Warren Cromartie facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Warren Cromartie |
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Cromartie with the Montreal Expos in 1980
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| Outfielder / First baseman | |||
| Born: September 29, 1953 Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. |
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| Professional debut | |||
| MLB: September 6, 1974, for the Montreal Expos | |||
| NPB: April 6, 1984, for the Yomiuri Giants | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| NPB: June 2, 1990, for the Yomiuri Giants | |||
| MLB: September 15, 1991, for the Kansas City Royals | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .281 | ||
| Home run | 61 | ||
| Runs batted in | 391 | ||
| NPB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .321 | ||
| Home runs | 171 | ||
| Runs batted in | 558 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Warren Livingston Cromartie (born September 29, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player. He is best known for his time with the Montreal Expos. Warren was part of an exciting group of young outfielders. These included Ellis Valentine and Andre Dawson. They became very popular in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the late 1970s.
Fans in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, loved him. In Japan, he was called "Cro" and "the Black Samurai." He even won the 1989 Nippon Professional Baseball Most Valuable Player Award while playing for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan.
Contents
Warren Cromartie's Early Life and Baseball Start
Warren Cromartie was the only child of Marjorie and Leroy Cromartie. His father, Leroy, was also a talented athlete. Leroy played quarterback at Florida A&M College. He led his team to championships in 1944 and 1945. He also played baseball and basketball in high school. Leroy even played semi-pro baseball and briefly for the Cincinnati/Indianapolis Clowns in the Negro leagues.
After finishing high school in 1971, Warren was picked by the Chicago White Sox. But he chose to go to Miami Dade College instead. Other teams also drafted him, but he didn't sign. Finally, in 1973, the Expos chose him. Warren decided to sign with them.
In his first professional season in 1974, he played for the Quebec Carnavals. He hit very well, with a .336 batting average. He also hit 13 home runs and had 61 runs batted in. This great performance led to him being called up to the major leagues. He joined the Expos in September of that year.
In 1975, he tried to earn a starting spot in right field. But he was sent to play for the Memphis Blues. After a tough season there, he played much better in 1976. He hit .337 for the Denver Bears. This earned him another call-up to the Expos in August. He shared playing time in right field for the rest of the season.
Playing for the Montreal Expos
The Expos' Exciting Young Outfielders
In 1977, Cromartie and Ellis Valentine became starting outfielders for Montreal. Cromartie played in left field. They were joined by 22-year-old center fielder Andre Dawson. These three young players were fast and very talented. They quickly became famous in the baseball world.
Cromartie hit his first major league home run on July 2. He usually batted second or fifth in the Expos' lineup. He kept his batting average above .300 for most of the season. He finished the year hitting .282 with five home runs.
In his first season, Cromartie was not known for his defense. So, he worked hard to improve it during the off-season. In 1978, he became one of the best National League left fielders. He, Dawson, and Valentine all led their positions in outfield assists. This made the Expos' outfield one of the best in baseball. Warren had a slow start hitting in 1978. But he improved greatly and finished the season hitting .297. He hit his first major league grand slam on July 19.
The 1979 season started with a 19-game hitting streak for Cromartie. This was the longest of his career. His strong start helped the Expos compete for first place. The Expos fought hard against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies. They had their best season ever, winning 95 games. But they finished second to the Pirates, who won the World Series that year. Cromartie hit .275 with eight home runs.
Moving to First Base
Cromartie had played some first base in the minor leagues. In 1980, he moved to first base for the Expos. This happened after the team got outfielder Ron LeFlore. Warren had some trouble at his new position. He made 14 errors, which was the most in the league for a first baseman. However, he had one of his best seasons hitting. He batted .288 and hit a career-high 14 home runs. He also had 70 runs batted in.
The Expos were in another close race for first place in 1980. They played a final three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies won two of those games and took the division title.
For the 1981 season, Cromartie stayed at first base. Later, he moved to right field. Then, he moved back to first base in September.
Playing in the Post-Season
Because of a players' strike, the 1981 season was split into two halves. The Expos won their division in the second half. This meant Cromartie and his teammates reached the post-season for the first time.
In the first game of the 1981 National League Division Series, Cromartie hit a key double. This helped the Expos win against the Phillies. They beat the Phillies in five games. But they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. It was a very close series that went to five games.
