by Paul Semendinger
***
Yes, Jose Cruz was a Yankee. Briefly. Very briefly.
He was a Yankee for half of a season in 1988.
Jose Cruz was one of those players I only remember from the occasional highlight film, probably from This Week in Baseball, his baseball cards, and a Strat-o-Matic card I had. I remember that the guy could hit. I remember, also, that he had a unique batting stance.
Cruz batted over .300 six times in his career.
But, by the time he became a Yankee, those great days were over. As his career wound down, Cruz hit .278 in 1986 and then only .241 in 1987. The Yankees signed Cruz for the 1988 season.
I remember Cruz hitting about four million in Spring Training that year. Alas! It did not translate to the regular season.
Cruz played in 38 games as a Yankee. He batted .200/1/7.
Cruz’s last big league hit was a homer. It came on July 16, 1988. He hit the bomb off future Yankee Melido Perez.
Six days later, he was released.
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