By John Fay
Enquirer staff writer

Jacob Cruz was back in the big leagues after two years. Life was good.

He joined the Reds in Houston. He had been given a chance to re-establish his career after a year of dealing with a knee injury. He was in a hotel room killing time before heading to the ballpark.

Then the phone call came.

It was Gina Burke, his fiancee.

"She was crying," Jacob says. "I couldn't understand a word she was saying. I sat on the phone for a minute, trying to calm her."

THE CRUZ FILE

Age: 31 Born: Oxnard, Calif. Wife: Gina Position: First base/outfield Bats: Left Throws: Left College: Arizona State Contract: Signed through this season. Obtained by Reds: Originally signed as a minor-league free agent in January 2003. LONG, WINDING ROAD • Was selected by the Angels in the 45th round of the June 1991 free agent draft but did not sign. • Was selected by the Giants in the supplemental first round of the June 1994 free agent draft. • Made his major-league debut July 18, 1996, against the Dodgers. • Was acquired by the Indians in a 1998 trade. • Was on the disabled list from March 30-April 29, 1999; Aug. 7-remainder of 1999 season; April 30-remainder of 2000 season. • Was acquired by Colorado in a 2001 trade. • Back on DL from July 17-Aug. 17. • Was signed by Texas as a minor-league free agent in January 2002. • Back on DL from June 1-17 and again from June 23-remainder of 2002 season.

Finally, the words came: She had gotten the test results. The tumor in her shoulder was malignant. She had cancer - something called Ewing's sarcoma.

"I didn't know the right words to say," Jacob says. "You think of all the people in the world, this 25-year-old woman, my fiancee. How are we going to handle this situation?"

Gina wasn't thinking about handling the situation.

"The first thing that goes through your mind is: 'I'm going to die,' " she says. "I was going into a state of depression."

Just like that, Jacob's world was upside down. What should have been one of the best days of his life was suddenly one of the worst.

While Jacob remembers struggling with what to say, Gina remembers his words of comfort.

"He said, 'Look, babe, we're going to get through this,' " Gina says.

So far, they have been doing just that. Jacob is playing the best baseball of his life and playing the role of strong husband even better.

"He's been above and beyond wonderful," Gina says. "I couldn't ask for anyone better to go through this with."

Dealing with it

Ewing's sarcoma is a relatively rare bone cancer, usually found in children and young adults between the ages of 10 and 20.

When Jacob got the news of Gina's diagnosis, he was thinking about two things: Getting the best treatment for Gina and figuring out how to pay for it.

One of the four cancer centers that treat Ewing's sarcoma is the Cleveland Clinic. Gina happens to be from Cleveland.

Jacob sought out Reds trainer Mark Mann.

"I almost had tears in my eyes," Jacob says. "Mark said, 'What's going on?' "

The trainer had answers.

He got Jacob in touch with Angie Rowan, the director of Major League Baseball's benefit plan.

"Angie Rowan was our angel," Jacob says.

"He told me, 'As long as she's your fiancee, there's nothing we can do. But if you guys get married, we cover pre-existing conditions,' " Jacob says. "So it was a no-brainer. We were going to get married in the offseason anyway."

He called Gina with the news.

"I called her and said, 'I got good news for a very bad situation: Major-league insurance will cover it. But we have to get married. Come to Cincinnati. We'll arrange it and get married.' "

The wedding

Gina set up the ceremony at the Hamilton County Courthouse. All they needed was a license and a witness.

Ken Griffey Jr. heard about the situation and asked Jacob if he could do anything.

"I said, 'I need a best man,' " Jacob says. "He said, 'I'll be there.' You don't expect Ken Griffey Jr. to show up for your wedding. But true to his word, he was there."

"It's a teammate," Junior says. "You want to do what you can for them. What we do is play baseball. What he's dealing with is real life - 24 hours, seven days a week."

Gina and Jacob were married May 7. The ceremony was at 1 p.m. The Reds played the San Francisco Giants at 7:10 p.m.

"I had early work that day with (coach Randy) Whisler," Jacob says. "I said, 'Honey, I wish I could take you out to lunch, but I've got to go to work.' "

It was not what you call a big wedding. It was Jacob, Gina, Junior and the judge.

"It ended up costing me $56 for our wedding: $45 for the certificate, $11 for parking," Jacob says. "It was a drive-through wedding."

The marriage wasn't just about the insurance.

"Jacob wanted me to know he was going to stick by me no matter what," Gina says. "Getting married gave me a sense of security."

Jacob played that night. He had a pinch-hit double in the ninth and scored the Reds' only run in a 6-1 loss.

