He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1970 to 1988, most prominently as a member of the Houston Astros.

[1][2] Cruz was twice named as the Astros' nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award for his humanitarian efforts.

The Astros honored Cruz's career accomplishments on October 3, 1992 by permanently retiring his jersey number 25.

[1] Cruz still holds the Astros team record for career triples 35 years after his retirement with 80.

[2] Cruz signed with the St. Louis Cardinals straight after graduating as a four-sport star at Arroyo High School in 1966.

The following year, he was called back up to the Cardinals on June 28, where he would play in 83 of the next 85 games primarily as a center fielder, batting .274 with a .377 on-base percentage (OBP), nine home runs, eighty hits, 49 walks, and 35 strikeouts.

The next year, he played in 132 games for the team, where he batted a .227/.310/.379 line with 92 hits and 57 RBIs while also having 66 strikeouts (the most he would have for four seasons) and 51 walks.

After the Astros posted an 81–81 record in 1974, the team traded first baseman Lee May to the Baltimore Orioles, which allowed Astros left fielder Bob Watson to move the first base, opening the left field position to Cruz or teammate Greg Gross.

With the exception of the late Roberto Clemente, Cruz was arguably the most famous baseball player in Puerto Rico during his playing career.

His efforts proved key to the Astros making the postseason for the first time in team history.

Cruz had played in more games than any other player in the history of the Houston franchise (1,870) before being passed by Craig Biggio in 2001.

His eighty triples remains an Astros' record, as does his six career walk-off home runs.

His last home run, on July 17, 1988, was a pinch-hit grand slam against the Chicago White Sox in a 7–4 loss.

He moved to the front office as a special assistant to the general manager for five years before being assigned as a Community Outreach Executive.

[13] In 2005, he agreed to coach for the team representing Puerto Rico in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, which was managed by José Oquendo, and included his own son, José Cruz, Jr. Jose Cruz was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame on September 13, 2002 in a on-field ceremony (done prior to a game) at Minute Maid Park in Houston.