"one of the best and most underrated players I have ever seen"
Joe Morgan, Hall of Famer
Updated August 8, 2014
Jose Cruz player page
Jose Dilan Cruz was born on August 8, 1947 in Arroyo, Puerto Rico. The oldest of three brothers, he would eventually
forge a trail to the major leagues for his younger siblings to follow. As a youth, Jose was an all-around athlete,
competing in baseball, softball, basketball and track. After graduating from Arroyo High School, he became the first
of his brothers to reach the major leagues. In fact, the Cruz brothers soon joined the Dimaggios and Alous as a rare
trio of brothers to reach the major leagues.
(c) Houston Astros |
Jose was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals and, at age 19, started his professional career in 1967 with their
St. Petersburg farm club. After a stellar 1970 campaign with their AA affiliate Arkansas, Cruz earned a September
callup and clocked an impressive .353 average in the meager 17 at-bats he received. In 1971, Cruz started the season
for the Cardinals' AAA affiliate in Tulsa. After a torrid half-season which included 15 homers and a .327 average,
Cruz was called up to the big leagues to stay. Replacing Jose Cardenal in the outfield, Cruz spent his first
half-season playing right field alongside star centerfielder Matty Alou and future Hall-of-Famer Lou Brock.
Despite hitting .274 with nine home runs in his inaugural half-season, Cruz slumped in 1972 and 1973, batting
.235 and .227, respectively. At the beginning of the 1974 season, Cruz's major-league future seemed in doubt as
the Cardinals relegated him to the role of defensive replacement, pinch-hitter and pinch-runner.
This was the point when Jose Cruz's career made its turn-around. The Houston Astros, after sputtering to an 81-81
record in 1974, took a flyer and paid cash for the rights to Cruz. Fortune soon smiled on him when the team traded
away slugging firstbaseman Lee May, allowing leftfielder Bob Watson to move to first and subsequently opening up
left field for Cruz. While superstar Cesar Cedeno and rookie phenom Greg Gross were locks for center field and
right field, left field became a competition between Cruz and switch-hitting Wilbur Howard. Both players received
identical playing time in 1975, but no one noticed as the team plummeted to a 64-97 record, the worst in franchise
history to that point. But any doubts as to which player was more deserving of playing time were erased in 1976. Cruz made the
most of his opportunities and batted .303, second on the team only to Bob Watson. With his new-found playing
time, Cruz's running game finally became a force to be reckoned with as he pilfered 28 bases, the highest
of any of his seasons in professional ball.
(c) Houston Astros |
The 1977 season formally introduced the Jose Cruz that Astro fans remember and Cardinals fans lament. Transforming
into the best hitter on the team, Cruz batted .299 with 17 home runs, 87 RBIs, and 44 stolen bases. Those numbers
may not seem impressive nowadays, but in the Seventies they were excellent for someone playing half of their games
in the spacious Astrodome. Cruz was rewarded for his efforts when he was named the team's Most Valuable Player at
the end of the season. But Cruz was just getting started, as he became a significant force in the first of the playoff-
calibre teams from 1979 to 1981. In fact, he was one of the best (and underrated) hitters in the National League
through the 1984 season. During that period, he established himself as one of the all-time Astro greats by earning
a record four Team MVP awards, two All-Star appearances, and even two Roberto Clemente awards for humanitarian
service. His consistent performance and easy-going personality made him a huge fan favorite, and the Astrodome
would echo with choruses of 'CRUUUUUUUUUUUZ' every time he came up to bat or made a defensive play.
(c) Houston Astros |
By the end of the 1985 season, Cruz was 38 years old and at the top of the all-time batting
lists for the franchise. Although he was clearly starting to show his age on the field, Cruz still had enough gas left in the
tank to play an important role in the Astros' playoff push in 1986. By 1987, however, Cruz's slipping performance
and the emergence of a young phenom named Gerald Young sealed his fate with the club. The Astros did not renew
his contract and Cruz played one last, part-time season in the majors with the New York Yankees before retiring.
