Removing Houston First Base Coach Jose Cruz Was the Last Thing on My Mind

I understand that it’s time for changes in the Houston Astros clubhouse.

But that doesn’t mean removing an icon and legend like Jose Cruz from the mix.

This latest move by the higher ups in Houston baffles me; do they really think it’s Cruz’s fault that players aren’t hustling down the first base line?

Why, exactly, are the Astros taking Cruz out of the coaching puzzle and offering him a position else where in the organization?

Am I missing something here?

General Manager Ed Wade made the move late Tuesday evening, Oct. 13, saying the club’s coaching staff would undergo significant changes over the offseason.

Cruz is apparently shocked by the latest news also, despite being offered another spot in the Astros organization as an “administrative coach” for home games and a community outreach executive while the club is on the road.

“I told them I was going to think about it with my wife and myself,” Cruz told MLB.com Astros beat writer Brian McTaggart on Wednesday, Oct. 14. “I didn’t know what to say [to Wade and president of baseball operations Tal Smith upon hearing the news].

"I don’t think I was ready for that. I was thinking something else. I was surprised. I had so many years as a coach, 13 years, and it will bother me for a little bit, but I didn’t have much to say. That’s part of the game.

“You start from the bottom and work all the way up. I think I was proud of my coaching job in the outfield and coaching first base. I was happy with that.”

This latest removal is a painful one for the Astros as well as Cruz—who has been a part of all nine of Houston’s postseason appearances—but only time will tell if this is what is best for the club.

“I just hope everything will be good for the club,” Cruz told McTaggart. “I will think about it for two or three days and see what happens. I’m going to be all right. I’ve got to get my head straight. Tal Smith has always been good to me, and Ed Wade. I’m just a little surprised, that’s all. I just need a couple of days.”

A couple days may be all Cruz needs, but Astros fans may need longer than that.

It still shocks and confuses me, but as I have stated in earlier columns—this is the time of year where we have to put our faith and trust in upper management to make the right decisions concerning the future of the Houston Astros.

Am I upset about the removal of Cruz? Yes.

Do I think it’s best for the team? Personally, no.

But I’m not the GM; Ed Wade is.

Let’s just see how this all pans out, but for now it’s alright to be a little upset about this latest news.

I remember Cruz playing for the Astros when I was a kid—all the screaming and chants by the fans that almost sounded like boos at times, but they were really just us admiring one of the greatest players to ever don a Houston baseball uniform—and I will truly miss seeing him as our first-base coach.

Regardless, Cruz will forever hold a memory in the hearts, souls, and minds of Houston Astros fans around the globe...


Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at [e-mail]