Former Texas Rangers Slugger Nelson Cruz Retires from Baseball
The day after the Texas Rangers won their first World Series title, former Texas Rangers slugger Nelson Cruz retired from baseball.
For years, Rangers fans were haunted by Cruz’s misplay of a fly ball in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis won the series in seven games.
In an odd bit of karma, Cruz opted to announce his retirement after Rangers fans finally got to celebrate a world championship.
Cruz played 19 years in the Majors and wrapped up his final season with the San Diego Padres, where as a designated hitter he hit five home runs and 23 RBI in just 49 games. The 42-year-old was designated for assignment on July 4 and no teams picked him up.
Cruz broke into the Majors with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2005 after he was signed by the club out of the Dominican Republic in 1998 by the New York Mets. Cruz ended up with the Brewers by trade.
Cruz’s MLB career had barely begun when the Brewers included Cruz in a trade with outfielder Carlos Lee to the Rangers in exchange for Laynce Nix, Kevin Mench, Francisco Cordero and Julian Cordero. That began his longest professional partnership in the Majors, as he spent eight years with the Texas Rangers.
With the Rangers, he made his first two All-Star Game appearances and hit 157 home runs and 489 RBI. He hit more home runs with the Seattle Mariners in four seasons, where he hit 163.
Cruz also played for the 2010 and 2011 AL pennant-winning Rangers, and he held several of the team’s postseason home run and RBI records until Adolis García broke most of them this postseason.
Cruz’s departure from Texas was hastened at the end of the 2013 season as he was sucked into the Biogenesis scandal and was suspended for 50 games. He turned down the Rangers’ $14 million qualifying offer and opted to be a free agent./cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62744487/452339356.jpg.0.jpg?w=678&ssl=1)
He also played for the Baltimore Orioles (2014), Seattle Mariners (2015–2018), Minnesota Twins (2019–2021), Tampa Bay Rays (2021), Washington Nationals (2022) and Padres (2023).
He was a seven-time All-Star, finished on the All-MLB First Team in 2019, was the 2011 ALCS MVP and a four-time Silver Slugger. He also won the 2021 Roberto Clemente Award.
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