When Nelson Cruz hit a walk-off grand slam to beat the Tigers in Game 2 of the ALCS Monday, a friend said to me “there can’t be too many of those in history.” He was right. Cruz’s walk-off grand salami was the first in MLB playoff history (or technically the second).
The 31-year-old right fielder hit two huge home runs for Texas. He popped one out in the 7th to tie the game at three, and then he unloaded on a hanging Ryan Perry breaking ball in the 11th to win the game. Perry completely missed his spot on the pitch, intending to paint the outside corner, but instead leaving it over the middle of the plate. From there, the only question was whether the ball would stay fair, not whether it would get out.
The home runs gave Cruz three in the postseason, which is welcomed with relief from Texas; he was only 2-for-18 in the playoffs entering the game.
It’s really no surprise to see him crushing balls in the postseason. Cruz’s slugging percentage has been over .500 the past three seasons, and he hit 29 in 124 games this year. Not bad for a guy who was an afterthought in the 2006 Carlos Lee-Francisco Cordero trade, huh?
As far as other walk-off grand slams are considered, Robin Ventura had one in the 1999 NLCS against the Braves. It was officially termed a walk-off single because he was mobbed by his teammates and never made it past first base. No matter how you look at it, it’s exclusive company for Cruz.
Photo Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE
