Luis Iván Cruz (born May 3, 1968) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball first baseman and past coach for the GCL Braves in 2018.

Iván Cruz
First baseman
Born: (1968-05-03) May 3, 1968 (age 56)
Fajardo, Puerto Rico
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
Professional debut
MLB: July 18, 1997, for the New York Yankees
NPB: March 30, 2001, for the Hanshin Tigers
Last appearance
MLB: September 27, 2002, for the St. Louis Cardinals
NPB: August 30, 2003, for the Chunichi Dragons
MLB statistics
Batting average.273
Home runs2
Runs batted in8
NPB statistics
Batting average.228
Home runs25
Runs batted in68
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Career

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He played during four seasons at the major league level for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals.

He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 28th round of the 1989 amateur draft. Cruz played his first professional season with their Class-A (Short Season) Niagara Falls Rapids in 1989, and his last with the Chunichi Dragons of Japan's Central League in 2003.

He played his last affiliated season with St. Louis and their Triple-A Memphis Redbirds in 2002, in which he won the Joe Bauman Home Run Award.

In 2008, he entered his first of two seasons as manager of the U.S. Military All-Stars/Heroes of the Diamond and the Latin Stars "Red, White and Blue Tour" posting consecutive winning seasons. Under Cruz’s tutelage, over 25 players were offered scholarships or professional contracts.

In 2010, he made his affiliated debut as the manager of the Peoria Padres, the Rookie Short Season A-ball affiliate of the San Diego Padres. Cruz was named as a coach for the GCL Braves in the Atlanta Braves organization for the 2018 season.

Cruz currently[as of?] resides in St. Augustine, Florida, with his girlfriend and her daughter.

See also

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References

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