Nelson Cruz (outfielder)

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For the baseball pitcher, see Nelson Cruz (pitcher).
Nelson Cruz

Texas Rangers — No. 17
Right Fielder
Born: July 1, 1980 (1980-07-01) (age 27)
Bats: Right Throws: Right 
Major League Baseball debut
September 17, 2005 for the Milwaukee Brewers
Selected MLB statistics
(through August 5, 2007)
Batting Average     .220
Home runs     12
RBI     42
Teams

Nelson Ramon Cruz (born July 1, 1980 in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball outfielder in the Texas Rangers organization.

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, the 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, in his first at bat with the bases loaded, Cruz hit his first grand slam of his career.

On September 4, 2006, against his former Athletics at home, 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. His above average defense and undeniable raw power have won him a position as the Rangers every day right fielder.

He is also one of the top 20 future prospects as judged by Bowman's Baseball.

[edit] Career Statistics

Nelson Cruz (Updated as of March 25, 2008)
Games AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA
Career 145 442 51 102 19 2 15 56 3 .231

[edit] Sources