Still, Jose Cruz had made his mark with the Houston organization. After the 1987 season, he was the club's
all-time leader in games played, at-bats, hits, runs batted in, total bases, and triples. He was second all-time
in runs scored, doubles, extra-base hits, stolen bases, and walks.
Some Astro fans were bitter that the team could not make arrangements for Cruz to retire as an Astro. Most of
those hard feelings were erased on October 3, 1992, when the team formally retired his Cruz's #25 jersey. But
even after that, #25 was destined to return to the playing field for the Astros. In November, 1997, the team
hired former Astro Larry Dierker to manage the team, and he immediately brought Jose out of retirement and into his
current role as the team's first-base coach. Cruz's position with the team continues to fuel speculation that
the Astros will reunite him with his son, outfielder Jose Cruz Jr., although that has never materialized.
(c) Houston Astros |
In 1987 I was introduced to the notion of park effects by Bill James in his annual Baseball Abstract. Of course,
everyone already knew that different ballparks had an impact on hitting. After all, Wrigley Field in Chicago was
known as a hitter's paradise, and Atlanta Fulton-County stadium was affectionately called the "Launching Pad"
because of the inflating effect it had on home run totals. Conversely, the Astrodome was a well-known pitchers'
haven where home runs went to die -- eight feet short of the warning track. But James was instrumental with his analysis
that did more than just invoke the notion of park effects, but actually quantified their impact on the performances
of players.
As an avid Astros fan, I was drawn to an article in which he called Jose Cruz the "most underrated hitter in the
major leagues", or something like that. Naturally, this served to quicken the pace of the orange blood flowing
through my veins and gave me "warm fuzzies" all over. How could this be? How could an outfielder who averages
about ten home runs a season be underrated?
That is when James started on about park effects. Consider the following two players:
AB HR RBI AVG OBP SLG
Player A 1720 72 254 .265 .327 .437
Player B 2451 71 350 .288 .344 .444
A cursory glance shows that, when considering the differences in at-bats, Player A has more home-run power and
an equivalent number of RBI. But Player B definitely has clear advantages in batting average, on-base percentage
and slugging percentage. If I had to pick one for my team based solely on these stats, it would be Player B. Now
consider the following two players:
AB HR RBI AVG OBP SLG
Player A 1734 123 367 .292 .358 .554
Player B 2451 27 312 .293 .366 .404
(c) Houston Astros |
Without a doubt, Player A is a far superior hitter. While Player B has a small edge in on-base percentage, that
is obliterated by the huge, 150-point edge that Player A has in slugging percentage. If all other considerations
were equal, Player A would be considered the better hitter, hands-down.
In both comparisons, Jose Cruz was Player B. But the identity of Player A may surprise you: Bob Horner. For fans
who followed baseball in the Eighties, Bob Horner was a well-respected slugging first baseman. His forte was the
long-ball, and he hit them at a prodigious rate. Though he was often beset by injuries, Horner averaged 34 home runs
for every 162 games he played. That may not seem like a lot in the Yackball era of 21st Century, but it made Horner an elite
slugger in the Eighties. For example, Mike Schmidt averaged 36 homers per 162 games. Willie Stargell and Reggie
Jackson both averaged 32. So it is easy to see why Bob Horner's bat was well-respected in the Eighties.
Yet for every 162 games played, Jose Cruz averaged a paltry 9 home runs. Nine. Less than ten. Single digits. So how can the
any comparison between Cruz and Horner be fair if it shows that Jose Cruz was not only a better hitter, but specifically had a higher
slugging percentage than Bob Horner? Simple. The first comparison was of the "on the road" hitting of the two players
since 1979, while the second comparison was of the "at home" hitting.
When the beneficial (or detrimental) effects of a player's home park are removed from the comparison, the playing
field upon which players are evaluated becomes much more level. By doing this, Bill James had discovered and quantified
what many Astros fans had come to know - Jose Cruz was much better hitter than most fans realized.
