If not for one fateful play, or lack thereof, Nelson Cruz would be one of the greatest Rangers heroes of all-time, and the Rangers would be the proud owners a shiny World Series trophy from 2011.
Lost in the heartache of Cruz's botched play in right field that would have ended the series in Game 6 before the Cardinals came back to force, and win, Game 7, was the unbelievable postseason performance at the plate from Cruz that year.
The slugger was the MVP of the ALCS after he hit six bombs in six games and drove in 13 runs. He ended that postseason with eight home runs, tying him for the most all-time with Barry Bonds (2002) and Carlos Beltran (2004).
Now, there's another player closing in on that group in Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy, who hit a homer in his sixth straight postseason game on Wednesday in the clincher against the Cubs as the Mets swept them in Chicago.
Entering Wednesday's game, Murphy had five homers in five games, only bested by another former Ranger, Juan Gonzalez, who hit five home runs in four postseason games in 1996.
Murphy won the NLCS MVP award on Wednesday night in the least surprising development ever. Now, we'll have to see if he can join the group with eight in a postseason or raise to a level of his own.
