Cruz was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies out of Western High School in the second round of the MLB amateur entry draft in June 1973, immediately signing a contract later that month. He finally made his major league debut five years later, playing only three games in September 1978 with the Phillies. With Larry Bowa established as the everyday shortstop, Cruz was traded to the Royals for Doug Bird on April 3, 1979, three days before the start of a new season. The Royals, with a glut of outfielders, a need for a starting first baseman and having decided on U.L. Washington as its regular shortstop, dealt Cruz, along with Al Cowens and right-handed pitcher Craig Eaton, to the Angels for Willie Aikens and Rance Mulliniks on December 6, 1979. A midseason swap for right-handed pitcher Randy Scarbery on June 12, 1980 sent Cruz to the White Sox, where he became the starting shortstop. Unfortunately, a back injury sidelined him for the entire 1981 season. In May 1981, Cruz was arrested in Edmonton, Alberta, where he had been sent to play on a 20-day loan to the White Sox's triple-A farm team, and charged with breaking and entering an Edmonton department store and stealing $2,500 worth of watches.. He told the Chicago Tribune's Robert Markus that he was drunk when he made his way into the Hudson's Bay department store. "I guess I didn't know what I was doing or I never would have done it," Cruz told Markus. "I didn't need anything they had in that store.". Cruz, who prosecutors later said had broken a plate glass window to gain entry and then used a hammer he found in the store to break into a watch display case, in July 1981 pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted breaking and entering and theft and was given a conditional discharge and nine months probation. The White Sox's search for a reliable batter capable of hitting for average resulted in Cruz being shipped, along with Jim Essian and Rod Allen, to the Mariners for Tom Paciorek on December 11, 1981. The campaign was Cruz's most productive offensively as he established career highs with 57 runs batted in, 44 runs scored, 113 hits, and 16 home runs. He was supplanted as the regular shortstop by rookieSpike Owen during the following year.
Success with the Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles purchased his contract on June 30, 1983. In his first Orioles game on July 1, versus the Detroit Tigers, he drove in six runs with a three-run homer and a bases-loaded double, leading the Orioles to a victory in the city where he grew up. His biggest contribution was on defense. ManagerJoe Altobelli explained Cruz's importance to the ballclub: Shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. praised him even further: Cruz, along with teammates at the bottom of the batting orderRick Dempsey and Rich Dauer, were famously nicknamed "The Three Stooges." Cruz was "Curly," while Dempsey and Dauer were "Moe" and "Larry," respectively. After winning the American League Pennant three games to one over a former team of Cruz's, the White Sox, the Orioles captured the 1983 World Series Championship in five games over Cruz's original ballclub, the Phillies. His MLB career came to an end on March 29, 1985, when he was released by the Orioles in spring training. Orioles teammate Gary Roenicke said of Cruz's two seasons in Baltimore, "Even though he'd played for many other teams, he always thought of himself as an Oriole. He had an outgoing personality ... and he kept everybody loose."
