Nelson Cruz is one of the oldest players in the entire MLB. The San Diego Padres signed him this offseason for a power bat and a veteran presence as they gear up for a deep postseason run.
Is he the oldest player in baseball, though? Not quite. Right now, Rich Hill is still playing and he edges out Cruz for that status as Hill is 43 and Cruz is 42. He's only 112 days younger than the Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher, though.
He is, however, the oldest position player in baseball. The next closest is Miguel Cabrera at 39. Despite his advancing age, Cruz proved he still has the ability to crush it on Sunday Night Baseball.
With a one-run lead in the third and the Padres threatening, Cruz came up and blasted a three-run home run off Dylan Dodd of the Atlanta Braves. He hit it 109 miles per hour off the bat.
That effectively put the game away as the Padres ended up winning by a score of 10-2 in blowout fashion.
How many teams has Nelson Cruz been a part of?
Many baseball fans have memories of Nelson Cruz since he's been around that long. There are also a lot of fans who have memories of him playing for their own team, too.
He began his career with the Milwaukee Brewers, but only played one season then. He then moved to the Texas Rangers, a team he spent eight seasons with.
In 2014, he joined the Baltimore Orioles for just one season. The following year, he was with the Seattle Mariners before moving to Minnesota in 2019. He would also play for the Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals and now the Padres.