Cruz is one of the biggest names in Astros’ history.
Do you remember former Houston Astros great Jose Cruz? If you were a kid of the 1970s and 1980s. Then you remember heading to the Astrodome to watch him play in the outfield. The man, nicknamed Cheo, was born in 1947 in Puerto Rico. He worked his way up to the Majors.
Courtesy Baseball Hall of Fame
Cruz was a left-handed hitter and was one of the most popular players in Houston Astros team history. In 1980, Cruz led the team to their first-ever division title and a postseason berth. Cruz is a six-time, All-Star, has two Silver Slugger Awards and led the National League in hits in 1983. He won a record four Astros team MVP awards. Cruz was twice the Astros nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award for humanitarian efforts.
In 1992, the Astros retired Cruz’s #25 jersey.
Jose Cruz was just inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in Waco, TX, with former New York Giants star Michael Strahan, among others. I’m proud to say that Strahan was born in Houston, my hometown.
Congrats to Jose Cruz for this well-deserved honor.
This is AWESOME for Jose Cruz. I followed baseball a lot back then. But, I lived in California. However, I knew who he was. Too bad it took so long. Great article Matthew Paris.