Watch: Fernando Cruz making an untrodden yet scorching entry to MLB at 32, says all the efforts were invaluable

Watch: Fernando Cruz making an untrodden yet scorching entry to MLB at 32, says all the efforts were invaluable

Fernando Cruz

Fernando Cruz has been through a road less travelled in his journey to the Major League Baseball pitching plate. He earned a promotion by delivering a strong season at Louisville. In 51 appearances, the right-hander posted a 2.89 ERA with 23 saves, 19 walks and 66 strikeouts over 56 innings.

Let’s have a look at the journey which got Fernando Cruz his place in the Cincinnati Reds’ line-up, he was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the sixth-round of the 2007 MLB Draft and spent the first few seasons of his minor league career as an infield prospect. Although later on the Royals turned him into a pitcher.

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Fernando Cruz was unsuccessful during the 2010 season with Kansas City’s Low-A affiliate, after which he has bounced all over the world, pitching for the Puerto Rican Winter League, Canadian-American Association, Dominican Winter League, and even the Venezuelan Winter League. The 32-year-old Cruz became the oldest Reds player to make his Major League debut in 66 years when he pitched a scoreless inning Friday.

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“Everything I’ve done was worth it.” Fernando Cruz talks about his journey to the Major Leagues

Fernando Cruz
Fernando Cruz

“It’s a really good journey,” Fernando Cruz said. “It means everything to me. When you’re a high-performance athlete, you want to be here, obviously. You want to get to this point in your career. Me doing it at 32 is really interesting, it’s a really good story for the world to share.”

“I’m really excited for it to happen. I think I’m giving hope to a lot of young people and people overall. I’m really happy. I’m really honored to be here.” Although after the game Fernando Cruz added, “It was amazing. It was crazy. The word is ‘unexplainable.’ Really honored and blessed to be able to share that here in Cincinnati with all the fans and with my family in the stands.”

Before the game Fernando Cruz was questioned, “I played everywhere: independent ball, Mexican League, local league in Puerto Rico, winter ball, all the winter balls you can imagine,” he said, “I went through everything an athlete, a player can go through and here I am. It’s been a blessing, it’s been a long road for me, but it happened.”

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