Nelson Cruz played 19 seasons (2005–2023) for MIL, TEX, BAL and 5 other clubs. Career regular-season line: 2,053 hits, 464 home runs and a .274 average. Late Developer career, peaking in 2019. Led the league in a statistical category 1 time. Honors: 6× All-Star Selections and 2× Silver Sluggers.
Fan Rating
Rate Nelson Cruz — All-Time
Sport-specific career totals from the active profile tables, with VAL shown whenever the sport has a value file.
18 seasons · peak 11.2 in 2019
VAL (Value Above League) measures each MLB season against that season's league; the dashed line is zero — a season that added nothing above the league's fringe. ● peak · ○ league-best season.
39.7 career wins over 18 seasons · 1 win = 2.61 VAL
Best season · 2019 · +4.3 wins
Latest season · 2023 · +0.1 wins
VAL 3.0 measures each part of a MLB player's game in his sport's own currency against what that season's fringe players produced, converted to team wins with rates fitted from every team-season in the encyclopedia.
How often Nelson Cruz led or placed top-ten on a MLB season board, and the shape of the career — computed from the same per-season boards the year pages publish, so every number is checkable.
Black ink
1
league-leading seasons · 8 top-ten finishes
Career arc
Late Developer
Peaked in the back half of their career — got better with age. Peak 2019, 18 rated seasons.
Season boards
8
top-ten finishes across the MLB season boards
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Career boards only, within MLB
Cross-sport prominence: 97.7th percentile among MLB careers — a within-sport percentile, because career value is not comparable across sports.
Wore 8 distinct franchise crests across 19 seasons (2005–2023) — a true nomad. The crest trail:
MLB Advanced — ERA+ & OPS+ LeadersMLB Age Milestones — Youngest to 1,000 Hits, 100 HR, 100 Wins and 1,000 KMLB Breakout Seasons — Biggest Career-High LeapsMLB Career Arc TypesMLB Career Dominance — top-25 in multiple all-time categoriesMLB Clutch Delta — Who Rises in OctoberMLB Compilers vs Comets — Career ShapeMLB Consistency Index — Mr. Reliable vs Boom-BustMLB Era-Adjusted Careers — Greatest Careers on One ScaleMLB Era-Adjusted Seasons — Greatest Seasons in Modern TermsMLB Franchise Mt. Rushmores — Four Faces of Every TeamMLB Greatest Single Seasons by VAL (Hitters and Pitchers)MLB Hall of Very Good — Great Careers on Cooperstown's DoorstepMLB JourneymenMLB League Leader Marks — Most League-Leading SeasonsMLB LoyaltyMLB Only Club — Statistical ExclusivityMLB Rarest Seasons — Statistical RarityMLB Statistical Snubs — Eligible Careers Cooperstown Has Not TakenMLB VAL Leaders — Value Above LeagueWho Was the Best MLB Player Each Year?Career Twins — Equally Dominant Careers Across Different SportsCross-Sport Era-Adjusted Careers — The Greatest Careers, One AxisCross-Sport Era-Adjusted Seasons — The Greatest Years, One Axis
Players whose careers had the same shape — total value, peak, best three-season stretch, length and when the value came — measured with VAL against their own leagues.
Bio, rosters, and year-by-year/career stat splits come directly from MLB's own official public StatsAPI.