José Cruz
| José Cruz | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Cruz in 2014
|
|||
| Outfielder | |||
|
Born: August 8, 1947 Arroyo, Puerto Rico |
|||
|
|||
| MLB debut | |||
| September 19, 1970, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| July 19, 1988, for the New York Yankees | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .284 | ||
| Hits | 2,251 | ||
| Home runs | 165 | ||
| Runs batted in | 1,077 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
|
|||
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, he played from 1970 to 1988 for three different teams, playing 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 and Tommy Cruz.
Nicknamed "Cheo", 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.
In 1997 he resided in the Northfield subdivision in Fondren Southwest, Houston.
Cruz debuted with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1970. It was as a member of the Houston Astros, however, that he became a household name across Puerto Rico and the United States. During his playing days, he was arguably the most famous baseball player (not counting the late Roberto Clemente) in Puerto Rico.
Cruz was traded to the New York Yankees in 1988, retiring at the end of the season. He had a total of 165 home runs and 1077 RBI during his career, while hitting for a .284 batting average.
Cruz has been involved with all ten of the Astros postseason appearances, three as a player (1980, 1981 and 1986); six as a coach (1997–1999, 2001, 2004–2005); and one as special assistant to the general manager (2015). As a player in the poststeason, he hit .400 in the dramatic five-game series against Philadelphia in the 1980 NLCS. Cruz represented the Astros in the MLB All-Star Game in 1980 at Los Angeles, and 1985 at Minnesota. He finished 3rd in NL MVP voting in 1980 and 8th in 1984. He won the NL Silver Slugger Award as an outfielder in 1983 and 1984.
...
Wikipedia