BIOGRAPHY
Nelson Cruz was born July 1, 1980, in Las Matas de Santa Cruz, Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic. He is a designated hitter in the MLB.
Cruz is a six-time MLB All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He was named the Most Valuable Player (LCS MVP) of the 2011 American League Championship Series, in which he hit six home runs and recorded 13 runs batted in (RBI), both MLB records for a single postseason series.
A late bloomer, in 2008, Cruz first reached 100 games played and a then-career-high of 33 home runs—along with his first All-Star appearance—at age 28. In 2014, he led the major leagues in home runs (40) as a member of the Orioles. He led the American League (AL) in RBI in 2017 while playing for the Mariners. His 346 home runs hit in the 2010s were more than any other player.
In 2020, based on his work in the community, Cruz was selected as the Marvin Miller Man of the Year and the ESPYs Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award winner, and in 2021, he received the Roberto Clemente Award.
On March 13, 2022, Cruz signed a one-year, $12 million contract with a mutual option for 2023 with the Washington Nationals. On August 15, Cruz went 2 for 4 against the San Diego Padres and recorded 2,000 career hits in his MLB career.
Cruz ended the season batting .234/.313/.337 in 448 at bats with 10 home runs and 64 RBIs in 124 games at DH, grounding into 16 double plays (9th in the NL). He was the oldest qualified batter in major league baseball.
On January 23, 2023 the San Diego Padres signed Cruz to a one year, $1 million contract.
