San Diego Padres' Nelson Cruz Does Things We Haven't Seen For the Last 15 Years in Baseball History
The San Diego Padres beat the Cincinnati Reds, 12-5, on Saturday afternoon in an offensive explosion.
While Manny Machado fueled the victory with a two-homer game and Juan Soto went deep as well, 43-year-old Nelson Cruz checked in with some baseball history.
Cruz went 2-5 with two singles in the win, it also happened to be his 43rd birthday. That's where the history comes in.
Per Mariners statistician Alex Mayer on Twitter:
Nelson Cruz (age 43) is the oldest player with a hit on his birthday since Barry Bonds (43) on July 24, 2007. Cruz is the oldest player with 2+ hits on his birthday since Pete Rose (43) on April 14, 1984.
Who says baseball is a young man's game? Cruz has been one of the most feared sluggers in baseball for much of the last decade. He's in his 19th season in the big leagues with the Brewers, Rangers, Orioles, Mariners, Twins, Rays, Nationals and Padres. He's hitting .254 this season with five homers and 23 RBI in a part-time role.
Cruz hit 35 or more home runs every season from 2014-2019 and then popped 16 in just the 60-game 2020 season.
With the win, the Padres moved to 38-45 on the season. They are a disappointing 11.5 games back in the National League West and sit 8.0 games back in the wild card race.
The Reds fell to 44-39 in the loss.
The two teams will meet up again on Sunday with first pitch at 1:40 p.m. ET.
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