For a guy who only appeared in 16 games the previous year, with only 22 plate appearances, seems Topps went above and beyond with the added efforts of airbrushing to get this player a card, no?
Cruz, who actually should have had a card in the 1977 set after his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, would only appear on a multi-player rookie card in the 1976 set besides this 1978 edition.
The airbrusing on this card is actually really good! Notice all the work with the collar, the shadowing, and the “sox” logo on the cap! Would love to see the original photo to really appreciate the work done here.
For Cruz, he’d put in four-years in the Majors, all part-time seasons split between the Dodgers and White Sox, finishing with a .229 average over 171 games and 280 at-bats before bouncing around in the Minors and Mexican Leagues until 1985.
