Todd Cruz

Todd Ruben Cruz

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 175 lb.
• High School Western International High School
• Debut September 4, 1978
• Final Game September 30, 1984
• Born November 23, 1955 in Highland Park, MI USA
• Died September 2, 2008 in Bullhead City, AZ USA

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Biographical Information

"The biggest move we made was when we got Todd Cruz from Seattle. General manager Hank Peters made a great move there. Leo Hernández, he was a little late in getting the ball to second base, and his range was a little shallow. Todd Cruz was playing shortstop for Seattle when we got him. We moved him over to third base. He had real good range and got rid of the ball real quick. He solidified our infield for the second half." - Joe Altobelli

Infielder Todd Cruz played for six teams over parts of six seasons in the majors.

Selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the second round of the 1973 amateur draft, Cruz began his career that summer with the Pulaski Phillies, hitting .183 in 69 games. After hitting .261 with 11 home runs for the Oklahoma City 89ers in 1978, he earned a September call-up to Philadelphia, going 2-for-4 in 3 games with the club. The following spring, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals for Doug Bird, and he appeared in 55 games for them in 1979, posting a .203 average. After the season, he was dealt again, this time to the California Angels.

Cruz hit .275 in 18 games for the Angels in 1980 before being traded yet again in June, going to the Chicago White Sox for Randy Scarbery. He became the Sox regular shortstop and hit .232 in 90 games with them, posting a .237 overall average on the season. Struggling with a back injury in 1981, he was playing with the Edmonton Trappers when on May 19th, he was arrested for stealing $2,000 worth of watches from a department store. He did not appear in the majors that year and following the season, he was sent to the Seattle Mariners as part of the deal that brought Tom Paciorek to the Sox.

Cruz was the Mariners' regular shortstop in 1982 and had his best season at the plate, hitting .230 with 16 home runs and 57 RBIs. After hitting .190 in 65 games for Seattle in 1983, he was acquired by the Baltimore Orioles in late June to shore up the team's infield. Along with Rick Dempsey ("Moe") and Rich Dauer ("Larry"), Cruz ("Curly") formed one-third of the "The Three Stooges" bottom portion of the lineup for the O's club that would go on to win the 1983 World Series. He returned to third in 1984, but his anemic bat (.220/.251/.333 career slash line) led to his big league departure following spring training in 1985. He played several more years in the minors.

In 1990, Cruz played in the Senior Professional Baseball Association for the St. Petersburg Pelicans; he batted .313 in 21 games before the league folded.

Cruz's father, Robert Cruz, played in the Detroit Tigers chain.

Cruz died while swimming in the pool at the apartment complex in which he lived. He suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 52.

Notable Achievement

• Won a World Series with the Baltimore Orioles in 1983

Related Sites

• Todd Cruz at the SABR Bio Project
• Former infielder Todd Cruz dead at 52