“You can’t take the shot at the title, but I’ll let you take a shot at me,” Noah Lyles has cleared the air regarding the challenge he is facing. After his Paris Olympics endeavor, the 27-year-old had to face a jab in his ribs as Tyreek ‘Cheetah’ Hill questioned his legitimacy as the world’s fastest man. The WR from the Miami Dolphins invited him in a 50-yard battle to test his pace on the track. However, the reigning Olympic champion maintained his stature and hinted that a 60m might be possible between them soon. “We’re in talks,” he said. Little did he know, another athlete from a different sport would emerge to test his speed. 

On September 20, something extraordinary happened in the major league baseball match between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds. That left the ardent fans chasing Noah Lyles’s prowess on the track. However, the stakeholders remaining at the center of the discussion have yet to respond to the topic. 

The performance in MLB finds similarities to the track sport

Last night, Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds rushed to the point desperately before anyone could make the ball touch the base. Meanwhile, the electronic scoreboard displayed the Dominican’s name as the new achiever of 100+ stolen bases. He touched this milestone in just 251 games—that too, in the last two seasons. The bag of his achievements has a few more gems still. After his magnificent performance last night, the 22-year-old is now the sole player in MLB to have at least 100 stolen bases and 30 home runs in just the first two seasons. Such flamboyance in the baseball diamond didn’t go missed by the Instagram handle of MLB. While celebrating De La Cruz’s achievement, the handle captioned the player as the “fastest man on earth.” That title sparked a debate afterward. 

While Elly De La Cruz has certainly stood to be one of the fastest-moving athletes in MLB, does he possess the speed to challenge the fastest man on earth, Noah Lyles? His fans, however, rate him higher. They have plenty of examples where the shortstop has unfurled a raw pace attempting the homer. One such came in April this year against the Milwaukee Brewers. In that game, the lanky player did not care about any hindrance and, with his long stride, he completed the three-run homer. While putting an example of exceptional athleticism, Elly De La Cruz completed his first inside-the-park home run with a pace of 30 feet per second. Furthermore, in the pressure-filled situation, he took 14.96 seconds to round the bases. So do those antics put him beside Noah Lyles? Well, his fans think so. 

Fans mock Noah Lyles for not having ‘100 steals’ gained by speed 

A simple search on Google can show Elly De La Cruz as faster compared to Tyreek Hill. However, the latter has several accolades in the age-based sprinting from his school days. But the current form of the Reds’ player keeps him ahead. So a few fans of his voted for him in the question of being the fastest man on earth. Even, one among those challenged Noah by penning, “Noah Lyles is about to be on su***** watch.”

By that comment, the fan jibed at Noah’s alleged habit of magnifying his feats on the track. Now, those feats may feel like an existential crisis if he faces De La Cruz on the track. In the meantime, someone quickly hurled a question to the six-time world champion on X. As per the baseball connoisseurs, the prime reason for Elly De La Cruz’s extraordinary steal points is his speed. He can move faster than a lot of the current crops in the MLB. That advantage made the fan ask, “Noah Lyles has 100 steals?” Obviously, with having no history of playing baseball, Noah doesn’t have such an achievement.

Therefore, the discussion of it may make the sprinter’s achievement look dwarfish in front of the Reds’ player. In the middle of this, someone prophesied regarding Elly, “This dude is such a fast runner he’s going to be a good one for a while.” The Dominican has already gained a place in the MLB All-Star squad of this season, and the berth came regarding his relentless performance on the field. That inspired the fan to make the comparison. Yet, someone argued about having a parallel career. 

The concerned fan laid out, “If this man wasn’t playing baseball, he would be a track star.” If that had been the exact situation, as per the fan, Noah Lyles could have faced staunch opposition on the racetrack. But as one says, Noah may have found a route at that time as well, to avoid the head-to-head contest. In the feud with Tyreek Hill, this has been the status as of now. The ardent follower’s comment went as “Noah Lyles shills finna come wit the “well, actually.” Therefore, no one knows how this new encounter will take shape. But we’ll keep tabs on the future turnout of this discussion.