Nelson Ramón Cruz Martínez Jr. (born July 1, 1980), nicknamed "Boomstick", is a Dominican-American former professional baseball designated hitter and right fielder.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals, and San Diego Padres.

After signing with the New York Mets organization in 1998, Cruz played his first major league game in 2005 with the Milwaukee Brewers.

His idol was Michael Jordan[2] and as a teenager Cruz played for the Dominican Republic Junior National Basketball Team.

On August 30, 2000, the Mets traded Cruz to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for shortstop Jorge Velandia, as starting shortstop Rey Ordóñez was out with a broken arm, and Melvin Mora, Mike Bordick, and Kurt Abbott proved unable to fill in.

In 2003, Cruz spent the year in Single-A with the Kane County Cougars and hit .238/.292/.430 career-highs in home runs (20) and RBI (85).

Cruz split the 2004 season between the High-A Modesto A's, Double-A Midland RockHounds, and Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, and set new career-highs in home runs (26) and RBI (100) while batting .326/.390/.562 in 137 games between the three teams.

[8] Cruz was assigned to the Double-A Huntsville Stars to begin the 2005 season before receiving a promotion to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds.

Cruz made his major league debut with the Brewers on September 17, 2005, as a late inning defensive replacement at right field wearing #8 against the Houston Astros.

[11] During his time with the Redhawks, Cruz began using an open batting stance, which helped him see the ball better and become a more productive hitter.

[16] In Game 5 of the 2010 World Series vs. the San Francisco Giants, Cruz hit a home run off of Tim Lincecum in the 7th inning.

[18] Cruz became the second hitter to hit a home run into the upper deck in right field as a right-handed batter in the history of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

[20] On October 10, 2011, Cruz hit a walk-off grand slam in Game 2 of the ALCS versus the Detroit Tigers.

[24] Cruz hit a solo home run to put the Texas Rangers up 6–4 against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series.

[30] On August 5, 2013, Cruz was suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal.

According to Bosch the head of Biogenesis Lab, he sold $4,000 of product to Nelson Cruz, whom he nicknames "Mohamad."

[32] The fact that he had draft pick compensation attached to him and lingering concerns over his recent PED suspension made it difficult for him to find a new deal during the offseason.

[34] Cruz wore #23 with the Orioles and continued wearing 23 in his stops with the Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, and Tampa Bay Rays.

On July 5, Cruz had his first career 5-hit game, with two singles, two doubles, and a home run, falling a triple shy of the cycle (he was tagged out just short of third base), against the Red Sox.

[36] On September 7, 2014, in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Cruz went 4-for-5 with two home runs and 7 RBIs, including his 100th RBI of the season.

[37] In 159 games played in 2014, Cruz had an MLB-leading 40 home runs along with a .271 batting average, 32 doubles, and 108 RBI.

[43] He also won his first career Silver Slugger Award, and finished 6th in the American League MVP voting.

[45] His batted balls had the highest average exit velocity of the season in the major leagues, at 94.4 miles per hour.

He ranked second in the AL in OPS and SLG, tied for third in home runs, placed sixth in batting, and seventh in RBI.

He doubled twice in a span of six at bats in a season-ending AL Wild Card Series loss to the Houston Astros.

[63] For his efforts assisting the community, Cruz was selected as the 2020 Marvin Miller Man of the Year by the MLB Players Association, as that player whom his peers deem earned "most respect based on his leadership on the field and in the community," notably in his hometown of Las Matas de Santa Cruz.

[67] On July 22, 2021, Cruz was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays alongside Calvin Faucher in exchange for Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman.

[79] On Opening Day, March 28, 2024, he signed a one-day contract to officially retire as a Seattle Mariner.

His full title was listed as 'special advisor for baseball operations,' with the intent for Cruz to serve as a liaison for MLB on topics in Latin America.

[84] Cruz served as the third base coach for the American League team in the 2024 All-Star Futures Game.