This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon's Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CINCINNATI ¨C A year ago, on the eve of Opening Day, Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz surprised reporters by doing a press conference in English. During his rookie 2023 season, De La Cruz relied on translator Jorge Merlos to communicate with the media and thus, the fans.
Speaking English in public continued throughout the season for De La Cruz, which left at least one person, in particular, feeling proud of his accomplishment: His English teacher, Kaitlin Beltre.
¡°I don¡¯t even have words to describe how amazing it is," said Beltre, the Reds' education coordinator. "Elly might not even know this, but the impact he¡¯s having is so much bigger than just him doing it. It has a ripple effect throughout our entire Minor League operation. Once Elly started doing it, more and more of our international players coming up through the system said, ¡®Teacher, I want to do an interview in English.¡¯¡±
Beltre joined the Reds as a contractor in 2019 ¨C a year after De La Cruz signed as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic ¨C and became a full-time employee in 2023.
"She was with me in the D.R. and she helped me a lot," De La Cruz said. "Not only me but a lot of players.¡±
Beltre works in the club's wellness and education department, which also coordinates high school education programs for international students seeking their diplomas.
Although high school classes are optional for Reds prospects from foreign countries, English classes are mandatory and are taught at the club's Dominican academy and the team complex in Goodyear, Ariz. More than 80 players are part of the program.
¡°When he first signed at the academy, [De La Cruz] was a young player with us. He was one of our youngest," Reds director of wellness and education Becky Schnakenberg said. "I remember actually having a picture of him and he was only a couple of inches taller than me at that time. I¡¯m 5-foot-3. He was only three inches taller than me.
"He was always very open and participated in our education activities, our cultural assimilation activities. He was always a very social young man, even when he was the youngest of all of them."
Now 6-foot-5, De La Cruz has quickly become a burgeoning superstar face of the Reds. He's been featured in national ad campaigns, including his voice speaking English in a claymation commercial for MLB. He's also one of three young stars on the cover of the video game MLB The Show 25.
But years ago as he worked his way to the big leagues, De La Cruz was still learning simple English words and phrases and how to use them in conversation and daily life situations.
"He participated. He was respectful. He was everything you could want in a student," Beltre said. "So it¡¯s no surprise to me that he learned English as quickly as he did. But I always recognize the effort he made outside of class. We provide the basics inside of class. The players take what they can. How they apply it and how they continue to study outside of class is really what makes them bilingual and he excelled in that.¡±
It's one thing to learn a new language but it's a whole other experience to be an interview subject to dozens of reporters. Plus, the camera and lights and knowing what you're saying in that second language could potentially be heard by thousands and millions of people.
¡°Amazingly difficult," Schnakenberg said. "And how much confidence do you have to have in your intelligence and be willing to make a mistake. I hope some of that he learned through our program. We¡¯ve always said you don¡¯t have to speak perfectly. You just have to try. It¡¯s OK to make mistakes.¡±
Still, some Latin players will speak English privately to their American teammates but opt for a translator in interviews. The Reds help prepare players for interviews as part of the English class curriculum.
¡°Now we¡¯ve really implemented postgame interviews in English from the affiliates on Zoom with our players who really want to work on that skill," said Beltre, who has an undergraduate degree in journalism. ¡°We are trying to make the program even bigger. The more we have, the more we¡¯ll have more guys going up and using their English.¡±
De La Cruz had no problem finding confidence.
"[Beltre] helped me learn the language but the confidence was inside of me," he said.
Even though he's no longer taking English classes, De La Cruz is still seeking to improve his skills.
"I always work on that," he said. "I'll just keep working to keep getting better."