Back in Right Field
Before the 1982 season, the Expos got first baseman Al Oliver. This meant Cromartie moved back to right field. He had a tough start hitting, but then hit a walk-off home run on June 7. He finished the season hitting .254 with 14 home runs.
In 1983, Cromartie won the right field job again. However, he played less often that year. He also had some back problems that limited his playing time.
Playing Baseball in Japan: Yomiuri Giants
After the 1983 season, Cromartie became a free agent. He decided to sign with the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan. He was 30 years old. This made him one of the first American players still in their prime to play in Japan.
His manager in Japan was the famous slugger Sadaharu Oh. Oh helped Cromartie improve his batting swing. Warren hit over 30 home runs in each of his first three seasons. His second son was born in Japan and was named Cody Oh Cromartie, in honor of Sadaharu Oh.
In 1987, Cromartie had a difficult moment. He got into a fight with a pitcher who hit him with a pitch. He was suspended for seven days. When the Giants played in that city again, over 200 security guards were there to protect him.
In 1989, Cromartie had an amazing season. He hit .378 with 15 home runs. He was named the MVP of the Central League. He also led his team to win the Japan Series championship. In the final game, he hit a double and a home run. He had planned to retire after this season. But his success made him decide to play one more year with the Giants.
Back in MLB: Kansas City Royals
In 1991, Cromartie was invited to Spring Training with the Kansas City Royals. He earned a one-year contract to be a left-handed hitter off the bench. He played in a limited number of games. He hit .313 with one home run and 20 RBIs. He decided to retire during that season.
Warren Cromartie's Baseball Stats
Here are some of Warren Cromartie's stats from his time in Major League Baseball:
| Games | PA | AB | Runs | Hits | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | Avg. | OBP | Slg. | OPS | Fld% |
| 1107 | 4318 | 3927 | 459 | 1104 | 229 | 32 | 61 | 391 | 50 | 325 | 403 | .281 | .336 | .402 | .739 | .986 |
In his seven seasons playing in Japan, Cromartie hit over .300 five times. Overall, he had a .321 batting average with 171 home runs and 558 RBIs for the Yomiuri Giants. He led the Giants in RBIs three times and in home runs twice.
Music and Other Interests
Warren Cromartie is also a talented drummer. He has even played with the Canadian rock band Rush. A drawing of a fictional "Warren Cromartie Secondary School" is on the back cover of Rush's 1982 album, Signals. Cromartie is thanked in the album's notes.
While in Japan, Cromartie started a band called Climb. He formed it with David Rosenthal from the band Rainbow. Geddy Lee, the lead singer of Rush, sang on one of their songs.
Broadcasting Career
Right before his season with the Kansas City Royals, Cromartie's book came out. It was called Slugging It Out in Japan: An American Major-Leaguer in the Tokyo Outfield. He wrote it with Robert Whiting.
Cromartie started working in radio in 1997. He did pre-game shows for the Florida Marlins. He continued to be a broadcaster for the Marlins until 2002. In 2004, he was a television commentator for the Montreal Expos. This was during the team's last year in Montreal.
Today, he hosts a radio show called "Talking Hardball with The Cro." It airs on WAXY 790 AM in Miami, Florida. He also has a regular segment on TSN 690 in Montreal.
In 2005, Cromartie took legal action regarding a film. The film was based on the Cromartie High School manga/anime series. He said the series, which shared his name, showed students as "ruffians." He felt this harmed his reputation.
Coaching and Other Projects
In 1994, Warren Cromartie held his first baseball camp. It was at Miami-Dade Community College. He also managed an all-Japanese team called the Japan Samurai Bears. This was in a U.S. independent league in 2005. A documentary about the team, Season of the Samurai, aired on the MLB Network in 2010.
In 2012, he started the Montreal Baseball Project. This group worked to study if Major League Baseball could return to Montreal.
In 1993, Cromartie teamed up with Andre Dawson and Cecil Fielder. They formed a company called "Sports Dent." This company made baseball-themed dental products. These included a toothbrush shaped like a baseball bat.
In 2007, he made his professional wrestling debut. It was at an event to help leukemia research. He and Ryoji Sai had a tag team match in Tokyo. Cromartie came out with a baseball bat and wore a baseball uniform. He pinned his opponent to win the match.
