The All-Star Game doesn't count, and it's awesome.
Nelson Cruz is just really passionate about his Insta game, apparently. More so than the All-Star Game? Maybe.
The Mariners’ DH stopped play when he stepped to the plate for his first All-Star at-bat in the sixth inning of the game in Miami on Tuesday to…take a picture with home-plate umpire Joe West?
Cruz’s favorite ump? Commemorating what could be the 37-year-old, five-time All-Star’s final Midsummer Classic? Joe West’s reaction might sum it up best.
Who knows? Cruz also shook the hand of first-base umpire Angel Hernandez as he left the field after a deep flyout to centerfield.
“They say no phones in the dugout, but they don’t say nothing about the field,” Cruz told a rightfully inquisitive Ken Rosenthal after the inning. Then he showed off the photo, pic credit to gold-plated National League catcher Yadier Molina.
After homering to tie the game at 1 the following half inning, Molina told Tom Verducci it was a “weird moment.”
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
UPDATE: The final product is here: