Alfredo Rico Cruz (born July 4, 1944 in Jerome, Arizona) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He was signed by the Baltimore Orioles before the 1964 season, and later drafted by the Kansas City Royals from the Orioles in the 1968 rule V draft. (December 2, 1968) He was called up by the expansion Royals from Triple-A Omaha when rosters expanded in September 1969. Rico got into 12 games during his one month with Kansas City, including seven in the starting lineup. He did an excellent job in the field, making no errors in 31 chances, including two innings as a third baseman. Though he had a low batting average of .231 (6-for-26), he had a high on-base percentage of .429 because he also walked 9 times. While playing again for Omaha, Rico was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals organization for second baseman Cookie Rojas on June 13, 1970. Assigned to stay in the minors, he went to the Tulsa Oilers, also of the American Association. He had an excellent season for Tulsa in 1971, batting .296 with 19 HR and 101 RBI, and was acquired by the Minnesota Twins organization on September 14. He was listed on Minnesota's 1972 spring roster, but never again reached the major league level. References 1972 Baseball Register published by The Sporting News External links Baseball Reference Retrosheet 1944 births Living people Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Baseball players from Arizona Charleston Charlies players Elmira Pioneers players Florida Instructional League Orioles players Fox Cities Foxes players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball outfielders Miami Marlins (FSL) players Omaha Royals players People from Jerome, Arizona Stockton Ports players Tacoma Twins players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players San Fernando High School alumni