Bill James is not alone in this assessment of Jose Cruz. The writers of Total Baseball have developed a method for
objectively evaluating the offensive performance of players, the Total Player Rating (TPR). This number is an
attempt to measure the number of "wins" a player helps his team over what would be expected from an average player.
A negative TPR would indicate a below-average player, but not necessarily a "bad" player. This statistic is adjusted for
park effects, which prevents Rockies and Cubs from dominating the top of the offensive lists.
For his career, Jose Cruz has a TPR of 28.7, which is very good and places him at #139 on the all-time list among all
major-league players. To better grasp how highly Cruz ranks, there have been 201 major-leaguers inducted into the Hall
of Fame. But to get an better idea of how underrated Jose Cruz was in his career, here are some of the outfielders
who ranked below him in career TPR: Cesar Cedeno (28.3), Rusty Staub (27.6), Jim Rice (27.2), Lenny Dykstra (25.6),
Dave Parker (23.0), and the future Hall of Famer whom Cruz played alongside as a rookie, Lou Brock (12.7). Of course,
Brock had some excellent offensive years, but his ticket to the Hall of Fame was paid for when he broke Ty Cobb's
all-time record for stolen bases. In the end, Brock was a player that Cruz would eventually outperform offensively
while receiving only a fraction of the credit for his accomplishments. But Joe Morgan saw something that every other
Astro fan saw: Jose Cruz was one of the best and most underrated players of his time.
With a career as long as Cruz's, you would expect to find an occasional curiosity if you looked around long
enough. I wrote about just such an oddity in the past and it is worth repeating. Until he was recently surpassed
by Craig Biggio, Jose Cruz was the Astros all-time leader in plate appearances
(7448). What is not commonly known, however, is that Cruz was the hardest Astro for opposing pitchers to hit.
Despite all of his at-bats with the team, Cruz was hit by pitch only three times! That is once for almost every
2500 appearances at the plate. In 1975, his first season with the team, he was hit on September 28 by Dodgers reliever
Charlie Hough. His second plunking came on August 16, 1982 in Cincinnati at the hands of Bob Shirley. His last indignity occurred in the Astrodome
on September 13, 1983 at the hands of Dodger pitcher and former Astro Jerry Reuss. I would love to tell you that
those plate appearances led to game-winning runs or something like that, but unfortunately they were all rather
nondescript.
Cruz's unsurpassed ability to avoid getting hit is interesting in itself. The real oddity is in the conjunction of this
fact with the Astro who is currently eclipsing most of Cruz's team records: Craig Biggio. In stark contrast to
Cruz, getting plunked is an experience that Biggio is very familiar with. By a wide margin, Biggio has been hit
by pitch more than any other Astro in history. In his 7901 plate appearances (through 2000), Biggio has been
plunked 169 times, or once every 46 plate appearances. That is more frequent than any other Astro with at least 200
plate appearances. So while Cruz and Biggio are both positioned at the top of almost every all-time offensive
record for the club, there is at least one category in which they are at the most extreme opposites possible.
