Fan favorite Luis Cruz joins Dodgers Spanish-language broadcast team

Twelve years later, the chants hadn’t changed.

Back in 2012, Luis Cruz became a cult hero around Dodger Stadium. He arrived as an under-the-radar journeyman, a Mexican-born utility player signed to a minor league contract in the 2011 offseason. Then he emerged as an unexpected fan favorite on the Dodgers’ second-place 2012 team, batting .297 with 20 doubles, 40 RBIs and a signature reception from the crowd whenever he came to the plate.

“Cruuuuuz!”

Three months ago, Cruz heard those chants again.

Though he never replicated the highs of his 2012 season, and was out of both the Dodgers organization and the major leagues entirely by the end of 2013, Cruz has remained a beloved figure at Chavez Ravine over the decade since.

So much so that, when he was one of several dozen former Dodgers welcomed back for the club’s player alumni weekend in August, it was the 40-year-old who played just 123 total games for the team that received one of the louder ovations, with pockets of the crowd chanting “Cruuuuz!” as if he’d never left.

“I was like, ‘Wow, this is unbelievable,’” Cruz said. “Because they still remembered. I played there in 2012. It’s been 12 years. But they made me feel welcome. The true Dodger fans, they remember everything.”

This week, the Dodgers officially welcomed Cruz back as a member of the organization, hiring him as a color analyst for the team’s Spanish-language radio broadcasts alongside Pepe Yñiguez and José Mota.

“The level of excitement these couple days have been really, really high,” Cruz said in a phone interview Thursday from Mexico, where he was finishing his playing career in his native country’s winter baseball league. “Like in 2012, [the Dodgers have] embraced me and made me feel welcome. As soon as they announced it, the first call I got was Pepe and José welcoming me to the team.”

The social media response blew Cruz away, too.

“My Instagram was crazy,” Cruz said with a laugh. “A lot of fans saying ‘Cruuuz, welcome back!’ It was so many messages that I’m like, ‘Wow, it’s been 12 years.’ But those are true fans.”

Cruz’s arrival with the Dodgers as a player in 2012 was memorable, setting the stage for the best run of Cruz’s extended professional career (which included a four-season stint in Japan from 2014 to 2017, then seven seasons in Mexico’s winter league since).

After being called up in early July that season, Cruz quickly became the Dodgers’ everyday third baseman. In 73 starts, he collected two or more hits 23 times. On a team that remained in the playoff hunt until the season’s final weeks, only Matt Kemp posted a higher batting average.

“For me, it was like a dream come true,” Cruz said. “Being Mexican, and going to the States, and making it to the big leagues and getting to the Dodgers, it’s a big deal … When I got the chance to play in Los Angeles, that’s when I really felt like I was in the big leagues. It was my shot.”

One of Cruz’s most important mentors that year: late Dodgers pitching great, and then Spanish-language broadcaster, Fernando Valenzuela.

Long before Cruz got to Los Angeles, he had family connections with the Dodgers icon. Cruz is from Navojoa, Mexico, where Valenzuela first began his professional career in the late ‘70s. Cruz’s father played with Valenzuela back in those days, becoming such good friends with the left-handed pitcher that Valenzuela would occasionally join the Cruz family for meals at their home. Cruz himself had been double-A teammates with Valenzuela’s son in the San Diego Padres system in 2006.

So, when Cruz showed up in the Dodgers clubhouse in 2012, Valenzuela became one of his biggest backers, offering him daily doses of encouragement and support.

“He was a big part for me in 2012,” Cruz said. “We always talked about: ‘Hey, stay concentrated. Just pretend like you’re playing in Navojoa. Pretend like you’re playing in the backyard. Just relax.’”

Cruz will try to take the same mindset into the beginning of his broadcasting career, joining a Spanish-language booth still reeling from Valenzuela’s death last month.

“Fernando was Fernando, and I’m not trying to take anybody’s place,” Cruz said. “He’s always gonna be remembered as one of the greatest pitchers for the Dodgers. And for me, I’m just trying to do my job and learn … I know it’s big shoes to fill. But I’m just looking for an opportunity for me to do my best.”

In Los Angeles, he’ll do so with a fan base that never forgot Cruz’s 2012 contributions, welcoming him back to the Dodgers with open arms and throwback chants.

“Maybe they were little kids [back in 2012], or maybe they were young guys and now they’re older like me,” Cruz said. “And they just — I don’t know — made me feel really good, welcoming me that way.”