THIS DAY IN BASEBALL October 15: Nelson Cruz named MVP of 2011 ALCS after 6 HRs

Nelson Cruz nailed down the ALCS Most Valuable Player Award when he hit his sixth homer of the series on this day in beisbol, October 15, 2011.

The round-tripper by the Rangers outfielder-DH against the Detroit Tigers came late in Game 6 and put the icing on a 15-5 victory that moved Texas to its second straight World Series appearance.

Cruz, from the Dominican Republic, had 13 RBI and hit .364, his best postseason performance in 12 series appearances over a 19-year career.

The Dominican native, who played for eight teams including eight years with the Rangers, retired after the 2023 season at age 42 with 464 career home runs.

Also on this day: Red Sox ace Luis Tiant won his second game of the 1975 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. The Cuban righty started three games, including a 6-0 shutout in Game 1, and hurled 25 innings. He started Game 6 but was pulled after seven innings in the game infamous for Boston catcher Carlton Fisk’s walk-off homer in the 12th inning.

In 1997, an 11th-inning homer by Indians shortstop Tony Fernandez off Orioles reliever Armando Benitez locks up the ALCS for Cleveland, which goes on to lose the World Series to the Florida Marlins.

Keith Allison on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; LatinoBaseball.com illustration