(c) Houston Astros |
1977 - Houston Astro Most Valuable Player
1978 - National League Player of the Week, weeking ending 9/10
1980 - named to National League All-Star team
1980 - Houston Astro Most Valuable Player
1983 - National League Silver Slugger, Outfield
1983 - Houston Astro Most Valuable Player
1984 - National League Player of the Week, weeking ending 7/1
1984 - National League Player of the Month, July
1984 - The Sporting News' National League All-Star, Outfield
1984 - National League Silver Slugger, Outfield
1984 - Houston Astro Most Valuable Player
1985 - named to National League All-Star team
1992 - Jersey #25 retired, Houston Astros
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG
1967 St. Petersburg (A) 78 205 33 57 8 9 1 20 6 36 28 .278 .386 .420
1968 Modesto (A) 133 504 101 144 24 10 13 53 17 53 79 .286 .354 .450
1969 Arkansas (AA) 102 400 56 109 18 9 6 49 4 30 54 .273 .323 .408
1970 Arkansas (AA) 133 493 89 148 29 7 21 90 11 73 60 .300 .390 .515
1970 St. Louis 6 17 2 6 1 0 0 1 0 4 0 .353 .500 .412
1971 Tulsa (AAA) 67 254 56 83 15 7 15 49 5 46 31 .327 .430 .618
1971 St. Louis 83 292 46 80 13 2 9 27 6 49 35 .274 .377 .425
1972 St. Louis 117 332 33 78 14 4 2 23 9 36 54 .235 .309 .319
1973 St. Louis 132 406 51 92 22 5 10 57 10 51 66 .227 .310 .379
1974 St. Louis 107 161 24 42 4 3 5 20 4 20 27 .261 .341 .416
1975 Houston 120 315 44 81 15 2 9 49 6 52 44 .257 .358 .403
1976 Houston 133 439 49 133 21 5 4 61 28 53 46 .303 .377 .401
1977 Houston 157 579 87 173 31 10 17 87 44 69 67 .299 .368 .475
1978 Houston 153 565 79 178 34 9 10 83 37 57 57 .315 .376 .460
1979 Houston 157 558 73 161 33 7 9 72 36 72 66 .289 .367 .421
1980 Houston 160 612 79 185 29 7 11 91 36 60 66 .302 .360 .426
1981 Houston 107 409 53 109 16 5 13 55 5 35 49 .267 .319 .425
1982 Houston 155 570 62 157 27 2 9 68 21 60 67 .275 .342 .377
1983 Houston 160 594 85 189 28 8 14 92 30 65 86 .318 .385 .463
1984 Houston 160 600 96 187 28 13 12 95 22 73 68 .312 .381 .462
1985 Houston 141 544 69 163 34 4 9 79 16 43 74 .300 .349 .426
1986 Houston 141 479 48 133 22 4 10 72 3 55 86 .278 .351 .403
1987 Houston 126 365 47 88 17 4 11 38 4 36 65 .241 .307 .400
1988 New York (AL) 38 80 9 16 2 0 1 7 0 8 8 .200 .273 .262
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MINORS TOTAL 513 1856 335 541 94 42 56 261 43 238 252 .291 .372 .484
HOUSTON TOTAL 1870 6629 871 1937 335 80 138 942 288 730 841 .292 .359 .429
MLB TOTAL 2353 7917 1036 2251 391 94 165 1077 317 898 1031 .284 .354 .420
For more complete stats on Jose Cruz, check his entry at Baseball-Reference.com.
1975 Media Guide
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG
1974 St. Louis 107 161 24 42 4 3 5 20 4 20 27 .261 .341 .416
Cruz came to Houston in straight cash deal from Cardinals... is the oldest (27) of three Cruz brothers in
professional baseball; Tommy (23) and Hector (22). Led National League outfielders in double plays (5) in 1972.
Led the Texas League in total bases (254) in 1970. Collected 11 consecutive hits during stretch of season at
Modesto.
1976 Media Guide
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG
1975 Houston 120 315 44 81 15 2 9 49 6 52 44 .257 .358 .403
Hit two homers in game vs. Chicago at Wrigley Field on Aug. 24... had 10 game hit streak (July 26 through
Aug. 4) in which he hit .531 (17 for 32) and had two-or-more hits in four of those 10 games... had four hits, two
doubles and two runs batted on Aug. 3 vs. San Francisco... had three homers, six hits and eight runs batted in in
two games in August vs. Chicago (Aug. 23-24)... had two-or-more hits in 17 games.
