What years did Jose Cruz play?

Jose Cruz played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1988.

Was Jose Cruz a pitcher?

No. Jose Cruz was a position player (Outfielder).

How many home runs did Jose Cruz hit?

Jose Cruz hit 165 career home runs with 2,251 hits.

What teams did Jose Cruz play for?

Jose Cruz played for 3 teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (1970–1974), the Houston Astros (1975–1987), and the New York Yankees (1988).

Did Jose Cruz win an MVP award?

No. Jose Cruz did not win the MVP award.

What awards did Jose Cruz win?

Jose Cruz won 2 Silver Slugger awards (1983 and 1984). He was selected to 2 All-Star Games.

What were Jose Cruz's career stats?

In 2,353 games, Jose Cruz had 2,251 hits, 165 home runs, 1,077 RBI, 1,036 runs, and 317 stolen bases, with a .284 batting average.

What was Jose Cruz's salary?

Jose Cruz's last recorded salary was $350,000, in 1988. His highest recorded salary was $796,383, in 1985, and his lowest was $350,000, in 1988. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1988.

What position did Jose Cruz play?

Jose Cruz played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Jose Cruz and how much did he weigh?

Jose Cruz was listed at 6 feet and 170 pounds.

How many home runs did Jose Cruz hit each season?

Jose Cruz's home runs by season: 0 in 1970, 9 in 1971, 2 in 1972, 10 in 1973, 5 in 1974, 9 in 1975, 4 in 1976, 17 in 1977, 10 in 1978, 9 in 1979, 11 in 1980, 13 in 1981, 9 in 1982, 14 in 1983, 12 in 1984, 9 in 1985, 10 in 1986, 11 in 1987, and 1 in 1988. His most in one season was 17, in 1977.

What was Jose Cruz's career batting average?

Jose Cruz batted .284 over his career, with 2,251 hits in 7,917 at bats.

How many RBI did Jose Cruz have?

Jose Cruz drove in 1,077 runs in his career.

Jose Cruz

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1970-1988)

Jose Cruz was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1988 for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Houston Astros, and the New York Yankees, a span of 19 seasons. In 2,353 career games, he hit .284 with 2,251 hits, 165 home runs, and 1,077 RBI. Jose Cruz was a 2-time All-Star and a 2-time Silver Slugger. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 15,239.

AVG (Batting Average):: Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):: Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):: Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):: On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated October 17, 2026

AVG .284

HR 165

RBI 1,077

H 2,251

OPS .774

PIV 15,239

Position: Outfielder
Bats / Throws: L / L
Height / Weight: 6'0" / 170 lb
Born: 8/8/1947 in Arroyo, P.R.
MLB Debut: 1970-09-19
Last Game: 1988-07-19
Awards: 2× All-Star · 2× Silver Slugger

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Career Batting Statistics

Jose Cruz — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
2,353	7,917	1,036	2,251	391	94	165	1,077	317	898	1,031	.284	.354	.420	.774	15,239

Career AVG .284 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — +10.3% above league average.

Career OBP .354 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — +9.5% above league average.

Career SLG .420 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — +9.7% above league average.

