Jose Cruz Tribute
Jose "Cheo" Cruz, #25
"one of the best and most underrated players I have ever seen"
Joe Morgan, Hall of Famer

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. 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.


Enter your favorite memories of Jose Cruz


The Astrodome: Where Fame went to die


(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 current Yackball era, 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.


Cruz Control: Avoiding the Plunk

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.


Awards and Honors


(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


Professional Baseball Record

 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  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 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.


Astros Media Guide entries

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.