Francisco Alberto Cruceta (born July 4, 1981) is a former professional baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

and Detroit Tigers, in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) for the Samsung Lions and in the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five t ...

for the

Saraperos de Saltillo The Saraperos de Saltillo (English: Saltillo Serape Wearers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Francisco I. Madero in Saltillo, Coahuila. They have won three championships (19 ...

Career

Los Angeles Dodgers

Cruceta was signed by the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, on May 20, . He spent the next three seasons with the DSL Dodgers in the

Dominican Summer League The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only ...

; in his last year he went 0–4 with 1.50

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

. For , the Dodgers brought Cruceta over to the Single-A South Georgia Waves, where he went 8–5, with a 2.80 ERA and three complete games. On July 28, 2002, the Dodgers, in the midst of a pennant race, traded Cruceta with

Terry Mulholland Terence John Mulholland (born March 9, 1963) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. His Major League Baseball (MLB) career spanned 20 seasons, and to . He threw left-handed and batted right-handed. Early life and education Mulhol ...

and Ricardo Rodríguez to the

for veteran pitcher Paul Shuey. The Indians assigned Cruceta to the Single-A

Kinston Indians The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949. The team began play in 1978 as the Ki ...

Cleveland Indians

At Kinston, Cruceta started seven games, going 2–0 with a 2.50 ERA. In November, the Indians added him their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

, indicating their confidence in him. Nevertheless, Cruceta would not pitch in a major league game for the Indians until the end of the season. Cruceta began the season with the Double-A

Akron Aeros The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

. At the time, Cruceta had in his arsenal a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

(which topped out at ),

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

, and

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

. John Farrell, then the Indians director of player development, praised Cruceta's mechanics: "He throws the ball on a downward plane. It allows the action of all his pitches to work down and force ground-ball outs. We're ecstatic that we got him in the Rodriguez trade." Cruceta enjoyed a strong year at Akron, going 13–9 with a 3.09 ERA. Cruceta returned to the Aeros for the 2004 season, and in mid-June the Indians promoted him to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

, where he went 6–5 with a 3.25 ERA as the Bisons defeated the Richmond Braves for the International League championship and the Governors' Cup. Following the series Cruceta was one of six Bisons players called up by the Indians for the fall expansion. Cruceta replaced the injured

CC Sabathia Carsten Charles Sabathia Jr. (born July 21, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the New York Yankees. He also played for the Cleveland Indians and Milwauk ...

in the starting rotation, and made his major league debut against the Detroit Tigers on September 21, 2004. Cruceta gave up five runs in four innings, but did not figure in the decision, as the Indians mounted a comeback and defeated the Tigers 8–7. He pitched in one more game that season, this time giving up four runs on five hits in innings on September 26, 2004, in a 6–2 loss to the Minnesota Twins, where Cruceta received the

loss Loss may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Loss'' (Bass Communion album) (2006) * ''Loss'' (Mull Historical Society album) (2001) *"Loss", a song by God Is an Astronaut from their self-titled album (2008) * Losses "(Lil Tjay son ...

. Cruceta returned to Buffalo for the season, but doubts developed about his role. He struggled as a starter, and attempts to convert him into a relief pitcher met with mixed results. Manager Marty Brown was open in his criticism of Cruceta's efforts to become a reliever, and acknowledged that, when he had Cruceta start a game in mid-August, "You could see he felt more comfortable in that starting role than out of the bullpen. That's a real positive for him." Just a few days after that start, the Indians designated him for assignment. The

claimed him off waivers and sent him to the Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

Seattle Mariners

Cruceta spent time with the Mariners during spring training, but opened the year at Tacoma, where he started 28 games and compiled a 13–9 record with an ERA of 4.38 and led the Pacific Coast League (PCL) in strikeouts. In a start against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in late May, Cruceta pitched eight shutout innings, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out 11. Cruceta continued to pitch strongly, but was passed over for the PCL All-Star team, a decision criticized by the Rainiers' manager,

Dave Brundage David Charles Brundage (born October 6, 1964 in Portland, Oregon) is an American professional baseball manager. In , Brundage spent his first season as manager of the Sacramento River Cats, Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. His d ...

