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| Jose Cruz Jr. protects the plate for Toronto |
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by Kathleen Corr
Jose Cruz Jr. is known as "The Man" by the fans who followed his career at Rice from 1992-'95, where he was a member of Lovett College. In late May, Cruz was called up from the minor leagues to join the Seattle Mariners as only the second Owl currently in baseball's major leagues. Most athletes average a few years in the minors, improving their skills and developing a name for themselves, and some athletes are never promoted to the big leagues. Despite being labeled by Seattle manager Lou Pinella as "the future of the Mariners" in Sports Illustrated , Cruz was the subject of a surprise mid-season trade that dealt him to the Toronto Blue Jays, where he finished the season with stellar numbers. Cruz's rookie performance is particularly impressive given that the baseball season had been in full swing for two months before his arrival in the big leagues. In just 104 games, Cruz drove in 68 runs and hit 26 home runs, while averaging .248 for the season. There was also a stint during his time with the Mariners when Cruz had the coveted spot in the batting order right before the other Junior, Ken Griffey. The impressive numbers left the switch-hitting outfielder as a heavy favorite to finish second in the American League Rookie of the Year contest behind the Boston Red Sox's Nomar Garciaparra. Touted by ESPN as "One to Watch," after he declared himself eligible for the draft, Cruz's statistics at Rice definitely substantiate the praise. Cruz was a three-time All-American, and his .376 career batting average while at Rice is the highest in school history. During his time at Rice, Cruz managed to destroy many of the school's records. Cruz currently holds the Rice records for most runs scored in a season (77), most career RBIs (203) and highest career slugging percentage (.676). Cruz is also second in the list for highest season batting average (.401), most career hits (223), most career runs scored (199), most home runs in a season (43) and highest season slugging percentage (.742). Cruz was also a two-time All-SWC player, an All-SWC tournament player, an All-NCAA Regional player, a recipient of the Dell Morgan MVP award and Collegiate Baseball/Baseball America's National Freshman of the Year.
This item appeared in the Features section of the October 30, 1997 issue. |
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