Héctor de la Cruz (born October 12, 1965) is a Dominican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. He played professional baseball for the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

in 1991. A native of Sabana Perdida,

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

, he is nicknamed "La Manta" by close friends and family.

Career

De la Cruz spent seven years in Minor league baseball as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

organization before becoming a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

in the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

system. He also played professional baseball in Korea, Taiwan and Japan. From 2001 through 2004, De la Cruz coached for the Missoula Osprey (2001–2002) of the Pioneer League and Class-A South Bend Silver Hawks (2003–2004). In 2005, he started his managerial career with Missoula, where he won the PL pennant in 2006. The next year he led the Single-A Visalia Oaks to a 77–63 record, as well as a playoff appearance in the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

. From 2008 to 2009, he managed Class AA Mobile Bay Bears of the Southern League, before joining the Missoula Osprey of the Pioneer League for the next two years. He posted a 28–47 record in 2010, but improved to 41–35 in 2011, leading the Osprey to the best record among North Division teams, and their first PBL North Division First-Half championship since 1999. At the end of the season, he was named Pioneer League Manager of the Year.MiLB.com – De La Cruz named Manager of Year
/ref> He spent 2012 with the AZL Diamondbacks.

Caribbean baseball

In an unusual situation during the 2007–2008 Dominican League regular season, the

Tigres del Licey Tigres del Licey (English: Licey Tigers) is a professional baseball team in the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM). The team was founded in 1907 and based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It is one of two LIDOM franchises based in ...

, managed by De La Cruz, finished second and would not qualify for the

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is norma ...

, but had to replace

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

when the Puerto Rican circuit canceled its regular season for financial reasons. Then, De La Cruz led Licey to the 2008 CS title after defeating their Dominican rival

Águilas Cibaeñas The Águilas Cibaeñas (English lit. ''Cibaoan Eagles'') is a professional baseball team in the Dominican Republic's Dominican Professional Baseball League, winter baseball league. Founded on January 28, and based in Santiago de los Caballeros, S ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Tigres de Aragua The Tigres de Aragua ( en, Aragua Tigers) is a baseball team that plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League and represents the state of Aragua. Founded in 1965, the Tigres plays its home games at the Estadio José Pérez Colmenares i ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Yaquis de Obregón The Yaquis de Obregón ( en, Obregón Yaquis) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora. The “Yaquis” are the only team in league history to have won three consecutive league championships ...

References

External links

, o
CPBLMobile BayBears 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:De La Cruz, Hector 1965 births Living people Baseball shortstops Brother Elephants players Caribbean Series managers Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dunedin Blue Jays players Florence Blue Jays players Gulf Coast Blue Jays players Knoxville Blue Jays players Langosteros de Quintana Roo players Mayas de Chetumal players Minor league baseball managers Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen Leones de Yucatán players Tigres del México players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players Sinon Bulls players Syracuse Chiefs players Yomiuri Giants players