1981 victor cruz

victor cruz was part of the december 1980 trade between the indians and pirates that sent hall of famer bert blyleven (congrats bert) to the indians, while cruz landed in pittsburgh. here is cruz's 1981 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

this is one of those cards that, for some reason, isn't listed with the 'now with...' text in the major publication checklists. i don't know why - it's a pretty obvious variation. anyway, the trade marked the third time in three years cruz had been traded in december. in 1977, he went from the cardinals to the blue jays, and then toronto sent him to cleveland for alfredo griffin a year later.
 
cruz had been 7-3 with a 1.71 era in his rookie year with the blue jays, numbers that could support a team trading away an everyday shortstop prospect like griffin. cruz stumbled, however, in his two years with the indians although he did record a total of 22 saves. in pittsburgh, he pitched well, appearing in 22 games and compiling a 1-1 record with 1 save and a 2.65 era in what was a sort of bullpen by committee for chuck tanner. the pirates wound up trading him to the rangers on the eve of the 1982 season, and he resurfaced in the big leagues for texas in 1983.
 
voici à vous, 1981 victor cruz!