The Strange Death of Todd Cruz

Earlier this summer, the Orioles celebrated the 25^th anniversary of their 1983 world championship. Todd Cruz, one of several third basemen the Orioles used as part of a revolving door that season, attended the event at Baltimore's Camden Yards in mid-July. On Thursday, the 52-year-old Cruz died while swimming in the pool of his Arizona apartment complex. It's a weird story, one that reminds me of the death of former ESPN broadcaster Tom Mees. In 1996, Mees drowned in a neighbor's swimming pool, supposedly while rescuing his young daughter, Gabrielle, but authorities later determined that there had been no rescue attempt and that they didn't know exactly what had occurred. All that's really known is that Mees, who was only 46, did not know how to swim.

The details reported in the story of Cruz' death leave many questions unanswered. Based on what I've read, it's not clear whether Cruz drowned, or whether there was another cause of death. If he drowned, how so? It's hard to believe that a retired major leaguer did not know how to swim, but then again, we shouldn't assume that a man who was a world class athlete in one sport had the ability to swim laps in a pool. My father, for example, had a fear of the water, a phobia that resulted in him never learning how to swim.

When I heard about Cruz' death, I immediately thought of former Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey, who now works in the front office of the Rangers. Cruz and Petroskey were college teammates Michigan State, with Petroskey blocked at shortstop by the presence of Cruz. Cruz had amazing talent--he was a gifted defensive shortstop with the power of a third baseman. After being drafted by Philadelphia, he ended up playing for the Phillies, Royals, White Sox, Mariners, and Orioles. He didn't shine in his major league career--he was an undisciplined hitter who rarely walked and often struck out--but did enjoy a banner season for Seattle in 1981, when he hit 16 home runs. That was a significant total for a middle infielder in the early eighties; most shortstops of that era failed to hit with that kind of power.

Cruz was known as an outgoing party type whose drinking sometimes brought him trouble. As a minor leaguer, he was once arrested for breaking into a department store. Cruz later told White Sox management that he had "too much to drink," which resulted in the irresponsible decision to break into the store. Cruz remained in the minors the rest of the season before being traded to Seattle that winter.

Still, there was no indication that alcohol was involved in Cruz' tragic death on Thursday. Frankly, we just don't know--at least publicly--exactly what happened to Cruz. Perhaps we'll never know, just as in the tragic case of Tom Mees.