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Nelson Cruz led the majors with 40 home runs last year, which was something of a surprise given his career-high was 33 -- the only time he’s hit more than 30 in a season -- and that came back in 2009 when Cruz was just 28 years old. It was fair to wonder, between the one-time nature of 2014 and his moving to pitcher-friendly Safeco to play for the Mariners, if he would be able to approach that total again. There is still a whole lot of 2015 to play, but thanks to homers in five consecutive games, Cruz is well ahead in that game.
He’s batting .294/.368/.824, with a league-leading six homers overall, and his dingers in five straight games ties him with Alex Rodriguez, Richie Zisk and two separate occasions of Jay Buhner for the second-most consecutive home runs in Mariners’ history. The team record is also the big-league record, as Ken Griffey Jr. managed to homer in eight straight games back in 1993.
Of course, none of this tells us how Cruz will do for the rest of 2015, or how the four years of his deal with the Mariners will play out. He did have an amazing first half with the O’s a year ago before tailing off in the second half, and he’s not getting any younger. For now, though, the 34-year-old seems locked in, and the Mariners haven’t had a DH who could claim that at any point this decade, so enjoy potential history while it lasts.
- Nolan Arenado’s catch on Tuesday night is easily one of the greatest in recent memory, but it might already have a contender in 2015 thanks to Kevin Pillar’s Spider-Man impression on Wednesday.
- Speaking of Nelson Cruz, his part in Robinson Cano’s basepaths brain fart might be the most entertaining bit from the whole ordeal.
- It was a little cold for Jorge Soler on Wednesday, so he donned his super conspicuous, Cubs-colored ninja gear for the game.
- Jackie Robinson Day is a time for celebration, but it’s also a moment to reflect on what change still needs to occur throughout the game. For instance, the Twins should probably avoid having statues of well-known racist owners hanging around their ballpark, while the Red Sox should probably do something about the name of the street Fenway lives on.
- The Dodgers need to let Puig be Puig, instead of trying to tone down his personality to make him acceptable for crotchety old dudes to enjoy.
- The Orioles basically sold off a draft pick to save money, by trading Ryan Webb to the Dodgers. It’s a little weird, but Camden Chat argues it’s not wrong or dumb of Baltimore to do so.
- Jackie Robinson gets the attention for breaking the color barrier, and he should, as he is a pioneer who undertook a task that asked more of any person than they should ever feel they have to give. Let’s not forget about the men who broke the color line with Robinson, though.
- Josh Hamilton has a personal problem that the Angels are trying to turn into a business decision, and it comes off as sociopathic, according to Jon Bernhardt.
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