Project Baseball 1976: 1976 Topps #598 - Rookie Outfielders (Cruz, Quirk, Turner, Wallis)

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Brother of Jose Cruz and uncle of Jose Cruz Jr
Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1970
I remember him as Heity Cruz
Went 0 for 11 in 11 games with the Cardinals in 1973
Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year in 1975
Batted .146 in 23 games for the Cardinals in 1975
Finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting (behind co-winners Pat Zachry and Butch Metzger) in 1976
Played in 151 games at 3B for the Cardinals in 1976 and batted .228 with 13 HR and 71 RBI
Led NL third basemen with 26 errors and had a .934 fielding percentage in 1976
Played mostly outfield in 1977 and batted .236 in 118 games
Traded with Dave Rader to the Chicago Cubs after the 1977 season for Steve Swisher, Jerry Morales, and cash
Started the 1978 season with the Cubs (.237 in 30 games) and traded to the San Francisco Giants for Lynn McGlothen on June 15
Played OF and 3B for the Giants and batted .227 in 90 games in 1978
Started the 1979 season with the Giants (.120 in 16 games) and was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in late June for Pedro Borbon
Batted .242 in 74 games as a fourth OF for the Reds in 1979
Batted .213 in 75 AB for the Reds in 1980
Traded to the Cubs for Mike Vail after the 1980 season
Batted .229 in 53 games in 1981
Was up and down between Chicago and AAA Iowa in 1982
Batted .211 in 19 AB for the Cubs in 1982
Released on August 4, 1982
Played in Japan in 1983
Works for the United States Postal Service as a mail carrier in Chicago

First round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals in 1972
Played everywhere but second base and pitcher during his career
Had a brief stint with Kansas City in 1975 and batted .256 in 14 games
Batted .246 in 64 games in 1976
Went 1 for 8 (.125) in four games in the 1976 ALCS
Traded to the Milwaukee Brewers after the 1976 season as part of the deal the brought Darrell Porter to the Royals
Spent one season in Milwaukee and batted .217 in 93 games
Played for Milwaukee's AAA Spokane club for most of the 1978 season
Traded back to Kansas City at the end of the 1978 season and batted .207 in 17 games
Was a seldom-used utilityman for the Royals from 1979-1982.
Didn't make the postseason roster for the Royals in 1980 or 1981
Signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent before the 1983 season
Batted .209 in 48 games for the Cardinals in 1983
Cut from the Cardinals during spring training in 1984

Signed with the Chicago White Sox on May 23
Spent some time with AAA Denver
Played in three games (0 for 2) with the White Sox before being sold to the Cleveland Indians on September 24
Batted once (1 for 1) with the Indians before being released after the 1984 season

Signed with the Royals for a third stint before the 1985 season
Played in only 19 games as a catcher and first baseman but still made the postseason roster
Went 0 for 1 in one game in the 1985 ALCS. Did not play in the 1985 World Series
Spent the next three seasons (1986-1988) as a utiltyman for the Royals
Signed with the New York Yankees as a free agent after the 1988 season
Played for three different teams (Yankees, A's, and Baltimore Orioles) during the 1989 season
Spent the 1990-1992 seasons as a utiltyman for the A's
Signed with the Cincinnati Reds before the 1993 season but retired during spring training
Coached in the minors and majors after his playing career
Was the bullpen coach for the Houston Astros in 2010

Drafted by the San Diego Padres in 1972
Batted .329 in 142 games with AAA Hawaii in 1975
Brief appearances with the Padres in 1974 (.292 in 17 games) and in 1975 (.273 in 11 games)
Shared time with Johnny Grubb in left field in 1976 and batted .267 in 281 AB
Played all three OF positions in 1977 and batted .246 in 289 AB
Was a fourth OF again in 1978 and batted .280 in 225 AB
Started in LF in 1979 and batted .248 in 448 AB
Batted .288 in 153 AB in 1980
Didn't play much for the Padres in 1981 -- batted .226 in 31 AB
Sold to the Chicago White Sox on September 9, 1981
Went 2 for 12 (.167) in 10 games for the White Sox in 1981
Signed with the Detroit Tigers as a free agent after the 1981 season
Batted .248 in 85 games as a backup OF and designated hitter
Released after the 1982 season and signed with the San Diego Padres
Was up and down between AAA and San Diego in 1983
Batted .130 in 23 AB for the Padres in 1983
Released in July 1983
Signed with the Philadelphia Phillies and played in the minors but wasn't brought up to the majors
Retired after the 1983 season

Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1973
Came up at the end of the 1975 season and batted .286 in 16 games
Broke up Tom Seaver's no-hit bid with two out in the 9th inning on September 24, 1975
Played all three OF positions in 1976 and batted .254 in 121 games
Batted .250 in 80 AB in 1977
Started the 1978 season with the Cubs (.309 in 55 AB)
Traded twice in the same day (June 15) in 1978

JohngyThursday, 28 October, 2010
Quirk had an odd (I resisted saying Quirky) career, but all told it was a pretty decent one.
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Matthew GliddenFriday, 29 October, 2010
One Quirk fan checking in! I admire his career mentality for baseball, both playing and coaching. It took 17 seasons for Jamie to reach 500 hits and he wore 11 different uniform numbers along the way!

Love the sponsorship comment on his B-R page: Quirkland
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JohngyFriday, 29 October, 2010
I almost interviewed him at Wrigley. In a day of continual problems, my camera died, just as I secured the interview. Fortunately (and because he was a nice guy) a week later in Houston, he talked to me! I would have really regretted missing him!
Also, he is #2 all time in HR's by a Q player. Mark Quinn is #1. So Quirk isn't even the #1 Q in Royals history.
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Steve ScottSaturday, 30 October, 2010
Quirk was the first player I ever heckled, in 1977, on a junior high field trip to an A's game. I yelled, "Quirk's a jerk!" repeatedly throughout the game. Don't know if he heard it, but it was fun.
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