EXCLUSIVE: Jose Cruz Jr. Talks International Player Immersion, Family, and 2025 Puerto Rican Challenge

Jose Cruz Jr.’s life changed when he was traded from Seattle to Toronto during his rookie season in 1997. 

“I got pulled from an at-bat and got told by Lou Pinella and the assistant GM that I had been traded,” Cruz said. “I thought I was going to be a Mariner forever…that let me know right away how much of a business the MLB is.”

Cruz understood that the Mariners, including Randy Johnson, Jamie Moyer, and Jeff Fassero, were in win-now mode with great starting pitching. They needed bullpen help after blowing a game to Boston. Cruz said he was the “tradable asset” caught in the crossfire.

As a 23-year-old who had just started dating his future wife, he had to move to a new city and a new country. That’s when he met Tony Fernandez, who became his mentor spiritually, physically, and mentally.

During Cruz’s time in Toronto, Tony Fernandez took great interest in him. Fernandez learned the important role a mentor plays in a young ball player’s development firsthand from his mentor, Cito Gaston. 

“Cito mentored Tony to mentor me,” said Cruz. 

This bond between these three players was instrumental in helping a young, impressionable 23-year-old succeed on and off the field with his new team and in this new country.

His first mentor was two-time all-star and silver slugger Jose Cruz Sr., his father. From a young age, Cruz Sr. emphasized hustle, hard work, and having fun. This motto was embedded in Cruz Jr. and is something he later shared with his children. It’s the mentality he carried as a big leaguer from 1997 through 2008 with nine teams and now as the head coach at Rice University. 

Many people would feel immense pressure to follow in the footsteps of a legend like his father, but this was not the case for Cruz Jr. 

“I was never in competition with my father,” Cruz said. “I am so grateful to have him as my father, I wouldn’t have been afforded these opportunities if it wasn’t for him. To this day, no one loves what they did more than him.” 

Cruz has continued to pass along the messages his mentors instilled in him. Understanding the responsibility of being a coach on and off the field, Cruz feels his responsibilities as the head coach at Rice encompass far more than what shows up on the field.

“You are best suited to help your younger self,” he said. 

This message resonated with him and led him back to Rice, where he played college ball. When Cruz became Rice’s 22nd head coach, he said it was a dream come true. This position allows him to pass along all of the knowledge and advice given to him. 

One of Cruz’s famous sayings to his Rice players is “faith over fear.” He explains that faith and fear are both intangible. Faith is a guiding light you follow and believe to be true. Fear has no direction and is internally created. Cruz wants all his players to choose faith over fear when given the choice. 

In Cruz’s three years as head coach, he has emphasized building a culture and team identity. Under Cruz’s leadership, Rice baseball prides itself on attitude, effort, and behavior. 

Moreover, Cruz is looking to bring in players from around the world who will blend into the culture he is cultivating. He acknowledged that there is a shortage of international talent in college baseball. He believes this is because international ball players and, more importantly, their families have not been exposed to the college game.  

“[International players] think that the only way to play baseball is to sign professionally,” he said.

Rice Heads to Puerto Rico Challenge

Cruz is thrilled to start the 2025 season in Puerto Rico. The Owls will participate in the inaugural Puerto Rican Challenge, an eight-team tournament that Cruz hopes will serve as a “college fair” for international kids and parents. 

Edwin Rodrigues, the Special Advisor to the Puerto Rico Challenge, told Penn State University Sports, “It’s thrilling to be able to showcase Division I baseball play on our island and our baseball-rich culture, all in the same event.” 

This event is a great opportunity for Puerto Rican players to be exposed to college baseball; however, the Puerto Rican Challenge is also an important experience for college baseball players to have.

“It’s a great opportunity for our players to experience another culture with excellent baseball tradition and love for our game while being able to play against strong competition from some of the best teams in college baseball,” Penn State head coach Mike Gambino said in a statement about the event.

Cruz Supports MLBPA Immersion Efforts

Cruz has lobbied for the inclusion and immersion of international players in baseball at all levels. Cruz worked in the players services department as a special assistant for the MLB Players Association for nine years.  

“We were a part of getting translators in every big league locker room, so I was pretty proud of that,” he said.

Cruz said this gave international players the ability to, “express themselves a little bit better… show a little bit more individuality, and create a little more connectivity with their fan base.”

As the league has become more international, the role of an interpreter is vital to communicating concepts to players. 

Recently, the MLBPA has done terrific work, expanding their representation to the minor leagues. Today over 5,500 players, from rookie ball to triple A, have the ability to unionize and collectively bargain. 

Because of the recent progress that the MLBPA has seen from the minor league to major league level, it is fair to assume that the MLBPA will continue to work hard to give the domestic and foreign players the resources to succeed. 

The MLB is seeing an emergence of Asian talent making it to the major league. It is fair to assume that the MLB will expand the amount of translators in locker rooms to accommodate all the talent around the world joining the MLB. 

Family Over Everything

Cruz had a profound professional career, did influential work with the MLBPA, and is now finding success at Rice University as a coach. However, Cruz’s influence does not stop there; his son, Trei Cruz, has reaped the rewards of his fathers tutelage and is looking to make a name for himself in the MLB. 

Trei Cruz, is currently on the Detroit Tigers’ AA affiliate, the Erie Seawolves, and looks to add his family to the legendary list of only six families to have three generations of MLB players: the Bells, Boones, Colemans, Hairstons, Kessingers, Schofield/Werths. 

The Rice University Alumni, Trei Cruz, is already showing flashes of greatness in his first season playing in the minor leagues. Trei has played in the most games out of any Seawolves player this season. He has a terrific glove at shortstop and is becoming reliable for the Seawolves as a hitter, batting .245 with 6 home runs and 35 runs batted in.  

Although Trei’s time at Rice did not overlap with his father’s current coaching reign, it is clear that Trei has soaked up knowledge from his family’s big league experience. Trei looks to add to Rice University and his family’s legacy in the MLB. 

As Cruz Jr. continues to build the Rice baseball program, the legacies of all of his mentors live on through his words, actions, and children.

Photo Credit: Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Jose Cruz Jr. makes a diving catch of a line drive hit by Indians second baseman Roberto Alomar to end the eighth inning, at the Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio, 01 October, 1999. AFP PHOTO/David MAXWELL (Photo credit should read DAVID MAXWELL/AFP via Getty Images)