Autopsy on former Oriole inconclusive
KINGMAN, Ariz. -- An autopsy conducted on former major league baseball player Todd Cruz, a member of the Baltimore Orioles World Series championship team in 1983, was inconclusive.
Dr. Rexene Worrell, a Mohave County medical examiner, said Friday that it might take a few weeks to determine how the 52-year-old died.
Cruz was pronounced dead Tuesday after being found in a swimming pool at an apartment complex in Bullhead City.
Bullhead City Fire Department spokesman Larry Tunforss said there was no information on whether Cruz had suffered a medical problem or was injured in the pool.
"The only information that bystanders gave us was that they thought he was going under water holding his breath and then they realized he wasn't holding his breath, and he was indeed floating," Tunforss said.
"It all happened so fast," apartment complex manager Donna Tripp said.
She said two men jumped into the pool, pulled Cruz from the bottom and administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Cruz was unemployed and had shared an apartment with his girlfriend for the past year, Tripp said.
"His girlfriend told somebody here that he had chest pains the week before, bad chest pains," Tripp said. "And he wouldn't go to the hospital or a doctor, and that's why we're thinking maybe he just went into the pool, had a massive heart attack and went to the bottom."
Cruz, a right-handed infielder, broke into the big leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1978. He also played for the Kansas City Royals, Anaheim Angels, Chicago White Sox and Seattle Mariners in a major league career that ended in 1984.
He hit 34 homers in 544 games, posting a batting average of .220.
