Cruz makes history with more twin bill HRs
This browser does not support the video element.
Nelson Cruz takes a 20-minute power nap before every game, to prepare himself for the rigors of putting on a power show in the subsequent contest. He does that because, at age 40, he has to focus on recovery more than other players.
It would figure, then, that Cruz might not welcome longer workdays, but he's taken advantage of doubleheaders at a historic rate in 2020. He again homered in both halves of a doubleheader, this time in Tuesday's Twins-Cardinals twin bill at Busch Stadium, with a solo shot in the fifth inning of Game 1 and another in the seventh inning of Game 2.
That feat pushes Cruz above and beyond rarefied company. Hall of Famers Carlton Fisk and Stan Musial are the only other players in baseball history to homer in both halves of a doubleheader at all at age 40 or older. They each did it once.
Cruz has now done it three times since he turned 40 before the delayed regular season began, with Tuesday's performance joining identical feats in an Aug. 15 doubleheader against Kansas City and on Aug. 29 against Detroit.
This browser does not support the video element.
"I’m not surprised to hear that," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "We never are when it comes to Nelson."
Don't make the mistake of thinking that Cruz's feat is only impressive in the context of age, though.
Cruz is the first player -- of any age -- to homer in each half of a doubleheader three times in a season since 1964, when Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew (also of the Twins) and Cleveland catcher John Romano both matched Cruz's feat with three such days. Killebrew and Cruz are the only hitters in Twins/Senators franchise history to reach that mark.
"He comes to the ballpark every day and he wants to play," Baldelli said. "Every guy has a different mentality showing up, but he’s a guy that loves being here, loves going up there and taking his at-bats. Loves being part of a team. I don’t know what to make of the doubleheader success. I would say the best hitters will also have the most success in doubleheaders as well, so he fills that place pretty well, too."
Cruz's power is still exemplary in the context of the modern game, too. His two homers on Tuesday marked his 14th and 15th of the season, moving him into a tie for the Major League lead with Mike Trout and Fernando Tatís Jr.