SEATTLE -- Mariners chairman John Stanton has seen Nelson Cruz go about the business of baseball in impressive fashion for the past three years. He's seen the 37-year-old slugger interact with fans in Seattle and play ball with kids and get involved in charity causes for those in need.
But Stanton wanted to see where the Mariners' big designated hitter grew up and how he became such a gentle giant in the community, so he made the trek to Las Matas de Santa Cruz last month to visit Cruz in his hometown in the Dominican Republic, where he and Cruz helped deliver balls, bats, baseball gloves, hats and jerseys to hundreds of youngsters on the north side of the island.