A bright future ahead….Like fine wine got better with age…..kicks his game to a new level once he donned an Astro uniform…Like the Alous brothers a decade later had two other siblings appear in the major league….Hector and Tommy….Jose, far and away is the most successful of the trio; tallying nearly 8 thousand at bats over 19 seasons….was still in a prime at age 38….after 3 ½ years of employment by the Cardinals, Cruz becomes another case of player being sold to another team who becomes far more valuable than the original sticker price….Once again Houston struck gold again on bargain bin having acquired Joe Niekro the same year (although results were not immediate)….while cash is nice on a ledger sheet, it doesn’t win games or draw fans…..accolades includes two all star games and silver slugger awards….led NL in hits in 1983….wore the multicolored Astro uniform through 1987 when he was starting to show signs of age.....took a flyer and wrapped up playing career with a taste of AL action as a Yankee...a line drive hitter but was able to go yard on occasion reaching double figures in 9 campaigns and culmatlative165 times total....such arguments are immaterial because Cruz body of work focusing on fundamentals and was hence a custom fit to the spacious Astrodome.....A serious, dedicated player with excellent work ethic....the marriage of Jose and the Astros continues into its 38th year as he has served in various functions, most recently community relations....Native of Puerto Rico...son had 12 year MLB career.
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