssoJWe</a>
— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsCIN/status/1668799016568487936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote>Yankees outduel Mets in opening game of the Subway Series</blockquote>
The Mets suck. That could end it right there, but it was still a pretty interesting game for the most part in the big apple. For most teams, a 5-1 lead is pretty solid, but these are the Mets we&#8217;re talking about here. The Yankees got to Scherzer in the top of the fourth, pummeling him for five ER to pull ahead 6-5 in the game.
That other New York team did their best to make it interesting, knotting up the game at 6-6 in the next inning, but saw it slip away with a sixth-inning run by the Yankees. They had a chance in the 9th with the bases loaded but Clay Holmes managed to bring it home for the pinstripes.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Clay Holmes gets out of a bases-loaded jam to end the inning 🔥💪
(via <a href="https://twitter.com/Yankees?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Yankees</a>)<a href="https://t.co/qfqNZya6Db">pic.twitter.com/qfqNZya6Db</a>
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBONFOX/status/1668805736649084933?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Mets drop to 1-9 in their last 10 games, slipping to fourth in the NL East. Not to mention that relief pitcher Drew Smith got thrown out of the game with an illegal substance check. It&#8217;s just not going the Mets way as of late, but who actually feels bad for them?
<blockquote>The Oakland Athletics are the hottest team in baseball</blockquote>
No, you didn&#8217;t read that wrong. The Oakland Athletics are currently sporting the best win streak in all of baseball and no longer have the worst record in the MLB (that one belongs to the KC Royals right now). Their seven-game win streak is tied for the most of all time of any team with a sub-.200 win percentage entering the streak.
Best of all, the Athletics did it in front of a roaring crowd of 27,759 fans, who all packed the stands in a planned reverse boycott. Chants of &#8220;sell the team&#8221; filled the Coliseum with an electric vibe, in a game that saw Shintaro Fujinami open up with a scoreless first.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
May 15, 2023: 
The A’s draw a crowd of 2,064 fans, their lowest attendance since 1979 as they drop 8 of their last 9 games and move to 9-34
June 13, 2023: 
27,759 fans pack the coliseum in a reverse boycott as the A’s win their 7th game in a row <a href="https://t.co/f2e3gElAOF">pic.twitter.com/f2e3gElAOF</a>
— MLB Metrics (@MLBMetrics) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBMetrics/status/1668831121054875649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It got so loud to the point that Hogan Harris couldn&#8217;t even hear his Pitchcom, not that it mattered as his 5th MLB game saw him record just 1 earned run on 4 hits. Stark contrast with where most games, pitchers have to turn down Pitchcom for fear of the opposing team hearing their calls.
All of this comes as the Nevada Senate passed a bill to help finance a ballpark in Vegas, with further momentum growing on a possible move. The Athletics organization donated all the proceeds from the match to help fund local initiatives in a rare win-win.
We talked about all of this and more in the second episode of the Batter’s Box Podcast, available now on both <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-batters-box/id1691648871?i=1000616944504">Apple Podcasts</a> and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/7JarRrb35CYepr32MPVGp2?si=R2GLMIWARHaWI4_mgY_boA&amp;nd=1">Spotify</a>.
<hr />
<h2 class="mb-5 text-2xl font-bold" style="text-align: center;"><a class="text-accent" href="https://gml-grp.com/C.ashx?btag=a_24038b_2065c_&amp;affid=7966&amp;siteid=24038&amp;adid=2065&amp;c=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO</a></h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-61491" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Betano_ON_Base_727x404-1.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" srcset="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Betano_ON_Base_727x404-1.png 727w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Betano_ON_Base_727x404-1-300x167.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px" />

Welcome back to MLB Notebook, brought to you by The Batter’s Box Podcast! In this column, we’ll examine news and notes from around Major League Baseball — oftentimes through a Toronto Blue Jays-tinted lens.


<blockquote>Elly De La Cruz continues his stunning start</blockquote>
There probably isn't a more deserving franchise than the Cincinnati Reds to have a player like Elly De La Cruz come up through the system and have such an electric debut. He's built off of his first couple of games to show that his rapid rise in the prospect rankings wasn't just pure hype.

After recording a 458-foot home run with a 114.8 MPH exit velocity, the second-hardest-hit home run in the Statcast era to begin a career, De La Cruz also legged out a triple in 10.83 seconds. That's the fastest home-to-third time tracked this season. With three extra-base hits in his first two games, he became the fifth youngest player to do so in the past 40 seasons, the first since Manny Machado in 2012.

The 21-year-old entered the game against the Royals slashing .296/.406/.519, with his 4 RBIs and 4 SB making him the first player to do so in his first seven games since 1985. And, with another stolen base against Kansas City, Elly De La Cruz put himself ahead of every other Red except for Billy Hamilton with five SB in eight MLB games.

It isn't just offence either, as he's been showing some flashes of his 5-tool star projection with his defence.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
If you haven't had a chance to watch Elly De La Cruz throw the baseball, here it is!
Elly De La Cruz had the PERFECT chance to show off his arm strength on this 4-6-3 double play!

Wow! ⛽🔥

⚡<a href="https://twitter.com/ellylacocoa18?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ellylacocoa18</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Reds?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Reds</a> <a href="https://t.co/XEhgssoJWe">pic.twitter.com/XEhgssoJWe</a>

— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsCIN/status/1668799016568487936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote>Yankees outduel Mets in opening game of the Subway Series</blockquote>
The Mets suck. That could end it right there, but it was still a pretty interesting game for the most part in the big apple. For most teams, a 5-1 lead is pretty solid, but these are the Mets we're talking about here. The Yankees got to Scherzer in the top of the fourth, pummeling him for five ER to pull ahead 6-5 in the game.

That other New York team did their best to make it interesting, knotting up the game at 6-6 in the next inning, but saw it slip away with a sixth-inning run by the Yankees. They had a chance in the 9th with the bases loaded but Clay Holmes managed to bring it home for the pinstripes.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Clay Holmes gets out of a bases-loaded jam to end the inning 🔥💪
(via <a href="https://twitter.com/Yankees?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Yankees</a>)<a href="https://t.co/qfqNZya6Db">pic.twitter.com/qfqNZya6Db</a>

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBONFOX/status/1668805736649084933?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Mets drop to 1-9 in their last 10 games, slipping to fourth in the NL East. Not to mention that relief pitcher Drew Smith got thrown out of the game with an illegal substance check. It's just not going the Mets way as of late, but who actually feels bad for them?
<blockquote>The Oakland Athletics are the hottest team in baseball</blockquote>
No, you didn't read that wrong. The Oakland Athletics are currently sporting the best win streak in all of baseball and no longer have the worst record in the MLB (that one belongs to the KC Royals right now). Their seven-game win streak is tied for the most of all time of any team with a sub-.200 win percentage entering the streak.

Best of all, the Athletics did it in front of a roaring crowd of 27,759 fans, who all packed the stands in a planned reverse boycott. Chants of "sell the team" filled the Coliseum with an electric vibe, in a game that saw Shintaro Fujinami open up with a scoreless first.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
May 15, 2023:
The A’s draw a crowd of 2,064 fans, their lowest attendance since 1979 as they drop 8 of their last 9 games and move to 9-34
June 13, 2023:
27,759 fans pack the coliseum in a reverse boycott as the A’s win their 7th game in a row <a href="https://t.co/f2e3gElAOF">pic.twitter.com/f2e3gElAOF</a>

— MLB Metrics (@MLBMetrics) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBMetrics/status/1668831121054875649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It got so loud to the point that Hogan Harris couldn't even hear his Pitchcom, not that it mattered as his 5th MLB game saw him record just 1 earned run on 4 hits. Stark contrast with where most games, pitchers have to turn down Pitchcom for fear of the opposing team hearing their calls.

All of this comes as the Nevada Senate passed a bill to help finance a ballpark in Vegas, with further momentum growing on a possible move. The Athletics organization donated all the proceeds from the match to help fund local initiatives in a rare win-win.

We talked about all of this and more in the second episode of the Batter’s Box Podcast, available now on both <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-batters-box/id1691648871?i=1000616944504">Apple Podcasts</a> and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/7JarRrb35CYepr32MPVGp2?si=R2GLMIWARHaWI4_mgY_boA&amp;nd=1">Spotify</a>.

<hr />

<h2 class="mb-5 text-2xl font-bold" style="text-align: center;"><a class="text-accent" href="https://gml-grp.com/C.ashx?btag=a_24038b_2065c_&amp;affid=7966&amp;siteid=24038&amp;adid=2065&amp;c=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO</a></h2>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-61491" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Betano_ON_Base_727x404-1.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" />

MLB Notebook: The Oakland Athletics’ reverse boycott crown on top of seven-game win streak

News and Notes: Former Blue Jays Marcus Stroman and Kevin Kiermaier left off post-season rosters

Breaking down each MLB Division Series

MLB Notebook: Wild Card Round Recap

Plenty of uncertainty lies with Blue Jays’ closer role in 2025

Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) reacts after a strikeout against the Houston Astros in the sixth inning in game one of the Wild Card round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Minute Maid Park.

Recent articles from Michael Liu

Breaking News