Tampa Bay designated hitter Nelson Cruz awakened Friday morning with his new team in an old, familiar town and from his elevated hotel room window looked upon Target Field, where he played until three weeks ago.
"Feels weird," Nelson Cruz says of his return to face the Twins, the team he starred for
The beloved veteran, traded to Tampa Bay last month, homered in his second Rays at-bat at Target Field.
August 14, 2021 at 5:31AM
When Cruz went to work Friday, former Twins teammate Miguel Sano wore a No. 23 "Boomstick" T-shirt — the big-hitting veteran's nickname and uniform number — and leapt into Cruz's arms. Many others welcomed him back with a hug.
"It was weird," Cruz said of his return. "Feels weird."
At 41, Cruz now plays for his sixth team in a 17-year big-league career, so he's accustomed to hellos and goodbyes.
Just not usually this soon: The Twins traded him to East Division leader Tampa Bay before the trade deadline last month for right-handed pitchers Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman.
"Maybe you wait a year to see them, maybe in spring training or after the season," he said before Friday's game. "Definitely weird when you get to see your ex-teammates (so soon). It ended up being a short turnaround. It's always nice to see familiar faces."
The two teams hadn't met since June 2019 but play again in a three-game Labor Day weekend series in Florida.
The Rays arrived on Friday winners in six of their past seven games and owned the majors' second-best record. No other team in the majors has scored more runs since Cruz came on July 22.
"You're adding a really good bat in the middle of a really good offense," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "You'd think the number would trend up. He has been a part of it, but the other guys all benefit from each other."
Forty-third on MLB's all-time homer list with 440, Cruz had been the Twins' veteran voice from the time he signed as a free agent in January 2019 after four seasons in Seattle. He helped lead the Twins to the playoffs in 2019 and 2020.
He hit 41 home runs that first season and 76 combined in two-plus seasons until the Twins traded him to the defending AL champions.
"Nellie's influence is going to be something that will live on with probably all the players he spent time with, and probably for the rest of their careers," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "Sometimes you'll see it very directly. A lot of other things you'll see indirectly help guys on their baseball journeys. Just like Nellie latched on to some guys he spent time throughout the years in many different places.
"That's how it works in this game and in life and everywhere we go."
Cruz received a standing ovation when he stepped to the plate third in the Rays' Friday lineup. He gestured back to the crowd on a perfect 77-degree summer's night and struck out swinging against Twins starter Michael Pineda before he went 2-for-4 and homered.
"I was hoping it'd be a few more days before he got hot," Baldelli said. "You're only going to hold a guy like that down for so long. We've seen a lot of it to know the player he is. He'll have an enormous impact over there. One of the best things they could do for their team is go get Nelson Cruz."
Cash predicted Cruz would be well-received by Twins fans and, of course, former teammates and coaches, too.
"How can you not?" Cash asked. "The presence and just the quality of the player, I'm just so happy for him to see those guys."
Cruz called Friday's return "emotional" with "so many good memories," starting with the two playoff series.
"The relationships with players and coaches and staff, it's definitely a point in your career you never want to see coming," Cruz said about the trade. "I understand it's part of the game and you have to face it."
He has noticed a formerly last-place Twins team had just won consecutive series over division-leading Houston and the Chicago White Sox.
"I see them growing," Cruz said. "Most of the guys are stepping up and doing a tremendous job. I worked hard when I was there and they saw that. Hopefully, that will be a good lesson. I still have a lot of feelings for my teammates and I always wish the best for them."
40 AFTER 40
With a home run against his old team on Friday, Nelson Cruz became the 11th player in MLB history to hit 40 home runs after turning 40.
79 Barry Bonds
72 Carlton Fisk
60 Darrell Evans
59 Dave Winfield
49 Carl Yastrzemski
46 Stan Musial
44 Ted Williams
44 Raul Ibanez
42 Hank Aaron
40 Graig Nettles
40 Nelson Cruz
Gerrit Cole gave up his opt-out right on Monday and will remain with the New York Yankees under a contract that runs through 2028 rather than become a free agent.
