LOVERRO: Including Cruz at third put the ‘83 Orioles on monitor for a title

I reached out to the Baltimore Orioles public relations division to search out out what celebrations I could have missed up to now this 12 months for the fortieth anniversary of the workforce’s final World Series championship.

I figured a workforce that completed twenty third in attendance final season and occupies the identical place this 12 months — even with a terrific product on the sphere — would do all they might to draw followers to Camden Yards, and nostalgia is a tried-and-true treatment for field workplace distress.

A year-long calendar of occasions to honor that workforce — the final actual gasp of the Oriole Way — would have gave the impression to be warranted and good enterprise.

So what have I missed within the first three months of the season? Nothing. “We have yet to announce plans but you can stay tuned for them,” Jackie Harig, director of public relations, responded in an e mail.

I’ll try this.

Meanwhile, Friday would have been an excellent day to have a celebration of a key second in that World Series season. It was on June 30, 1983, that the Orioles bought the contract of troubled infielder Todd Cruz from the Seattle Mariners.

Looking again, that was the day that Baltimore received the World Series.

“The biggest move we made was when we got Todd Cruz from Seattle,” Orioles supervisor Joe Altobelli stated.

Sometimes essentially the most nameless midseason offers ship October success.

Like most of these Orioles groups in that period, the 1983 workforce was led by nice beginning pitching — Scott McGregor, Mike Flanagan, Mike Boddicker and Storm Davis — however they have been being betrayed by an infield with an issue at third base. For a workers that relied on floor ball outs, it value them wins.

Their third base early within the season, Leo Hernandez, had restricted vary and was struggling to get the ball to second base. General supervisor Hank Peters made the transfer to vary that by bringing in Cruz, who was taking part in shortstop in Seattle however was moved to 3rd when he got here to Baltimore.

Cruz was an excellent shortstop in Seattle and figured he could be there in Baltimore. But when he noticed the lineup for his first recreation with the Orioles, he noticed a younger Cal Ripken — who had moved from third base to shortstop in July 1982 — remaining at quick. Cruz was penciled in at third base.

In an interview for my ebook, “Oriole Magic: The O’s of ’83,” Cruz instructed me he went into Altobelli’s workplace to search out out why he wasn’t taking part in shortstop. “We’re going to give the kid a chance to stay there,” Altobelli instructed him.

Cruz was satisfied he would quickly be moved to shortstop. “I thought it would be a month before I would be back at shortstop,” Cruz instructed me. “Boy was I wrong.” Ripken would play 2,216 of his report 2,632 consecutive video games at shortstop.

“When Todd Cruz came over and was put at third base, he went from a shortstop with real good range to a third baseman with great range,” Ripken stated. “Defensively, with the type of pitching staff we had, he was very instrumental in taking hits away from the hole and turning double plays. He allowed me to play further up the middle.”

Cruz was additionally a free cannon.

This was his sixth workforce in six years. His nickname was “The Watchman” as a result of when he first walked into the Orioles clubhouse, Cruz was sporting about seven watches on his arm.

“We picked up a guy who was selling watches somewhere,” McGregor stated. “He was a piece of work.”

In July 1981 whereas with the White Sox, Cruz was arrested for tried breaking and getting into and theft whereas on a rehabilitation project in Edmonton. Police caught him within the males’s part of a division retailer with dozens of watches stuffed in his pocket. He had been on a consuming binge and fell asleep within the retailer, solely to get up to see police canines surrounding him.

The Orioles thought the energy of the veteran clubhouse would assist preserve Cruz below management. He would slot in, changing into one of many “Three Stooges,” the three Orioles on the backside of the lineup. Cruz was “Curly,” whereas Rick Dempsey was “Moe” and Rich Dauer was “Larry.”

“When Todd got there, he just shut down third base,” Dauer stated. “He was a tremendous defensive player and had a tremendous arm. He made some great athletic plays there and I think that is part of the reason why our pitching really took off down the stretch.”

Confirmation? This from Storm Davis: “I was thrilled when we got him (Cruz),” he stated. “He solidified the infield. And he had a cannon for an arm.”

Do you want any extra testimony about when the 1983 Orioles season grew to become a championship one?

Cruz could be launched by the Orioles in spring coaching 1985 and his profession would come to an finish. He would die tragically of a coronary heart assault whereas swimming in an house home pool in Bullhead, Arizona, in 2008 on the age of 52.

His reminiscence and contribution will probably be value noting every time the Orioles get round to recognizing their final World Series workforce.