1977 Media Guide
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG
1976 Houston 133 439 49 133 21 5 4 61 28 53 46 .303 .377 .401
Had 12 game hit streak (July 5 through July 21) in which he batted .390 (16 for 41) and had two-or-more
hits in four of those 12 games... had a .972 fielding percentage with 265 putouts in 125 games in the outfield...
had two-or-more hits in 30 games... during the month of August he hit .327 (33 for 101). During those 29 games
he hit 2 homers and had 12 RBIs... stole 28 bases, almost tripling his previous Major League season high of 10
in 1973
1978 Media Guide
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG
1977 Houston 157 579 87 173 31 10 17 87 44 69 67 .299 .368 .475
(c) Houston Astros |
Selected the Astros' Most Valuable Player by the Houston Chapter of the BBWAA... led Astros in games (157),
triples (10) and tied a club record with 10 sacrifice flies. The sacrifice flies also tied him with Cubs' Bobby
Murcer for the National League high for the season... second to Cedeno in stolen bases with 44... hit two home
runs in a game twice (7/14 @SD, 9/12 @Cin.)... had hitting streaks of 13 games (5/24-6/7), a career high, and
11 games (7/8-7/16)... tied club record with three stolen bases in a nine-inning game (7/16 @ Atl.)... went
13-for-30 (.433) with five home runs from 7/4 to 7/11. Played ball this past winter in Caguas, Puerto Rico.
1979 Media Guide
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG
1978 Houston 153 565 79 178 34 9 10 83 37 57 57 .315 .376 .460
(c) Houston Astros |
Finished third in the NL in batting with a .315 average... was selected National League Player of the Week
for the week of games ending 9/10. For the week, Cheo batted .478 with 11 hits in 23 at-bats, scoring five runs,
driving in four more, stealing three bases while collecting a triple and four doubles... of Jose's 10 home runs,
seven of which came in the Astrodome, five either tied the game, put the Astros ahead for good or won the game.
His game-winning home runs came on 6/2 when his two-run blast beat the Cards, 2-1, and on 7/17 when his 11th
inning homer gave the Astros a 2-1 win over the Phillies. His other homers of note came on 5/26 when his two-run
homer in the sixth accounted for the final two Astros runs in 5-4 win over NY; on 7/25 when his two-out homer in
the ninth tied the game at 2-2 and Astros went on to win over Expos, 3-2, in 13 innings, and on 8/21 when his
two-run shot gave the Astros their final two runs in 8-3 over Chicago... hit in 10 of last 12 games; 19-for-42
(.452)... Jose hit safely in 56 of the 77 games he appeared in following the All-Star break, hitting .330 over
that span (94-for-285) with 18 doubles, five triples, six homers, 42 runs batted in and 22 stolen bases... had
hitting streaks of seven, eight, and 11 games. Played winter ball for Caguas in 1977.
1980 Media Guide
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG
1979 Houston 157 558 73 161 33 7 9 72 36 72 66 .289 .367 .421
(c) Houston Astros |
Hit in 15 consecutive games from April 26 thru May 9, raising his average from .267 to .340... homered in
both gamesof a doublehead at S.F. on 4/15, driving in six runs in the nightcap (giving him eight RBI on the day).
Drove in a total of four runs the following three days for a four-day total of 12... led the Astros in batting
average (.289), games (160), doubles (33), home runs (9), RBI (72) and walks (72)... also led the Astros in
game-winning RBI with 14... his 160 games played are the most he has ever played in his career.... played all
his games in left field after serving as Houston's rightfielder in 1978... collected four hits in seven at-bats
vs. the Mets on 6/18, when the Astros defeated N.Y., 3-2 in 18 innings. Also had eight games in which he
collected three or more hits... was honored with the Roberto Clemente Award, presented by the people of Puerto
Rico at the Astrodome on June 24.
1981 Media Guide
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG
1980 Houston 160 612 79 185 29 7 11 91 36 60 66 .302 .360 .426
(c) Houston Astros |
Was selected as the Astros' MVP by the Houston Chapter of the BBWAA...was fifth in the NL in hits, sixth in
game-winning RBI (15) and ninth in RBI... was among the National League batting leaders throughout the season...