Career OPS .774 vs. league average .707 across their career seasons — +9.6% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jose Cruz (b. 1947) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1970	SLN	NL	6	17	2	6	1	0	0	1	0	4	0	.353	—	—	—	—	0.0
1971	SLN	NL	83	292	46	80	13	2	9	27	6	49	35	.274	.249 (+10%)	.316 (+19%)	.365 (+16%)	.682 (+18%)	1029.7
1972	SLN	NL	117	332	33	78	14	4	2	23	9	36	54	.235	.243 (-4%)	.310 (avg)	.353 (-10%)	.664 (-5%)	-251.7
1973	SLN	NL	132	406	51	92	22	5	10	57	10	51	66	.227	.256 (-12%)	.325 (-5%)	.378 (avg)	.703 (-2%)	-199.8
1974	SLN	NL	107	161	24	42	4	3	5	20	4	20	27	.261	.256 (+2%)	.324 (+5%)	.369 (+13%)	.693 (+9%)	271.6
1975	HOU	NL	120	315	44	81	15	2	9	49	6	52	44	.257	.257 (avg)	.327 (+9%)	.374 (+8%)	.701 (+9%)	594.4
1976	HOU	NL	133	439	49	133	21	5	4	61	28	53	46	.303	.255 (+19%)	.320 (+18%)	.360 (+11%)	.681 (+14%)	1298.3
1977	HOU	NL	157	579	87	173	31	10	17	87	44	69	67	.299	.264 (+13%)	.329 (+12%)	.401 (+18%)	.730 (+15%)	1811.0
1978	HOU	NL	153	565	79	178	34	9	10	83	37	57	57	.315	.257 (+22%)	.323 (+16%)	.378 (+22%)	.702 (+19%)	2145.2
1979	HOU	NL	157	558	73	161	33	7	9	72	36	72	66	.289	.265 (+9%)	.329 (+11%)	.397 (+6%)	.727 (+8%)	1075.2
1980	HOU	NL	160	612	79	185	29	7	11	91	36	60	66	.302	.264 (+14%)	.326 (+10%)	.387 (+10%)	.714 (+10%)	1280.9
1981	HOU	NL	107	409	53	109	16	5	13	55	5	35	49	.267	.255 (+4%)	.320 (avg)	.368 (+15%)	.688 (+8%)	481.0
1982	HOU	NL	155	570	62	157	27	2	9	68	21	60	67	.275	.261 (+5%)	.324 (+6%)	.388 (-3%)	.712 (+1%)	202.9
1983	HOU	NL	160	594	85	189	28	8	14	92	30	65	86	.318	.260 (+22%)	.324 (+18%)	.389 (+19%)	.714 (+19%)	2376.0
1984	HOU	NL	160	600	96	187	28	13	12	95	22	73	68	.312	.259 (+20%)	.322 (+18%)	.384 (+20%)	.707 (+19%)	2350.0
1985	HOU	NL	141	544	69	163	34	4	9	79	16	43	74	.300	.257 (+17%)	.323 (+8%)	.390 (+9%)	.714 (+9%)	891.5
1986	HOU	NL	141	479	48	133	22	4	10	72	3	55	86	.278	.257 (+8%)	.325 (+8%)	.395 (+2%)	.720 (+5%)	518.0
1987	HOU	NL	126	365	47	88	17	4	11	38	4	36	65	.241	.262 (-8%)	.331 (-7%)	.415 (-4%)	.746 (-5%)	-367.2
1988	NYA	AL	38	80	9	16	2	0	1	7	0	8	8	.200	.254 (-21%)	.317 (-14%)	.377 (-31%)	.695 (-23%)	-268.6
Career · 19 seasons			2,353	7,917	1,036	2,251	391	94	165	1,077	317	898	1,031	.284	—	—	—	—	15,239

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Jose Cruz — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
16	61	3	17	2	1	0	6	10	12	.279

Playoff Batting by Year

Jose Cruz — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1986	NLCS	HOU	6	26	0	5	0	0	2	1	8	.192
1981	NWDIV	HOU	5	20	0	6	1	0	0	1	3	.300
1980	NLCS	HOU	5	15	3	6	1	1	4	8	1	.400

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (2352 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Jose Cruz — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	1166	3785	497	1094	59	528	.289
Away	1186	4128	539	1156	106	548	.280

Last 10 Games — Batting

Jose Cruz — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO
1988-07-19	NYY	TEX	L	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
1988-07-16	NYY	CHW	L	1	1	1	1	4	0	0
1988-07-10	NYY	KCR	L	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
1988-07-09	NYY	KCR	W	2	1	1	0	0	0	0
1988-07-04	NYY	TEX	W	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
1988-07-01	NYY	CHW	L	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
1988-06-29	NYY	DET	W	3	1	0	0	0	1	0
1988-06-27	NYY	DET	L	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
1988-06-24	NYY	CLE	L	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
1988-06-22	NYY	DET	L	1	0	0	0	0	0	1

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jose Cruz — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	3	3	22	1	0	3
OF	2156	2054	4391	125	120	28

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jose Cruz — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1970	SLN	OF	4	4	16	0	0	0
1971	SLN	OF	83	80	197	2	5	1
1972	SLN	OF	102	89	220	9	5	5
1973	SLN	OF	118	110	276	2	6	1
1974	SLN	1B	1	1	5	0	0	2
1974	SLN	OF	53	25	76	2	2	1
1975	HOU	OF	94	80	187	6	4	0
1976	HOU	OF	125	114	265	10	8	4
1977	HOU	OF	155	151	311	11	9	1
1978	HOU	1B	2	2	17	1	0	1
1978	HOU	OF	152	149	311	4	8	0
1979	HOU	OF	156	156	320	7	14	0
1980	HOU	OF	158	158	323	16	11	1
1981	HOU	OF	105	105	237	5	4	2
1982	HOU	OF	155	153	340	9	13	3
1983	HOU	OF	160	158	322	9	7	1
1984	HOU	OF	160	159	310	11	8	1
1985	HOU	OF	137	137	257	12	8	3
1986	HOU	OF	134	131	237	5	4	1
1987	HOU	OF	97	89	178	5	3	3
1988	NYA	OF	8	6	8	0	1	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jose Cruz (b. 1947) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
First Base	3
Left Field	1407
Center Field	277
Right Field	495
Designated Hitter	12

Awards & Honors

Jose Cruz — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1987	Player of the Week	Week of 1987-04-10
1984	Player of the Month	July
1984	Player of the Week	Week of 1984-06-29
1984	Silver Slugger	OF
1984	TSN All-Star	OF
1983	Silver Slugger	OF
1978	Player of the Week	Week of 1978-09-09

Salary History

Jose Cruz's recorded salaries total $2,656,383 over 4 seasons, 1985 to 1988. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Cruz's career ran from 1970 to 1988. His seasons before 1985 are not included.

Jose Cruz — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1988	NYA	AL	$350,000
1987	HOU	NL	$755,000
1986	HOU	NL	$755,000
1985	HOU	NL	$796,383
Total recorded salary (partial)			$2,656,383

Award Voting History

Jose Cruz — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max
1985	Most Valuable Player	NL	21th	2.0	336
1984	Most Valuable Player	NL	8th	53.0	336
1983	Most Valuable Player	NL	6th	76.0	336
1981	Most Valuable Player	NL	14th	25.0	336
1980	Most Valuable Player	NL	3rd	166.0	336

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Jose Cruz (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Compare Jose Cruz

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Jose Cruz: the record in brief

The profile opens with Jose Cruz's first major league game on September 19, 1970; the last one listed came on July 19, 1988. Club by club, the record runs the St. Louis Cardinals (1970 through 1974), the Houston Astros (1975 to 1987), and the New York Yankees (1988). The bio lists Cruz as an outfielder who threw and hit left-handed. Cruz is listed at 6 feet, 0 inches and 170 pounds. The birth record reads August 8, 1947, in Arroyo, P.R.

Across 2,353 games at the plate, Cruz's career line reads 2,251 hits in 7,917 at bats for a .284 average, plus 165 homers, 1,077 runs batted in, and 317 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .354 and .420 give Cruz a career OPS of .774. Cruz's .284 average ran 10.3% above the .258 that the league posted over the same seasons. The OPS comparison is .774 to a league .707, 9.6% above average. The single-season home run high is 17, set in 1977.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jose Cruz

What years did Jose Cruz play?: Jose Cruz played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1988.
Was Jose Cruz a pitcher?: No. Jose Cruz was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Jose Cruz hit?: Jose Cruz hit 165 career home runs with 2,251 hits.
What teams did Jose Cruz play for?: Jose Cruz played for 3 teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (1970–1974), the Houston Astros (1975–1987), and the New York Yankees (1988).
Did Jose Cruz win an MVP award?: No. Jose Cruz did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Jose Cruz win?: Jose Cruz won 2 Silver Slugger awards (1983 and 1984). He was selected to 2 All-Star Games.
What were Jose Cruz's career stats?: In 2,353 games, Jose Cruz had 2,251 hits, 165 home runs, 1,077 RBI, 1,036 runs, and 317 stolen bases, with a .284 batting average.
How much did Jose Cruz earn in his career?: Jose Cruz's recorded salaries total $2,656,383 over 4 seasons, 1985 to 1988. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Cruz's career ran from 1970 to 1988. His seasons before 1985 are not included.
What was Jose Cruz's salary?: Jose Cruz's last recorded salary was $350,000, in 1988. His highest recorded salary was $796,383, in 1985, and his lowest was $350,000, in 1988. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1988.
What position did Jose Cruz play?: Jose Cruz played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Jose Cruz and how much did he weigh?: Jose Cruz was listed at 6 feet and 170 pounds.
How many home runs did Jose Cruz hit each season?: Jose Cruz's home runs by season: 0 in 1970, 9 in 1971, 2 in 1972, 10 in 1973, 5 in 1974, 9 in 1975, 4 in 1976, 17 in 1977, 10 in 1978, 9 in 1979, 11 in 1980, 13 in 1981, 9 in 1982, 14 in 1983, 12 in 1984, 9 in 1985, 10 in 1986, 11 in 1987, and 1 in 1988. His most in one season was 17, in 1977.
What was Jose Cruz's career batting average?: Jose Cruz batted .284 over his career, with 2,251 hits in 7,917 at bats.
How many RBI did Jose Cruz have?: Jose Cruz drove in 1,077 runs in his career.