DALLAS — Nelson Cruz, the former Texas Ranger whose stellar career, at least in Texas, was remembered for his fielding blunder in the 2011 World Series, has announced his retirement.
Ironically, Cruz's announcement on The Adam Jones Podcast came Thursday, the day after the Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks to claim their first World Series title.
Cruz was on the Rangers' 2010 and 2011 American League pennant winners, both of which fell short in the World Series. In the 2011 Fall Classic, Texas held a 3-2 series lead and was up 7-5 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, just one strike away from clinching the title.
But David Freese flew a ball to the rightfield wall, and Cruz, who was playing in rightfield, mistimed his jump and missed the ball, allowing two runs to score. The Rangers ultimately lost the game, and then lost the decisive Game 7 the next night.
Still, it wouldn't be fair if Cruz's career was only known for the 2011 World Series. A feared slugger, mostly at designated hitter, Cruz finished his career with 464 homers, 1,325 runs batted in and a career on-base plus slugging percentage of .856, well above league average.
He was a seven-time All-Star and a four-time Silver Slugger. And in that same 2011 postseason, Cruz earned American League Championship Series MVP honors, slugging six homers in six games and driving in 13 runs.
Cruz also had one of the better nicknames in Rangers history: "Boomstick," which also inspired the two-foot-long hot dog creation of the same name sold at Rangers concession stands.
Cruz's best years were after he left Texas. He had 40-homer seasons for the Orioles, Mariners (three times) and Twins.
Cruz played 49 games in 2023 for the San Diego Padres, hitting five homers and batting .245.
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