Opened year with six-game hitting streak... picked up first home run on Opening Day off the Dodgers' Burt Hooton
in the Astrodome on 4/10... led Astros in games, at-bats, runs scored, hits and RBI. Also, turned in fine
defensive season in second full year at leftfield position... set personal highs for games, at-bats, hits and
RBI... selected to the All-Star team for the first time. Also selected to post-season All-Star team by United
Press International... drove in five runs with a single, double and triple vs. Cin. on 4/22... hit two home runs
in a game twice; 6/30 @Atl. and 7/25 @Mtl... collected first career grand slam off St. Louis' Martin in the
Astrodome on 9/6... hit safely in 23 of 30 games in August, including 15 games in which he had two or more hits..
batted .400 in the LCS vs. Phila. and tied Luzinski and Trillo for the series RBI mark with four... received
four intentional walks in the LCS; a record. His eight bases on balls in the playoffs were one short of the
record... recipient of Puerto Rico's Roberto Clemente Award for second straight year.
1982 Media Guide
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG
1981 Houston 107 409 53 109 16 5 13 55 5 35 49 .267 .319 .425
(c) Houston Astros |
The most durable Astro playing in 107 of the club's 110 games... only missed three games due to a groin
pull... suffered through a tough 0-for-17 start and hit a tough spot towards the end of the campaign... in
between the slumps he was his own solid self... had three consecutive three-hit games (May 17 vs. Chicago and
May 19-20 at St. Louis)... had four straight two-hit games (Aug. 11-12 at San Francisco and Aug. 13-14 at San
Diego)... hit in eight in a row April 28 to May 5 (13-for-34-.382) with two doubles, four home runs and 10 RBI...
also hit in seven straight Sept. 19-26 (12-for-25-.480)... had a five-game skein Aug. 11-15, going 9-for-18-.500
with four RBI... had 20 two-hit, nine three-hit and one four-hit games... was 4-for-5 with a home run at San
Diego June 4... hit in three of the five Divisional Series games, getting two hits each time... hit .278 in the
first half and .251 in the second... had the bulk of his "power" in the first half - 11 of 13 home runs and 36 of
55 RBI... hit .283 on the road... best vs. righthanders with a .289 mark... finished third in the NL with 12
game-winning RBI... named Puerto Rico's Pro Athlete of the Year for 1981.
1983 Media Guide
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG
1982 Houston 155 570 62 157 27 2 9 68 21 60 67 .275 .342 .377
(c) Houston Astros |
One of the most durable Astros, missed just seven games during the course of the season... had a 14-game
hitting streak from July 20-August 2, going 22-55-.400... also had three seven-game hitting skeins (Apr. 12-19:
10-24-.417; Apr. 26-May 2: 10-29-.345 and June 30-July 7: 10-27-.370)... had 29 game with two hits, nine with
three hits and one with four hits... the four-hit game was a 4-for-5 effort versus San Francisco on June 23...
was one of just three Astros to collect four hits in a game... closed the season with a rush with four three-hit
games in his last nine starts... had a high of three RBI on three occasions - Apr. 29 and July 5 at Pittsburgh
and June 4 versus Philadelphia... twice had two doubles in a game - June 25 versus Los Angeles and June 30 at
Atlanta... top stolen base outing was two at St. Louis on July 25... hit .326 during the month of July and was
an even .300 for September-October... hit over .300 versus four clubs - San Francisco (.337), Los Angeles and
St. Louis (.318) and New York (.302)... put together an average of .276 at home in the Astrodome compared to
.275 on the road... at his best against lefthanded pitching with a .285 average as opposed to a .271 mark versus
righthanders... his performances during the course of the season boasted him into the top six in every career
offensive category for the Astros with top rankings of third in hitting(.291) and stolen bases (213).