, who called Cruceta "dominant" and said that he had been "snubbed." The Mariners called Cruceta up in September to make a spot start, but he did not get out of the first inning against the Kansas City Royals, giving up five runs, including a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

, in one inning of work. Commented Mariners' manager

Mike Hargrove Dudley Michael Hargrove (born October 26, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and manager. He is currently employed as an advisor with the Cleveland Guardians. Hargrove batted and threw left-handed. He played for the Texas Rang ...

: "It was one of those nights. He'll pitch again. Out of the bullpen." Cruceta made three relief appearances, giving up three runs in five innings of work, but at the end of the year waived him. The Texas Rangers claimed Cruceta and assigned him to the Triple-A

Oklahoma RedHawks Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

Texas Rangers

In , Cruceta was suspended for 50 games at the start of the season for violating the minor league ban on steroids. When he returned though, he performed well for the Triple-A Oklahoma RedHawks, going 3–0 in 25 games, with a 3.02 ERA, while striking out 60 batters in innings. He also pitched well in a winter league stint in the

Dominican Winter League Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Domi ...

for

Gigantes del Cibao The Gigantes del Cibao (English: Cibao giants) are a baseball team that plays in the Dominican Winter League. The team was founded in 1996 as ''Gigantes del Noroeste ''then with a change of ownership the name was changed several times, being cal ...

going 1–1 with a 1.08 ERA. These performances impressed the Detroit Tigers, who signed him on November 30, 2007.

Detroit Tigers

Cruceta was expected to compete for the vacant spots in the Tigers bullpen during spring training , left by

Joel Zumaya Joel Martin Zumaya (born November 9, 1984) is a former American professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers from 2006 through 2010. Baseball career Zumaya was drafted out of Bonita Vista High School ...

and

Fernando Rodney Fernando Rodney (born March 18, 1977) is a Dominican–American professional baseball pitcher for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Ta ...

after they suffered shoulder injuries. Cruceta's chances of making the Tigers bullpen was dealt a blow when his visa was withheld, allegedly due to his suspension in 2007. After two months of waiting, Cruceta was granted his visa on April 9, allowing for him to come to the U.S. from his native

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. After returning to the United States, Cruceta was brought up to the Tigers on April 30, 2008, when

Jason Grilli Jason Michael Grilli (born November 11, 1976) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los A ...

was traded to the Colorado Rockies. Cruceta made 13 appearances for the Tigers, going 0–3 with an ERA of 5.40. On June 3, Cruceta was designated for assignment; after clearing waivers, he joined the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. He became a free agent at the end of the season.

Foreign career

Cruceta signed with the Samsung Lions in the Korea Baseball Organization for the season. He showed fine performances in his first Korean pro league season, going 9–10 with a 4.36 ERA as a starting pitcher. In June 2011, Crueta was found cheating again, this time by using an illegal substance on his glove. It was discovered by home plate umpire Stephen Lockhart, who promptly tossed him out. Francisco Cruceta signed a minor league contract with New York Yankees on June 28, 2011 & was waived thereafter. He spent the 2012 season with

Rimini Baseball The Rimini Baseball Club is a team that played in Serie A1 Italian Baseball League. The team is based in the city of Rimini and plays its home games at the Stadio dei Pirati since 1973. Rimini has won 13 national championships and three European ...

, in Italy, his last professional stop. He signed with the

of the

for the 2016 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruceta, Francisco 1981 births Akron Aeros players Baseball players suspended for drug offenses Brockton Rox players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cardenales de Lara players Cleveland Indians players Detroit Tigers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Italy Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in South Korea Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Gigantes del Cibao players KBO League pitchers Kinston Indians players Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mexican League baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players Oklahoma RedHawks players Pericos de Puebla players Rimini Baseball Club players Samsung Lions players San Angelo Colts players Saraperos de Saltillo players Seattle Mariners players South Georgia Waves players Tacoma Rainiers players Toledo Mud Hens players Tomateros de Culiacán players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Dominican Republic sportspeople in doping cases Naranjeros de Hermosillo players Toros del Este players