clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Nelson Cruz: Postseason Legend

By now, you assuredly know Nelson Cruz's six homerun performance against the Tigers was the most ever hit in a postseason series. He's put his name high up there on a few other lists, as well, though.

↵

He also now holds the record for RBIs in a postseason series with 13.

His .753 career postseason slugging average ranks fourth all-time. The 1.273 mark he put up in this ALCS was the second highest single-LCS mark ever. His career 1.048 SA in the LCS, meanwhile, ranks first in the 43 year history of the contest.

His career LCS OPS of 1.485 is the second best mark all-time, and his 1.713 OPS from the 2011 ALCS ranks eighth.

28 Total Bases ties Hideki Matsui and Albert Pujols (both in 2004) for the most in a single LCS.

With eight career LCS homeruns, Cruz is tied for fifth all-time in 48 LCS plate appearances. Every player in front of him has at least 100 PAs, with record holder Manny Ramirez (13) having 215.

The six home runs he's hit, by the way, are two short of the single-season postseason mark, tying him for sixth with, among others, himself. That makes him the first player ever with two postseasons of six homeruns or more. This all comes a year after tying the record for doubles in a postseason.

Nelson Cruz is one of the greatest hitters in postseason history, and he has some games left to go.

Photographs by jamesbrandon, jdtornow, phlezk, flygraphix, mcdlttx, tomasland, and literalbarrage used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.