October 10, 2011: The Nelson Cruz Game

October 10, 2011: Game 2 of the American League Championship Series is played at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Nelson Cruz hits the 1st walkoff grand slam in postseason history, giving the Texas Rangers a 7-3 win over the Detroit Tigers.

(Officially, Robin Ventura's hit to win Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS for the Mets was ruled a single, because his teammates, so eager to celebrate, wouldn't let him past 1st base.)

The Rangers took a 2 games to 0 lead in the series. The Tigers won Game 3, the Rangers Game 4, and the Tigers Game 5, before the Rangers clinched in Game 6, for their 2nd Pennant, and their 2nd in a row.

Cruz was named the Most Valuable Player of the ALCS, setting a new record with 6 home runs in a single postseason series, batting .364 with 13 RBIs. He hit 2 more home runs in the World Series, but the Rangers lost it to the St. Louis Cardinals.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Cruz was originally signed by the New York Mets in 1998. But in 2000, while he was still in the minor leagues, they traded him to the Oakland Athletics for Jorge Velandia, one of many bad trades in Met history. But the A's also let him get away, as did the team they traded him to, the Milwaukee Brewers, and he only came to the plate 7 times for them.

He was basically a reserve for the Texas Rangers, until 2009, when, at age 28, he hit 33 home runs. He was a key figure in the Rangers' back-to-back Pennants. However, in 2013, the steroid police got him, putting the 459 home runs he's hit through the 2022 season into question. (UPDATE: He retired after the 2023 season, with 464 career home runs.)

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October 10, 2011 was a Monday. Game 2 of the National League Championship Series was also played that day. The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 12-3 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee. Albert Pujols went 4-for-5 with a home run and 5 RBIs.

On ESPN Monday Night Football, the Detroit Lions beat the Chicago Bears, 24-13 at Ford Field in Detroit.

And there were 2 games played in the NHL. The Ottawa Senators beat the Minnesota Wild, 4-3 in a shootout at Scotiabank Place (now the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. And the Pittsburgh Penguins bet the Florida Panthers, 4-2 at the Consol Energy Center (now the PPG Paints Arena) in Pittsburgh.