Víctor Manuel Cruz Gil (December 24, 1957 – September 26, 2004) was a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played during five seasons at the major league level 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) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

, and Texas Rangers. Cruz represented the Dominican Republic at the 1975 Pan American Games, and afterward was signed by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

as an amateur free agent in 1976. Cruz played his first professional season with their rookie league

Johnson City Cardinals The Johnson City Cardinals were a Minor League Baseball team based in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team was affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1975 through 2020 and played in the Rookie League, Rookie-level Appalachian Leagu ...

, then split 1977 with the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play in the Texas League. Hi ...

and St. Petersburg Cardinals. After the 1977 season, he was traded to the

with Tom Underwood for John Scott and Pete Vuckovich. Cruz spent the first half of 1978 with the Triple-A

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

, where he had a 3–2 win–loss record and a 4.50

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 25 games. He made his major league debut on June 24, and spent the rest of the season with the Blue Jays, finishing the year with a 7–3 record and a 1.71 ERA in 32 games. After the season ended, Cruz was traded to the

for Phil Lansford and Alfredo Griffin. Upon joining the Indians, Cruz modified his pitching style closer to that of

Luis Tiant Luis Clemente Tiant Vega () (November 23, 1940 – October 8, 2024), nicknamed "El Tiante", was a Cuban professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 19 years, primarily for the Cleveland Indians and the Boston R ...

; the media had noted at the time that the two also had identical mustaches. Cruz spent the full season with the Indians, finishing the year with a 3–9 record and a 4.23 ERA in 61 games. He followed that up with a 6–7 record and a 3.55 ERA in 55 games in 1980. After the 1980 season, Gary Alexander, Bob Owchinko, Rafael Vasquez and Cruz were traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Manny Sanguillen and Bert Blyleven. Cruz began the season in the minor leagues, but was brought up to the Pirates' main roster, where he had a 1–1 record and a 2.65 ERA in 22 games. After the 1981 season, Cruz was traded to the Texas Rangers for

Nelson Norman Nelson Augusto Norman (born May 23, 1958) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from to for the Texas Rangers and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He returned ...

. Cruz spent 1982 with the Denver Bears and 1983 with the Oklahoma City 89ers. After a 2.16 ERA in 30 games for Oklahoma City, he was promoted to the Rangers' major league squad, as the Rangers felt that he had both his pitching and weight under control, he had lost 39 pounds during the previous offseason. In his final major league season, Cruz had a 1–3 record with a 1.44 ERA in 17 games. His final two professional baseball seasons were spent with the Oklahoma City 89ers in 1984, and the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

' Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

in 1985. Cruz died from liver problems in his native Dominican Republic on September 26, 2004, at the age of 46.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Victor 1957 births 2004 deaths Águilas Cibaeñas players Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players at the 1975 Pan American Games Cleveland Indians players Denver Bears players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Johnson City Cardinals players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mexican League baseball pitchers Nashville Sounds players Oklahoma City 89ers players Pan American Games competitors for the Dominican Republic Pittsburgh Pirates players Portland Beavers players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Sultanes de Monterrey players Syracuse Chiefs players Texas Rangers players Toronto Blue Jays players