Nelson Cruz
Texas Rangers — No. 17
Right fielder
Born: July 1, 1980 (1980-07-01) (age 29) Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 17, 2005 for the Milwaukee Brewers
Career statistics (through 2009 season)
Batting average	.255
Home runs	55
Runs batted in	158
Teams
Milwaukee Brewers (2005) Texas Rangers (2006-present)
Career highlights and awards
All Star selection (2009)

Nelson Ramón Cruz Martínez (born July 1, 1980, in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic) is Major League Baseball All Star outfielder for the Texas Rangers.

[edit] Baseball career

Cruz was acquired by the Rangers from the Milwaukee Brewers on July 28, 2006 along with slugging outfielder Carlos Lee in exchange for Laynce Nix, Kevin Mench, Francisco Cordero and minor league pitcher Julian Cordero. He had spent the 2005 and 2006 seasons in the Brewers organization with the Double-A Huntsville Stars, Triple-A Nashville Sounds and briefly in September of 2005, the major league Brewers.

Before joining the Brewers organization, Cruz played in the Oakland Athletics system. The Brewers acquired him from Oakland along with pitcher Justin Lehr in exchange for infielder Keith Ginter on December 16, 2004. He was initially signed as a free agent by the New York Mets, who traded him to Oakland for Jorge Velandia on August 30, 2000, after three years in the Dominican Summer League.

On August 16, 2006, Cruz hit his first grand slam of his career. On September 4, 2006, against the Athletics, Cruz hit an inside-the-park home run in which his bat broke on impact.

In spring training for the 2007 season, Cruz got off to a rough start, but finished strong by hitting three home runs in the final week, including a walk-off home run in the final game of spring training.

Cruz's contract was purchased from Triple-A Oklahoma by the Rangers on August 25, 2008, after batting .342 with 37 home runs and 99 RBIs; for his efforts, he won the 2008 PCL MVP award.

In July 2009, Cruz was selected as an All-Star as a replacement for injured Torii Hunter (adductor injury).^[1] He also participated in the 2009 Home Run Derby, finishing second to Prince Fielder.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Nelson Cruz Minor League Splits and Situational Stats