7x All-Star Nelson Cruz signs one-day contract to RETIRE with Seattle Mariners

Nelson Cruz played four seasons with the Seattle Mariners from 2015 to 2018.

Nelson Cruz (Image via Imago)

The Opening Day of the 2024 season saw some joyous moment for fans connected to the Seattle Mariners as one of their former stars, Nelson Cruz retired as a Mariner. The seven-time All-Star signed a one-day contract with the Seattle based side to retire with them.

After the conclusion of the 2023 season, Nelson Cruz announced his retirement. This brought an end to a historic 19-year career in the Major League Baseball.

At the age of 43, Cruz now retires as a Mariner. This is one thing that had confused many fans. The veteran slugger spent more time at the Texas Rangers then at the Seattle Mariners, so why did he choose them instead of the Rangers.

During his retirement ceremony, he would reveal the reason why. He claimed he “identified” with the Mariners more than the Rangers and thus choose them.

I always identified myself as a Mariner, even though I played more years as a Ranger.

Nelson Cruz on why he choose the Mariners rather than Rangers.
The one reason for this statement from Cruz could be due to the impact he had with the Mariners. Despite playing with them for only four seasons from 2015 to 2018, he was a three-time MVP with them and hit 163 home runs, more than he did with the Rangers.

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Nelson Cruz hilariously messes up ceremonial first pitch before Mariners vs. Red Sox game

As Nelson Cruz prepared to retire with the Mariners, he took part in some pre-game festivities which included the ceremonial first pitch. In this ceremony, he was given the task to throw a pitch towards Felix Hernandez, who acted as the catcher.

Unfortunately, Cruz messed up big time. While not everyone can be a two-way star like Shohei Ohtani, who excel in both hitting and pitching, fans were at least expecting him to pitch it straight.
Nelson Cruz (Image via Imago)
As he took to the mound, he ended up pitching the ball right into the ground. This led to a huge reaction from the fans. The 43-year-old later picked up the ball and took a second attempt.

This time his pitch did travel straight to Hernandez. However, the Mariners legend was unable to catch it, thus making this one of the hilarious slip-ups during the ceremonial first pitch.

The focus of the fans later shifted to the Opening Day game as the Mariners kicked off their campaign against the Boston Red Sox. At the end, the result was something that did not go in their way as they lost the game by a score of 6-4 to open the season on a losing note.