Cruz is a seven-time MLB All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and two-time Edgar Martinez Award winner. He was named the Most Valuable Player (LCS MVP) of the 2011 American League Championship Series, in which he hit six home runs and recorded 13 runs batted in (RBI), both MLB records for a single postseason series. On August 5, 2013, Cruz was suspended for 50 games by MLB for his involvement in the Biogenesis baseball scandal.