The agreement

Jacob learned quickly that he had to separate baseball and Gina's illness.

The day he heard the diagnosis, he showed up at Minute Maid Park in Houston and found his name on the lineup card. He'd be facing Roger Clemens that night.

Jacob went 0-for-4, with three strikeouts. If his bat looked a bit slow, it was because his mind wasn't on baseball.

"It feels like you're in a big daze," he says. "It turns you, like, upside down. You fiancee's been diagnosed with cancer. You don't know what direction that's going to go in.

"It really put a lot of things into perspective. A lot of things that bother you day in, day out aren't so important anymore."

But baseball is one thing that is very important to Jacob Cruz. It's his life. He has no hobbies. He spends his winter playing Winter Ball or working with young hitters.

He is there for Gina, but she gives him a chance to be a success.

"We've come to an agreement," Jacob says. "When this first happened, she was calling during the day all the time. You never know the right thing to say. Sometimes that affected my playing.

"One day I sat down and said, 'I need to concentrate on baseball 100 percent (before the game). I go home every night and turn my life over to you.' That's what we've been doing. When I get to the park, it's 100 percent baseball."

Gina has no problem with that.

"We keep things separate," she says. "He doesn't bring anything home with him (as far as baseball). He's been very supportive. I understand baseball is his job. I want him to be successful."

And Jacob has been.

He leads the major leagues with 11 pinch hits. He's hitting .259 with two home runs and 18 RBI and has played solidly in right field. At 31, he has re-established himself as a big-leaguer.

The hair

Gina's chemotherapy is brutal. She alternates every three weeks between a five-day round and a one-day round. The five-day round is in-patient.

"It's hard," she says. "I'm not comfortable at the hospital. I can't sleep."

It takes her a couple days to recover even when she gets home.

"I just lay in bed," she says. "I don't want to talk. I don't want to be touched. I think it's harder on Jacob.

"He'll call and want to know what's going on. I'll be like, 'Goodbye. I feel really bad. I can't talk.' "

Gina's mother, Ursula, and sister, Vita, have helped her through.

"They are my angels," Gina says. "They sleep at the hospital when I'm in. I don't know what I'd do without them."

Her mother stays with her in Cincinnati.

"I have to take my temperature three times a day because of the chemo," Gina says. "If it's over 100.5, I have to go to the hospital because I have an infection. They put me on an IV."

But Gina admits that the toughest part for her has been losing her hair. To say she is beautiful is to say Barry Bonds hits home runs. And she loved to work with her long, dark hair.

"I was a beauty queen with my hair," she says. "I'd spend a lot of time on it."

Then it started falling out in clumps.

Jacob had a solution.

"He took the clippers and shaved my head," Gina says. "He said, 'I don't want to see you go through this with it falling out.' I said I'd glue it back on. No woman wants to lose her hair."

Jacob stood up and stepped back from his handiwork and told Gina what she needed to hear.

"He said I was more beautiful than ever," she says. "He said it brought out my eyes, my lips."

When Gina goes out - she still attends Reds games - she wears a hat and wig.

"Maybe when I get a tad more confident, I'll go out in my bandanna," she says.

No sympathy, please

One of the reasons Gina wears the wig is for other people.

"It's not normal to see a 25-year-old woman bald," she says. "I don't want people to feel sorry for me. I don't feel sick. I've got good energy."

A lot of other players' wives know and are generally surprised by how well Gina's doing.

"They kid me, 'You're not really sick,' " she says. "They've been wonderful."

Gina and Jacob have a long way to go. There's another session of chemo. If the tumor has shrunk enough, she might have surgery to remove the cancer cells and possibly her collarbone and first rib.

More chemo and radiation will follow.

But, as Jacob told her, just after the diagnosis: We'll get through this.

"She's optimistic," Jacob says. "She knows we have to sacrifice a year of our lives."

Gina is optimistic. She is upbeat and happy to chat about her ordeal, hoping her experience might help others. She and Jacob list their "angels": Angie Rowan, the MLB benefits director; Gina's sister and mother; Julie Bray, Gina's nurse at the Cleveland Clinic.

"I call her five times a day sometimes," Gina says.

After the initial shock wore off, Gina researched Ewing's sarcoma. The disease strikes most often in children. That gave her perspective.

"She's seen what these kids are going through," Jacob says. "The first day she went to the hospital, she called me and she was crying. She said, 'I cannot believe that these kids are so brave, and here I am complaining about what I have. We have the same thing, but these are little kids.' When she gets her health, she wants to do something for these kids."

Again, she's confident she will get her health back.

"I'm a little trooper," she says. "I'm going to kick this thing."

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E-mail jfay@enquirer.com