Nelson Cruz: “Baseball is life.”

Seattle Mariners’ Nelson Cruz is currently playing for Team Dominican Republic in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. In the most anticipated matchup of the first round, Cruz belted a three-run homer off Andrew Miller in the eighth inning, propelling the Dominican Republic to a 7-5 comeback win over the United States at Marlins Park in Miami.

Cruz tells La Vida that in the Dominican Republic, baseball is life. And he explains why.