Jacob Cruz
1992-94

51

Birthdate: January 28, 1973 Birthplace: Oxnard, CA Bats: Left     Height: 6-0 Throws: Left     Weight: 179 How Obtained: Giants #2 selection (1st round, 32nd pick overall)in June 1994 draft. Contract Status: Signed through 1997

PERSONAL...graduated from Channel Islands (CA) High School in 1991...named Mizuno All-American as senior...also earned All-CIF accolades in both his junior and senior years...played for the gold medla-winning West squad at Junior Olympic Festival...in 3 years at Arizona State, he hit .361 with 25 HR and 130 RBI...as senior in 1994, led Arizona State to 2nd straight berth in College World Series...paced Sun Devils attack with .393 mark and 105 hits enroute to 2nd All-American accolades by Baseball America...named PAC-10 South Player of the Year after just missing out on triple crown after leading circuit in average, was tied for 2nd in HRs (15) and 2nd in RBI (69)...single...resides in Tempe, AZ...

Jacob Cruz was born on January 28th 1973 to Beatriz and Jacob Cruz in Oxnard (channel Islands) California. In High School He hit .494 as a Jr, with 2 homeruns. He drew 50 walks in 2 seasons. A 3 time All-Miramonte League.. Named 2nd team as a freshman.. He was an All-Ventura County as Junior and Senior. Hit .443 with 8 homeruns his senior year. ALL-CIF two years including first team as a senior. He played for the Gold Medal winning west Squad at the Jr. Olympics. His Was Named Mizuno All-America in High School. Drafted By The California Angels In The 45th Round.

College at Arizona State University: Freshman Year: Went Perfect 5 for 5 against UC Santa Barbara.

Sophmore Year: One Of the best players in the California Prep in 1991. Helped The Team To The Six-Pac Championship (The Hardest Division In The Nation To Play Baseball In) Helped The Team To The College World Series. Hitting on a 14th Game Hitting Streak in to the 1994 Season. Team tied for 7th in nation at the college world series!

Junior Year: 2nd Team All-America. Finalist for Golden Spikes Awards (Equivalent To Heisman Trophy), Six-Pac Player of the Year, 2nd In The Nation In Hits, 1st Team All-Collegiate Team, All-Regional Tournment Team, 1st Draft Pick (32nd Overall) by The San Francisco Giants, Had a 30 Game Hitting Streak, LED the team to a 3rd place finish in the College World Series. Hit A Homerun Off #1 Pick Paul Wilson in the Season. He was also one of the 8 finalist for College player of the Year.

Played Double-A All-Star Game, And Tex-Mex All Star Game. Named To Post-Season All-Star Team. Finished 2nd in the league In Runs And Tied For 2nd in Doubles. On Thursday July 19th Jacob Cruz got his callup to The San Francisco Giants. He went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts against Hideo Nomo in his first game. The next day he hits his 1st major league hit and homerun to lead off the 5th inning. On July 22nd Jacob's homerun from two night before was voted as "The Highlight Of The Week" by Major League Baseball. By the end of the 1996 baseball season he started in leftfield in front of Barry Bonds. Jacob in 1997 had a 25 game hitting streak and was voted as an ALL-MINOR LEAGUE ALL-STAR and the AAA ALL-STAR GAME. He is currently leading the league in .avg, hits, and doubles.

Quotes

Legendry Coach Jim Brock On Jacob Cruz "Best Lefthanded Swing I've Ever Seen. I have never had anyone come this far in three years. I've coached major leaguers Barry Bonds, Pat Listach, Mike Devereaux and others and it's still not even close how far he has matured."

John Pierson ASU'S former hitting coach On Jacob Cruz in 1994: "His body is not even close to maturing out, His bat speed and power should keep improving. I want to see him when he's 25. He has the natural instincts and the fluid movement right now. It's just a matter of maturing physically."

Bonnie Webb On Jacob Cruz "Jacob Will Always Be Remebered by the Die Hard Fans Of Shreveport, As An adopted parent in the booster club, thier have only been a handful of players that I've been proud to know a Jacob Is one of those fine young men."

Gordon Webb Medical Doctor Of The Captians On Jacob Cruz "Jacob Was Never Ill or Injured, meaning Jacob's excellent condition and attitude will be an asset to some lucky pro team."

Ron Wotus On Jacob Cruz "Jacob Takes This Game Very Seriously And Works Very Hard At It. All He Really Needs Is To Play More Games. Cruz has A Chance To Be Very Successful in This Game."

Jacob's Father On Jacob: Jacob may not have the speed or the power some players may have, but he knows the game mentally and that makes him so much more unpredictable.

Phoenix Firebirds: Jacob Cruz Has Been Voted Team MVP. He Leads The Team In Hits And RBI's For The 1996 Season. -The Arizona Republic Newspaper

Links

Jacob has 2 email address through his 2 teams. Please include a return address so he can respond to any questions or comments you have. Lots of eyes see the email before he reads it so be careful what you write. He has a personal email address but an email address is like a phone number so I'll be protecting his privacy. Email him at either firebird@primenet.com or giants01@ix.netcom.comSubject: Jacob Cruz Fan Mail.

Jacob's First Professional Team
Jacob's AA team The Shreveport Captains
Jacob's AAA team The Phoenix Firebirds
Cruz is the 68th Major Leaguer ASU produces
Major League Highlight Of The Week -- July 22nd 1996
Jacob's Page@Sporting News
Jacob's Page@Primenet

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