Nelson Cruz Calls it a Career, Retires at 42

And it seems like he managed to keep air in Sano's balloon while he was here. It deflated (or burst) shortly after Cruz's departure.

Following that line of thinking, it's amazing how few times I've thought about Sano in the last year!

A great late-blooming career for Cruz. He has managed to outrun the steroid suspension he had a decade ago. There was a local article bringing up and then dismissing the suspension I found when I googled "Nelson Cruz suspension". I wonder if he could eventually make the Hall of Fame.

By all accounts Cruz was a leader and a great teammate. If the Twins could find a role for him, I hope he would come aboard.

I just compared Cruz with Tony-O on BBRef, which refers the comparison to Stathead Baseball. They are separated by less than one WAR. Cruz has the gaudier counting numbers and four Silver Sluggers, while Tony had three batting championships and a Gold Glove. Tony also played his entire career for one team and had no issues to detract from his play on the field. It's possible that Cruz eventually makes the Hall.

I was really hoping he could reach 500 HR but time won again.  Great Twin when on the team and with what he brought to the team when traded.

The 2019 Bomba Squad wouldn't have been the same without him.  Congrats on a great career.

The question is stated here and other threads, how about bringing him back to the Twins organization.

Nelson has a "big" personality, and in a positive way. 

Is that personality type a plus as a coach, though?  No reason to believe he's not smart enough to adapt, much the contrary, but it's worth thinking about.  And some of it might be outside Boomstick's control - say the media chalks up every improvement in hitters' performance to the popular new coach and throws the player himself under the bus if performance slips - will that wear well over a long season?  Maybe this is no more than the normal clubhouse chemistry challenge every manager faces, but Rocco will want to think this through since he'll have a lot of say on the coaching staff.  Most major league coaches are less renowned than this when they come in.  And he has no formal coaching experience - it could be nice to make him a roving instructor for the first season and see what comes of that, but will he want to revisit the minor-league lifestyle?

More complicated than "he was great, hire the guy."   He was great, no question.

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

I just compared Cruz with Tony-O on BBRef, which refers the comparison to Stathead Baseball. They are separated by less than one WAR.

For many purposes, such as roster construction, WAR is the sort of thing I like, at least for rough analysis.  But when considering who is among the best of the best, such as HoF discussions, I prefer WAA, Wins Above Average*.  The benchmark oughtn't to be random AAAA players, instead at the very least the midpoint of major-league competence.

On b-r.com Tony outpaces Nelson by a healthy margin when WAA is the measuring (boom)stick.  Which, I think, is more in line with what one really should expect.

I guess I'll go there, and say that Win Probability Added, which IMO usually tracks well with WAA moreso than WAR because like WAA its baseline is also something akin to a .500 team, likewise rates Tony better. 

Nelson Cruz is a shoo-in for the mythical Hall of Very Good.  And that is not to demean him - great career.  But I don't want to demean Tony Oliva either.

* I suppose if the discussion were to turn to Inner Circle HoF, I want something even more stringent than WAA.  I just don't know what it would look like.

21 minutes ago, Doctor Wu said:

As you said, Cruz had a great reputation among his fellow teammates and in the clubhouse. But I still find it a bit baffling that so many people shrug off his PED suspension. Maybe Cruz DID manage to "outrun" the suspension as you note, but what made him get off so easily from the steroid black cloud when you compare him to the likes of Bonds, Sosa, or A-Rod?

His personality with reporters

15 minutes ago, Doctor Wu said:

As you said, Cruz had a great reputation among his fellow teammates and in the clubhouse. But I still find it a bit baffling that so many people shrug off his PED suspension. Maybe Cruz DID manage to "outrun" the suspension as you note, but what made him get off so easily from the steroid black cloud when you compare him to the likes of Bonds, Sosa, or A-Rod?

I really don't know. I tend to look at all drug suspensions as a blemish that won't go away, (including Jorge Polanco BTW), but some players seem to wear their indiscretions forever, while Cruz (and others) seldom gets nicked for what they have done. That sounds a bit harsh as I type it, but perhaps Nellie's personality and presence in the clubhouse has minimized the damage to him. 

Thanks Boomstick for a great couple of years in a Twins uniform.  He was a fun baseball player to watch and by all indications a fantastic teammate.  Hall of Fame seems out of reach, but that takes nothing away from a great career.  Enjoy retirement.  Take a summer vacation for the first time in your life!

12 hours ago, Karbo said:

His personality with reporters

And playing in places like Seattle and Minnesota.