Nelson Cruz has a history of sending baseballs a long way into the bleachers, sometimes beyond.
On Sunday in a crucial game, Cruz hit a two-run home run to left field at Angel Stadium to help the Texas Rangers avoid a sweep and finish off their weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels in a good way, after two nights of terrible baseball.
His home run traveled an estimated 484 feet, according to the ESPN Home Run Tracker, which is the longest at Angel Stadium since the database came into existence in 2006 and the longest in all of baseball this season.
Home run measurements are wishy-washy, at best, but there's no doubt Cruz's shot went a really long way. Many will say Josh Hamilton's home run to the upper deck in right-center field at Rangers Ballpark back in 2010 was more impressive, but that's just splitting hairs.
The home run came on a 3-0 count, a situation that would normally see a hitter take a pitch, but at the same time you also know you're likely going to get a pretty good pitch to hit — usually a fastball down the pipe.
"They gave me the green light," Cruz said after the game. "The at-bat before that, I took a 3-0 pitch. I was expecting something up in the strike zone and that's what I got."
