Saturday, April 22, 2023

Cards That Never Were: Tommy Cruz Topps 1974 & '78

Cards That Never Were is a recurring series in which I create virtual cards for players missed in various sets over the years. It is a concept I have borrowed from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts.

I usually feature cards I have created, but sometimes I lean on others. Such is the case today.

Lynn is a prolific custom card creator I know from the Custom Baseball Cards group on Facebook. The group has thousands of custom created cards, many done by Lynn and they aren't just baseball. There are all other sports and even non-sports included.

Tommy Cruz was signed as a free agent by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1969. His brother Jose was already a member of the organization and his other brother Hector would be signed the next year. Tommy made it to the Majors in 1973, appearing in three games for the Cardinals. He scored one run with no at bats. He was traded to the Texas Rangers after the 1973 season and then purchased by the Chicago White Sox prior to the '77 season. H appeared in four games for the Sox, going 0-2 with one run scored. He was traded to the New York Yankees after the season and never made it back to the Majors. For his career, he played in seven games, with no hits in two at bats and two runs scored. For his efforts, Topps did not give Tommy any cards, which is understandable, but I would have loved a Cruz brothers card in 1974.

I intended to create cards for Tommy, but found Lynn already did them. Since I couldn't do any better, I will simply present Lynn's versions.

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