REVISIT: DEDICATED ROOKIE- 1976 HENRY CRUZ

Up on the blog today, we have a "Dedicated" rookie card for Henry Cruz, originally posted 10 years ago as part of my "1976 Project" for my buddy Jim:

Cruz actually saw a chunk of playing time during the 1975 season, appearing in 53 games and collecting 25 hits over 94 at-bats, good for a .266 average.
Jim needed him on a dedicated card for his special project so here you go.
Actually, as far as I’m concerned, Cruz has two other “missing” cards, in the 1977 and 1979 sets, which will be tackled in the near future.
What’s funny about that is the fact that he DOES get a card in the 1978 set, after seeing the LEAST playing time of his short 4-year career the year before!
Go figure...

MISSING IN ACTION- 1977 HENRY CRUZ

Here’s a “missing” card for Henry Cruz, who I also created a 1979 “missing” card for some time ago:

Cruz appeared in 49 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 1976 season, batting .182 with 16 hits in 88 at-bats while playing all three outfield positions.
He’d find himself in the South Side of Chicago for the ‘77 season, being selected off waivers by the White Sox on September 7th, and for whom he’d play the next two years before playing out his pro career in the minor leagues and Mexico through 1985.
Oddly enough, before being selected by the White Sox in 1977, he was tearing it up in the Pacific Coast League with the Albuquerque Dukes, batting .353 with 88 ribbies and 95 runs scored in 133 games, easily his finest pro season.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1979 HENRY CRUZ

Here’s a “missing” 1979 card for former outfielder Henry Cruz, who squeezed in four Major League seasons in the mid-70’s:

Cruz played in 53 games for the White Sox in what would be his final year in the big leagues, hitting .221 with 17 hits over 77 at-bats with a couple of homers and ten runs batted in.
It would cap off a career that had him with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1975 and 1976, then onto the Pale Hose for the final two seasons in 1977 and 1978.
All together he hit .229, collecting 64 hits over 280 at-bats in 171 games, with 32 runs scored and 34 RBI’s.
He’d go on to play in the Mexican League all the way into the 1985 season, making it 14 years in pro ball before hanging them up.

1978 TOPPS HENRY CRUZ: A DECENT AIRBRUSH JOB FOR A CARD NOT REALLY NEEDED

Granted, lately I have been producing “missing” cards for players who really are pushing the limits of sufficient playing time the previous year, but the 1978 Henry Cruz card always had me wondering why Topps even bothered:

For a guy who only appeared in 16 games the previous year, with only 22 plate appearances, seems Topps went above and beyond with the added efforts of airbrushing to get this player a card, no?
Cruz, who actually should have had a card in the 1977 set after his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, would only appear on a multi-player rookie card in the 1976 set besides this 1978 edition.
The airbrusing on this card is actually really good! Notice all the work with the collar, the shadowing, and the “sox” logo on the cap! Would love to see the original photo to really appreciate the work done here.
For Cruz, he’d put in four-years in the Majors, all part-time seasons split between the Dodgers and White Sox, finishing with a .229 average over 171 games and 280 at-bats before bouncing around in the Minors and Mexican Leagues until 1985.

NOT QUITE MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 HENRY CRUZ

Here’s a card as part of the “1976 Project” for “Reader Jim” that is of of another player who was actually on one of the multi-player rookie cards in the 1976 set, Henry Cruz of the Los Angeles Dodgers:

Cruz actually saw a chunk of playing time during the 1975 season, appearing in 53 games and collecting 25 hits over 94 at-bats, good for a .266 average.
Jim needed him on a dedicated card so here you go.
Actually, as far as I’m concerned, Cruz has two other “missing” cards, in the 1977 and 1979 sets, which will be tackled in the near future.
What’s funny about that is the fact that he DOES get a card in the 1978 set, after seeing the LEAST playing time of his short 4-year career the year before!
Go figure...