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
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 ...
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
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 ...
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