It didn’t take Nelson Cruz long to make his presence felt on the Mariners as the club’s new right fielder and designated hitter earned American League Player of the Month honors for his outstanding April on Monday.
It was the first Player of the Month award for Cruz in his 11-year career and he’s the first Seattle player to earn the honor since Ichiro Suzuki in August of 2004.
“It’d be hard pressed to see anybody’s numbers stack up against his for the first month,” said Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon. “It was pretty impressive.”
Cruz hit .