1984 Media Guide
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG
1983 Houston 160 594 85 189 28 8 14 92 30 65 86 .318 .385 .463
(c) Houston Astros |
Put together a tremendous season as he went into the final day of the year with a chance to win the
National League batting title... wound up in third place with a .318 mark... tied for the NL lead in hits (189)
with Andre Dawson of Montreal... was also sixth in on-base percentage (.385), seventh in RBI (92) and ninth
in slugging percentage (.463)... was voted the Astros team MVP for a record third time (also 1977 and 1980)...
named to the post-season UPI and The Sporting News National League all-star teams... also chosen of the TSN
"Silver Slugger" all-star team as one of the top three offensive outfielders in the NL... was sixth in the NL
MVP voting... several of his seasonal marks were among the best in Houston history such as - 189 hits (second
best), .318 average (fifth best), 275 total bases (sixth best), and 92 RBI (eighth best)... appeared in a career-
high 160 games... tied the club record with six RBI in a game at Los Angeles on Sept. 20 with a grand slam doing
the most of the damage... had 44 two-hit and seven three-hit games... had a high of four hits on three occasions -
July 10 at New York, July 22 at Montreal and Sept.16 at Cincinnati... pieced together a 19-game hitting streak
beginning on Aug. 23 at Pittsburgh in the second game of a double-header and ending with an 0-for-3 showing at
home on Sept. 13 vs. Los Angeles... during that streak he was 27-75-.360 with 11 RBI... also had a 12-game skein
from Aug. 6-18 inclusive, going 23-51-.451 16 RBI and four home runs... one of three Astros to homer twice in a
game, doing so at Cincinnati on Aug. 15... hit .324 on the road and .313 at home and was .324 vs. righthanders
compared to .306 vs. lefthanders... hit better than .300 against seven clubs with a best of .372 versus New York
and .362 against Chicago and San Francisco... collected a high of 18 RBI against Los Angeles to go with a .284
average... hit a sizzling .375 for the month of July and was .341 (109-for-320) for the final three months of the
campaign.
1985 Media Guide
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG
1984 Houston 160 600 96 187 28 13 12 95 22 73 68 .312 .381 .462
(c) Houston Astros |
Continues to get better with age... finished the season tied for fifth in the National League in hitting
with a .312 mark (after placing third in 1983 at .318)... also ranked third in the league in triples (13), fifth
in hits (187), sixth in runs scored (96) and on-base percentage (.381), seventh in RBI (95) and ninth in walks
(73)... was named to the post-season National League All-Star team as selected by UPI and The Sporting News...
was voted the Astros team MVP by the Houston chapter of the BBWAA for a record fourth time (1977-80-83) as he
also became only the second repeat winner (also Rusty Staub in 1966-67)... other post-season honors included
being named to The Sporting News "Silver Slugger" team for the second straight season as one of the top three
offensive outfielders in the National League and finishing eighth in the NL MVP balloting... additionally was
the NL Player of the Week for June 25-July 1 (18-for-36-.500, three doubles, one triple and eight RBI)... took
over the club career triples record during the season as he now has 68 to surpass the former mark of 63 by Joe
Morgan... also tied the club record for runs scored in a game with four at Philadelphia on July 1... several of
his seasonal marks were among the best in club history such as - 13 triples (second best), 187 hits (third best),
160 games played (fourth best), 95 RBI (seventh best), and 96 runs scored and .312 batting average (ninth best)...
had 29 two-hit, 20 three-hit and two four-hit games... four-hit games came on Apr. 22 at Atlanta and July 1 at
Philadelphia... had a high of four RBI in a game on three occasions - June 2 at Los Angeles, Aug. 22 at Chicago
and Sept. 4 at Atlanta... also had six games with three RBI... slugged a grand slam off Dick Ruthven in Chicago
in the second inning on Aug. 22... collected two doubles in a game twice - July 2 at New York and versus Montreal
on July 19... had a two-homer game at San Francisco on July 24... recorded three double digit hitting streaks:
12 games from July 13-25 (25-for 48-.521, five doubles, two home runs, six RBI), 11 games from June 26-July 5
(24-for 45-.533, seven doubles, one triple, one home run, nine RBI), and 10 games from Apr. 14-24 (18-for 39-.462,
two doubles, two triples, one home run, six RBI)... stole two bases in a game at Cincinnati on Aug. 10 in the
second game of a doubleheader... started well at the plate, but hit a dry spell for almost the month of May,
dropping from .304 on May 1 to .227 on June 5 (one-third point in the season)... rebounded strongly to go
145-for 415-.349 for the remaining two-thirds of the season... led the club in 11 of the 12 major offensive
categories... hit .343 on the road compared to .277 at home... hit .320 versus righthanded pitchers and .297
against lefties... all 12 of his home runs came on the road as his last round-tripper in the Astrodome was on
July 4, 1983 versus Los Angeles... hit .443 in July, .321 in August and .303 in June... June was his top RBI
month with 29 despite only one home run... hit .368 versus Atlanta and .355 against San Diego in the West while
his best efforts against the East were .408 against Philadelphia and .400 versus New York.
