Nelson Cruz
| Birthdate | 7/1/1980 |
| Death Date | |
| Debut Year | 2005 |
| Year of Induction | |
| Teams | Brewers, Mariners, Nationals, Orioles, Padres, Rangers, Rays, Twins |
| Positions | Designated Hitter, Right Field |
From 2009-2021 Nelson Cruz hit 427 homers, made 7 All Star teams, earned 4 Silver Sluggers, had a .535 slugging percentage with a 137 OPS+.
Leave a commentIn the collection:
A Hall of Fame case? Nelson Cruz has 464 home runs, 2,053 hits, 1,090 runs, 1,325 RBI
A Hall of Fame case? Nelson Cruz has 464 home runs, 2,053 hits, 1,090 runs, 1,325 RBI
Despite debuting 78 days past his 25th birthday, Nelson Cruz quietly amassed numbers that put him in the Cooperstown conversation.
The Dominican-born Cruz began his American baseball odyssey in 1998 when he signed with the Mets as an amateur free agent. After bouncing from New York, to Oakland to Milwaukee, he made his big league debut in 2005.
Back in the minors in 2006, Cruz was traded to the Rangers in July. In Texas he found a home. Seven years in the Lone Star State included two All Star appearances and a five-year run in which he averaged 27 homers per season.
Cruz’s time in Texas ended unceremoniously in August of 2013. Major League Baseball suspended Cruz for 50 games for his role in the performance enhancing drugs Biogenesis scandal. He played in just one more game before ending his Rangers career.
After signing a one-year deal with the Orioles in 2014, Cruz led all of the majors with 40 home runs. That, along with 108 RBI and a .525 slugging percentage, earned him a 7th-place finish in MVP voting.
That December, the Mariners came calling. Cruz’s four seasons in the Pacific Northwest were a resounding success. He averaged more than 40 homers and 100 runs batted in per season with Seattle. His OPS+ during the period was 148. Cruz represented the Mariners in three All Star Games and earned two Silver Slugger Awards.
After the 2018 season, he signed with Minnesota. In his age-38 season of 2019, and the covid-shortened 2020 campaign, Cruz took home Silver Sluggers. Only July 1st, 2021, he celebrated his 40th birthday. A dozen days later Cruz played in his seventh and final All Star contest. On July 22nd the Twins dealt him to Tampa Bay where he slugged 13 homers in 55 games.
On St. Patrick’s Day, 2022 Nelson signed with Washington. After hitting 10 homers and driving in 64 runs for the Nationals, Cruz played 42 games with the Padres in 2023 to end his career.
Nelson Cruz retired with 2,053 hits, 372 doubles, 464 home runs, 1,325 RBI and 1,090 runs scored. When he left the game, his homer total placed him 37th on the all time list. Only 100 men in baseball history drove in more runs than Cruz at the time of his retirement. Some feel the well-liked Cruz has a case for Cooperstown.
In the collection is this Nelson Cruz autographed Strat-O-Matic card from 2000. Bucknell University math major Hal Richman originated the Strat-O-Matic game in 1961. Advertised in Sports Illustrated and sold out of Richman’s basement, Strat-O-Matic gave its players the ability to make managerial decisions based on MLB statistics.
Fellow Dominican countryman Vladimir Guerrero was Nelson Cruz's baseball hero
Fellow Dominican countryman Vladimir Guerrero was Nelson Cruz's baseball hero
Nelson Cruz grew up in the Dominican Republic playing baseball and idolizing his MLB-playing countryman. Valdimir Guerrero stood atop that list as Cruz’s baseball hero.
Guerrero broke into the bigs when Cruz was 16 years old. Nine years later Cruz himself was a big leaguer. Six years into his career, Cruz got to fulfill a dream – playing with his boyhood idol.
A month shy of his 35th birthday, Guerrero signed with Cruz’s Rangers in January of 2010. Playing alongside Cruz, Vlad has his final All Star season. He hit an even-.300 with 29 home runs and 115 runs batted in. The performance earned him the last of his 8 Silver Slugger Awards. To his own credit, Cruz hit .318 with 22 homers and a 146 OPS+.
Shown here is a contract signed by Guerrero to appear on Topps baseball cards. When he signed this contract on March 1, 1999, the future Hall of Famer was coming off of his first full season in the big leagues.
