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Nelson Cruz pulls out his phone and takes a photo with umpire before All-Star game at-bat

MIAMI — We wondered what sort of amusement might come in Tuesday night’s Major League Baseball All-Star game now that it no longer determines home-field advantage in the World Series. Would players find opportunities to be loose on the field or try to create viral moments?

Nelson Cruz sure did.

In the sixth inning of the American League’s 2-1 win over the National League, Cruz came to the plate and did something we’ve definitely never seen before in a Major League Baseball game. He took his phone out of his back pocket, handed it to NL catcher Yadier Molina and asked Molina to take a picture of home-plate umpire Joe West and Cruz.

Look at Cruz shaking things up! And he’s not some millennial baseball player either. He’s 37.

Afterward, Cruz told Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal in a dugout interview: “It was in my mind earlier, they told us we couldn’t have the phones in the dugout, and I was like ‘OK, they didn’t say anything about on the field.’

“I’ve been a big fan of Joe for awhile, so I had to do this.”

This is pretty monumental when you think about it. It’s the complete coming together of two opposing teams and an umpire for one common goal — taking a picture.

How 2017 of them.

Nelson Cruz takes a pic with Joe West during the All-Star game. (FOX)
Nelson Cruz takes a pic with Joe West during the All-Star game. (FOX)

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!