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Luis Cruz Continues to Make Case for Lineup Spot
By Chad Gramling | January 1, 2009
Seems odd to be admitting this, but I have been following a lot of Pittsburgh Pirates blogs and sites lately. A lot of it is becuase of the emergence (or expected emergence) of Luis Cruz. As you may recall, he descretely made his MLB debut last year; becoming the 73rd former Wizard and 11th during the 2008 campaign to do so.
After getting off to a torrid start in Winter League play this offseason, Cruz hasn’t appeared an many games. However, he’s back at it. Afte r aslow start in his return, he’s picking up momentum again:
SS Luis Cruz doubled to lead off the 7th inning for Obregon, then moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt and scored on an RBI single, giving Obregon the tying run. Another run, on a fielding error and a single, gave Obregon the lead. In the 8th, Cruz hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded, bringing in another run. Obregon scored two more insurance runs on a walk, a hit batter, and two wild pitches [Sandlot Swashbucklers].
Apparently, Cruz favors playing competitively all year long too, as he remains a possibility to play with the Mexican squad in the World Baseball Classic. He appeared in 5 games during the 2006 edition, but had no hits in one at-bat.
Cruz played with the Wizards in 2003 after he came to the Padres via a trade with the Boston Red Sox for 2B Cesar Crespo. He appeared in 129 games and posted a .231 average with 8 home runs, 53 RBI’s and 2 stolen bases while walking just 30 times over 481 at-bats. On the bright side, he struck out just 55 times. His lackluster offense and propensity to ground into double-plays (he led the team with 15) left much to be desired. Since that time, he’s played in a handful of other organizations, but is finally emerging as a viable ML utility middle infielder. 2009 may in fact be his year.
