Tony Cruz (baseball)
| Tony Cruz | |||
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Cruz with the St. Louis Cardinals
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| Kansas City Royals – No. 7 | |||
| Catcher | |||
| Born: August 18, 1986 West Palm Beach, Florida |
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| MLB debut | |||
| May 24, 2011, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
| MLB statistics (through 2015 season) |
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| Batting average | .220 | ||
| Home runs | 5 | ||
| Runs batted in | 58 | ||
| Teams | |||
Arnoldi Anthony "Tony" Cruz (August 18, 1986) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 26th round of the 2007 MLB Draft and he made his MLB debut four years later. Cruz was a member of the Cardinals 2011 World Series champion team.
Career
St. Louis Cardinals
From Palm Beach State College and Middle Georgia College, Cruz was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 26th round (802nd overall) of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. In five seasons and 400 minor league games, he batted .266 with 96 doubles, 37 home runs and 221 runs batted in (RBI). He appeared in 231 games at catcher and 133 at third base.
On May 23, 2011, the Cardinals called Cruz up for the first time to the major leagues when they placed Gerald Laird on the 15-day disabled list (DL) with a right index finger fracture.[1] The next day, he made his major league debut as a starter. He collected three hits in five at bats with two singles and a double. He was optioned back to the minors on August 12, 2011.[2] He was later recalled when the Cardinals made the postseason. Cruz served as the third-string catcher during the postseason and eventually won the 2011 World Series with the Cardinals.[citation needed]
On June 27, 2012, Cruz hit his first major league home run.[citation needed]
Cruz spent the majority of the 2013 season as the Cardinals primary backup to Yadier Molina and a pinch hitter. When Molina went on the 15-day DL with a knee injury after the All-Star break Cruz assumed the #1 catcher role. However, on August 15, 2013 - one day after Molina's return from the DL - the Cardinals announced Cruz was going onto the disabled list with a stress fracture of his left forearm.[3] He had been playing with the fracture for about a month, but it was evaluated as soreness at first, according to general manager John Mozeliak.[4]
Kansas City Royals
On December 2, 2015, the Cardinals traded Cruz to their cross-state rivals, the Kansas City Royals for minor leaguer José Martínez.[5]
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/08/cardinals-designate-raul-valdes-for-assignment-.html
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.kmbc.com/sports/royals-acquire-catcher-tony-cruz-from-cardinals/36755464
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- MiLB.com player profile
- Use mdy dates from May 2014
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with unsourced statements from December 2015
- Pages using baseballstats with unknown parameters
- 1986 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida
- Baseball players from Florida
- Major League Baseball catchers
- St. Louis Cardinals players
- Middle Georgia Warriors baseball players
- Northwest Florida State Raiders baseball players
- Palm Beach State Panthers baseball players
- Gulf Coast Cardinals players
- Johnson City Cardinals players
- Batavia Muckdogs players
- Swing of the Quad Cities players
- Palm Beach Cardinals players
- Honolulu Sharks players
- Estrellas Orientales players
- Surprise Rafters players
- Springfield Cardinals players
- Memphis Redbirds players
- Águilas Cibaeñas players
- Omaha Storm Chasers players
