It's not quite a birthday walk-off home run, nor is it a birthday shutout, nor is it a birthday cycle.
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But, as is the case with most ballplayers when they're celebrating their annual trip around the sun, Nelson Cruz had some good fortune on Thursday night. He went 2-5 with an RBI, upping his slash line to an impressive .310/.382/.584 and maintaining the third best OPS in the American League. Oh, did we mention he's 41 years old? Not too shabby.
He didn't celebrate turning 41 without a little bit of baseball magic, though. It came in the top of the first inning, in which he ripped an 87-mph slider from Carlos Rodon so hard — 106.5 mph, to be exact — that it dug a little burrow in Yoan Moncada's glove, and the White Sox third baseman couldn't get it out (via MLB Film Room).
When you're hitting the ball that hard, actually, maybe it isn't "birthday magic." Maybe that's just what happens when you practically break the sound barrier with a sharp grounder to the hot corner. Who knows.
What we do know, however, is that Nelly Cruz doesn't realize what's supposed to happen as you age. You're supposed to get worse once you reach age 40, save for a handful of athletes. It looks like he's taking the Tom Brady route here, averaging a casual 46 home runs and .935 OPS per 162 games after turning 35.
Some fun stats to help you realize just how special his performance in recent years has been (all via Stathead):
— He's one of only 10 players with a .930 OPS after the age of 35 and at least 1,500 plate appearances in that time. The others are guys you may have heard of: Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Larry Walker, David Ortiz, Tris Speaker, Manny Ramirez, Cy Williams and Edgar Martinez. Missing the cut? Ty Cobb, Jim Thome and Hank Aaron, to name a few.
— With six more home runs this year, he'll become the fourth player to hit over 200 home runs past the age of 35. The others? Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Rafael Palmeiro.
— If he finishes this season with an OPS over .900, he'll join Barry Bonds, Ted Williams and Cy Williams as the only players with six post-35 seasons with such offensive production.
— As of now, his .966 OPS is the fourth-highest of an age-40 player in league history, trailing only David Ortiz (1.021 at age 40), Cap Anson (.997 at age 42) and John Henry Lloyd (.972 at age 44).
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