1986 Media Guide
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG
1985 Houston 141 544 69 163 34 4 9 79 16 43 74 .300 .349 .426
(c) Houston Astros |
Moved to the top of most of the Astros' career batting records after another sterling season. Now holds
Houston records for career games (1603), hits (1716), at bats (5785), and triples (72). Also passed another
milestone, becoming one of six players to pass the 2,000 hit mark last season with a single off Lamar Hoyt of
San Diego on September 15. Member of the NL All-Star team for the second time. Hit .300 or better for the third
straight season and the sixth time in his career at Houston. Finished 11th in the NL batting race and tied for
fifth with 34 doubles. Average dropped below .280 after going 0-for-eight in a doubleheader against the Mets,
but then Cruz hit in 12 straight games (24-50, .480) to push it back to .303. Missed 16 games in the first part of
June with a dislocated toe in his left foot. Led the squad with nine game winning RBI, including a pair against
St. Louis and Philadelphia. Equaled his career high with four hits against Atlanta on April 20. Hit .359 in
August along with 19 RBI for his top month of the year. Also had good months in April (.321) and May (.341). May
was also his top power month with four homers. Hit better than .350 against four clubs, with the best output
coming against his former club, the St. Louis Cardinals. Cruz hit .395 (15-37) against the Cards. Also put up
impressive numbers against Pittsburgh (.370), San Diego (.364) and Cincinnati (.353). Had 13 three-hit games and
34 two-hit games last season. Went nearly two years without hitting a homer in the Dome, hitting one on July 4,
1983 and the next on May 13, 1985 - a solo homer against the Expos. Hit two doubles in a game on five different
occasions.
1987 Media Guide
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG
1986 Houston 141 479 48 133 22 4 10 72 3 55 86 .278 .351 .403
(c) Houston Astros |
After struggling in the first half of the year with a lingering knee injury, Cruz exploded in the second
half to regain his place as one of the club's offensive leaders. Hitting just .249 with one homer and 31 RBI at
the All-Star break, Cruz blistered opposing pitchers at a .309 clip, along with nine homers and 40 RBI in the
final 73 games. Despite not hitting his first homer until July 11, Cruz still reached double figures for the
eighth time in his career thanks to a hot second half. Hit five homers in the Dome in 1986 after hitting just
at home since July 4, 1983. Slugged a pair of homers in one game for the seventh time in his career vs. Cincinnati
on September 17 to drive in five of the Astros six runs in a crucial 6-1 win over the Reds at Riverfront Stadium.
Finished third on the squad with 12 game-winning RBI, his best total since he collected 12 in 1981 and the third
time since the stat was introduced in 1980 that he has reached double figures. Scored the 15,000th run in Astros
history vs. San Diego on July 2. Drove in the 1000th run of his career and also picked up his 1,800th career hit
on his 39th birthday to lead the Astros to a 5-0 win over San Diego on August 8. Cruz began the season on the DL
after spraining the medial collateral ligament in his right knee in a game against the Twins on March 29. Hit
just .121 when he returned in April. Best month was August when he hit .327 and drove in 17 runs.
1986 NLCS: Cruz started every game and hit in five of the six against the Mets. He also drove in a pair of runs.