Nelson Ramón Cruz Martínez (born July 1, 1980) is a Dominican-American professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and Seattle Mariners. Cruz played 881 games in right field, 119 in left, 2 in center and 582 at DH through 2018. \n', '

Cruz is a six-time MLB All-Star. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2011 American League Championship Series, in which he hit six home runs and recorded 13 runs batted in, both MLB records for a single postseason series. On August 5, 2013, Cruz was suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball for his involvement in the Biogenesis baseball scandal. In 2014, he led the American League in home runs as a member of the Orioles.\n', '

Cruz was born on July 1, 1980 in Las Matas de Santa Cruz, Dominican Republic. His father, Nelson Cruz Sr., also played professional baseball in the Dominican Republic. Both his parents are successful professors and they raised Cruz and his two sisters, Nelsy and Olga, in a well-to-do Dominican neighborhood. Growing up, Cruz\'s passion was for basketball, not baseball. His idol was Michael Jordan and as a teenager Cruz played for the Dominican Republic Junior National Basketball Team. He attended the high school where his father taught history. In addition to playing sports, Cruz worked as a mechanic\'s helper with his uncle at a tractor factory. He also shined shoes and learned how to repair them. In September 2012, he donated $20,000 to help buy a firetruck for Las Matas de Santa Cruz, enlisting AMR\'s help in also donating two ambulances.\n', '

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