Major League Baseball

Brewers scoreboard operator learns the hard way to not troll Elly De La Cruz

Published Jul. 26, 2023 5:30 p.m. ET

The Milwaukee Brewers' scoreboard-operations team may think twice before the next time they troll an opposing star.

After Brewers outfielder Joey Wiemer robbed star Cincinnati Reds rookie Elly De La Cruz of a home run in the first inning of Monday's game, the home scoreboard decided to have a little fun at the phenom's expense the next time he stepped up to bat, listing "Almost hit a home run in the first inning… but didn't" as his "fun fact."

Except De La Cruz immediately made sure there was no "almost" the next time around, nearly hitting the ball out of the entire stadium.

Here is a better look at the Brewers' scoreboard message:

De La Cruz said after the game that he did not notice the scoreboard message, and when told about it, all he said was, "Interesting."

But the Brewers' scoreboard operators still got the message. After De La Cruz struck out in his first at-bat Tuesday, the scoreboard respectfully declined to comment further.

Still, there is no love lost between the Reds and Brewers, who are battling for first place in the National League Central. The Reds, who are experiencing a resurgence behind De La Cruz and a host of other promising rookies, entered Wednesday 1.5 games behind the Brewers, who are experiencing a resurgence of their own thanks in part to a bounce-back season from 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich.

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