Nelson Cruz becomes the centre of attention again, player responsible for keeping Texas Rangers in the game
Nelson Cruz will always be remembered in the Major League Baseball circuit for being the first official walk off grand slam hitter in the postseason. Though Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura may not agree with that title, there is one thing he will
appreciate. Cruz managed to hit a three run homer against the Detroit Tigers in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series at the Comerica Park in Detroit on Wednesday, October 12.
The player’s hard hit allowed the Rangers to walk out of the game with a four run lead and a 3 – 1 standing in the series. Cruz is on fire and that happens to be an understatement. The right fielder was .069 after the Division Series against the Tampa Bay
Rays. He is now .207 after hitting well against the Tigers. There is another thing to point out.
Cruz managed to make an impressive play in the eighth inning when the Rangers were tied with the Tigers, 3 – 3. He caught a fly-ball from Delmon Young and prevented Miguel Cabrera from running home for the tie breaker, from the third base, with an accurate
throw to catcher Mike Napoli.
The throw was right on the nick of time as Napoli tagged out Cabrera and maintained a stalemate beyond the ninth inning. Manager Ron Washington had a lot of words to say about his player.
"For you guys that haven't seen Nelson every day, he's capable of doing exactly what he's doing," Washington said. "We've been waiting for it for a long time, and as I always say, I don't judge Nelson just because he hits balls out of the ballpark. He's
a complete player. He takes pride in every part of the game."
The right fielder was also willing enough to talk about his defensive play.
"We throw to the bases every day," Cruz said. "We take fly-balls every day, make sure we know the ballpark, we know any situation we can be involved in during the game. When you prepare, everything comes more easy."
Cruz is now looking to end the series with a major win for the Texans in Game 5. There is no question who will be the Series’ Most Valuable Player, this season, if the Texans go through to the World Series on Game 5.
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