Jose Cruz
Jose Cruz was born in Arroyo, Puerto Rico, United States on August 8th, 1947 and is the Baseball Player. At the age of 76, Jose Cruz biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
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José Cruz Dilan (born August 8, 1947) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder.
He is also the former first base coach for the Houston Astros.
During his 19-year baseball career (1970–1988), he played for three teams, primarily for the Astros.
He is a member of one of Puerto Rico's most famous Major League families and is the brother of former Major Leaguers Héctor Cruz and Tommy Cruz. Cruz is nicknamed "Cheo," and many baseball fans refer to him as Cheo Cruz.
He and his wife, Zoraida, make their home in Houston.
They have four children: José Javier, Shakira, José Jr., also a former Major League outfielder, and José Enrique Cruz, a former Minor League infielder.
Career
Cruz signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in a straight after graduating as a four-sport athlete at Arroyo High School in 1966. Years of minor league play culminated in him being called up to the majors in 1970, where he appeared in six games and had six hits. He was called back to the Cardinals on June 28, where he would play in 83 of the next 85 games mainly as a center fielder, with a.377 on-base percentage (OBP), nine home runs, eighty walks, and 35 strikeouts.
On Opening Day, he was the Cardinals' starting center field fielder. He would play in 117 of 156 games, which included a slump in which he batted below.200 for the entire month of June. He had a.235 average with 23 RBIs and 78 hits (both down from before) but he had more strikeouts than walks. He appeared in 132 games for the club last year, with 92 hits and 57 RBIs, as well as 66 strikeouts (the most he'll have for four seasons) and 51 walks. 1974 was his last year with the club. He played in 107 games, with his.261/.416 (batting average/OBP/slugging percentage) his second best performance in four years with the club. When he was traded to the Houston Astros on October 24, his career took a turn.
He made his Astros debut in 1975 as the right fielder and led to a 5-2 victory over a 2-2 tie that resulted in the team's win as he went 3-for-4. He batted.257/.403 in 120 games while racking 81 hits, 52 walks, and 44 strikeouts (the first of five seasons where his strikeouts weren't higher than his walk count). After the Astros set an 81–81 record in 1974, the team traded first baseman Lee May to the Baltimore Orioles, allowing Astros left fielder Bob Watson to move to Cruz or teammate Greg Gross, who then moved the left field position to Cruz. Cruz had earned the left field spot by 1976 (although he would play right field for 1977 and 1978). Cruz was perhaps the most popular baseball player in Puerto Rico during his playing career, with the exception of late Roberto Clemente.
Cruz and the Astros made their 1980 debut. He would reach.302/.426 in 160 games for the team, the first for him. For the first time in team history, the Astros made the postseason a success. The Astros had to win a tie-breaker game with the Los Angeles Dodgers in order to advance to the postseason. He was assisting in the first base of the game after hitting a ball that brought him to first base on a fielder's pick while scoring the runner on third base.
The 1980 National League Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies was a close match (excepting Game 1; nonetheless, no one was able to add innings), and Cruz was instrumental in several games. Joe Morgan tied for eighth inning single to score in Game 2 in Game 2. As the Astros started to play in the inning, he stepped up to ninth place in the tenth inning, with runners on first and second on a single out for the first of four runs in the inning. He scored the first run of the game on a two-out double in the first inning in the dooming game. The Astros scored three runs on two subsequent hits and a wild pitch that scored Cruz, with an intentional walk in the seventh with two outs. Though the Phillies made it to lead 7-5 in the eighth inning, Cruz and the Astros fought back to tie in the bottom half after Cruz scored the tying run on a two-out single. The Astros were unable to keep the tenth inning alive, as Garry Maddox scored on a two-out double to seal the Astros' fate (who had lost the last two games and needed just one more victory for the pennant). Cruz batted.400, six hits, eight walks, and one strikeout on the whole.
With the following year, he maintained some of his successes. He played in 107 games (out of 110 potential games due to the strike) while producing his second straight years with more strikeouts than walks (49 to 35). Despite this, he finished 14th in MVP polls as the Astros found ways to handle the strike-shortened season by winning the second half of the year and progressing to the Los Angeles Dodgers to face the first half champion. He batted.300 in five games, with six hits and one stolen base, but the Astros will miss the next three games on the road, giving them a 2-0 series lead.
He continued his contributions to the team in 1984. While batting.382/.462 and having 95 RBIs, 22 stolen bases, and 187 hits, he played in 160 games once more. With strikeouts, having 73 walks and 68 strikeouts, he relived his woes with strikeouts, dominating the league in sacrifice hits with ten. When winning his second and last Silver Slugger Award, he ranked eighth in MVP voting. In 29 games played, he was named Player of the Month for July, having raised his batting average from.266 to.313 in 27 games.
In 1986, the Astros returned to the postseason. Although Cruz would bat in all six games, he only made.192 with five hits and two RBIs. 1987 was his last year with the Astros. He played in 126 games (the lowest in a full season since 1976) while walking 36 times and striking out 65 times.
In 1988, he signed with the New York Yankees. He appeared in 38 games before being released on July 22. With seven RBIs and eight strikeouts/walks, he had a.263-273/.263 line. During his career, he had 165 home runs and 1,077 RBI, while batting for a.284 average.
Cruz appeared in the Astros' first nine postseason appearances, three as a player (1980, 1981, and 1986), and six as a mentor (1997–2005). In the 1980 NLCS, he hit.400 in a five-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies as a player in the postseason. Cruz appeared in the MLB All-Star Game in 1980 in Los Angeles and 1985 in Minnesota. In 1980, he finished third in NL MVP voting, fourth in 1983, and eighth in 1984. In 1983 and 1984, he received the National Silver Slugger Award as an outfielder. Cruz led the NL in hits with 189 in 1983.
Cruz had played in more games than any other Houston franchise (1,870) before being defeated by Craig Biggio in 2001. Cruz coached from first base in 2000 as Biggio surpassed many of his other long-standing franchise hits, as well as total bases. His eighty triples are a record for the Astros, as do his six career walk-off home runs. His last home run, against the Chicago White Sox, was a 7–4 loss on July 17, 1988.
Post-playing career
Cruz was honored by the Astros when the team retired his number 25 on October 3, 1992; Cruz's former teammate Mike Scott had his number 33 retired at the same time. Cruz was selected by a panel of experts as one of three outfielders on the All-Astrodome team in 1999. He was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003. Cruz ranked eighth in all players in wins over replacements over replacements in 2018 over St. Louis Cardinals players who spent at least five seasons as an athlete.
Cruz played in both the Texas–Louisiana League and the Puerto Rican Winter League before returning to the Astros as first base coach from 1997 to 2009. He worked in the front office as a special assistant to the general manager for five years before being named as a Community Outreach Executive. José Cruz, Jr., Jr., said in 2005 that he agreed to coach the team representing Puerto Rico in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, which was helmed by José Oquendo and included his own son José Cruz, Jr.
Jose Cruz was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame in Houston on September 13, 2002, during a on-field event (done prior to a game) at Minute Maid Park in Houston. In August 2019, he was inducted into the Astros Hall of Fame's inaugural class.