César Cedeño
Encyclopedia
César Cedeño Encarnación (ˈθesar θeˈðeɲo; born February 25, 1951 in Santo Domingo
, Dominican Republic
) is a former center fielder
in Major League Baseball
who played with the Houston Astros
(1970–81), Cincinnati Reds
(1982–85), St. Louis Cardinals
(1985) and Los Angeles Dodgers
(1986). He batted and threw right-handed.
Signed by Houston as an amateur free agent
in 1967, Cedeño debuted on June 20, 1970 at 19 years of age. He never became "The next Willie Mays
", as Houston manager
Leo Durocher
once suggested he would, but certainly he had a distinguished career and was a solid performer in the Major Leagues.
Cedeño showed signs of superstardom early in his career, batting
.310 in his rookie season in , and .320 in both 1972 and 1973. Possessing a rare combination of power, blazing speed, and good defense, he became the second man in Major League history (after Lou Brock
in 1967) to hit 20 home run
s and steal
50 bases in one season. Cedeño accomplished the feat three years in a row (-). He also stole 50-plus bases the next three years (-), twice led the league in doubles
(-) and collected 102 RBI
in .
On the negative side, Cedeño's career was hampered by an aggressive fielding style which often led to injuries. His time in the majors was also dogged by an incident in which his gun accidentally discharged in a motel room, killing his girlfriend.
A winner of five consecutive Gold Glove Award
s (-), Cedeño appeared in four All-Star Games
(-), and was a contender for the National League MVP
in . In the 1972 All-Star game, Cedeño beat out Roberto Clemente for the starting NL position. Cedeño also hit for the cycle
in both and .
By , Cedeño was one of the Reds' five active members of the 2000-hit club, along with Pete Rose
, Tony Pérez
, Dave Concepción
and Buddy Bell
. On August 29, 1985, he was traded for an outfielder named Mark Jackson to the St. Louis Cardinals
where he hit .434 with 6 home runs in 28 games and arguably provided the necessary power for his new team to outpace the New York Mets
to reach the playoffs; he played first base to replace the injured Jack Clark
in the final regular season games and played in the outfield in the playoffs to help replace the injured Vince Coleman
. He finished his career with the Dodgers
and played his final game on June 2, 1986.
In a 17-year career, Cedeño was a .285 hitter with 199 home runs and 976 RBI in 2006 games. His 550 stolen bases rank him 25th on the all-time list, and the 487 steals he accumulated with the Astros ranks him first on the franchise's all-time leader list ahead of superstar Craig Biggio
.
After retiring, Cedeño has been both a fielding and hitting coach
in the Dominican
and Venezuela
n winter leagues
. He also served as a coach for the rookie-level Gulf Coast League farm team of the Washington Nationals before being let go in 2009.
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
) is a former center fielder
Center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
who played with the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
(1970–81), Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
(1982–85), St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
(1985) and Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
(1986). He batted and threw right-handed.
Signed by Houston as an amateur free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
in 1967, Cedeño debuted on June 20, 1970 at 19 years of age. He never became "The next Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
", as Houston manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
Leo Durocher
Leo Durocher
Leo Ernest Durocher , nicknamed Leo the Lip, was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,009 career victories, second only to John McGraw in National League history. Durocher still ranks tenth in career wins by...
once suggested he would, but certainly he had a distinguished career and was a solid performer in the Major Leagues.
Cedeño showed signs of superstardom early in his career, batting
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.310 in his rookie season in , and .320 in both 1972 and 1973. Possessing a rare combination of power, blazing speed, and good defense, he became the second man in Major League history (after Lou Brock
Lou Brock
Louis Clark "Lou" Brock is an American former professional baseball player. He began his Major League Baseball career with the Chicago Cubs but, spent the majority of his career as the left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was best known for breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league...
in 1967) to hit 20 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s and steal
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
50 bases in one season. Cedeño accomplished the feat three years in a row (-). He also stole 50-plus bases the next three years (-), twice led the league in doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
(-) and collected 102 RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
in .
On the negative side, Cedeño's career was hampered by an aggressive fielding style which often led to injuries. His time in the majors was also dogged by an incident in which his gun accidentally discharged in a motel room, killing his girlfriend.
A winner of five consecutive Gold Glove Award
Gold Glove Award
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League and the American League , as voted by the...
s (-), Cedeño appeared in four All-Star Games
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
(-), and was a contender for the National League MVP
MLB Most Valuable Player Award
The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America...
in . In the 1972 All-Star game, Cedeño beat out Roberto Clemente for the starting NL position. Cedeño also hit for the cycle
Hitting for the cycle
In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are uncommon in Major League Baseball , occurring 293 times since the first by Curry...
in both and .
By , Cedeño was one of the Reds' five active members of the 2000-hit club, along with Pete Rose
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....
, Tony Pérez
Tony Pérez
Atanasio Pérez Rigal , more commonly known as Tony Pérez, is a former Major League Baseball player. He was also known by the nickname "Big Dog," "Big Doggie," and "Doggie."...
, Dave Concepción
Dave Concepción
David Ismael Concepción Benitez , better known as Dave Concepción, is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball. He was born in Ocumare de la Costa, Aragua State, Venezuela...
and Buddy Bell
Buddy Bell
David Gus "Buddy" Bell is a former third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. After an 18-year career with four teams, most notably the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, he managed the Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Royals for three seasons each...
. On August 29, 1985, he was traded for an outfielder named Mark Jackson to the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
where he hit .434 with 6 home runs in 28 games and arguably provided the necessary power for his new team to outpace the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
to reach the playoffs; he played first base to replace the injured Jack Clark
Jack Clark (baseball)
Jack Anthony Clark , also known as "Jack the Ripper," is a former Major League Baseball player. From 1975 through 1992, Clark played for the San Francisco Giants , St. Louis Cardinals , New York Yankees , San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox...
in the final regular season games and played in the outfield in the playoffs to help replace the injured Vince Coleman
Vince Coleman
Vincent Maurice Coleman is an American former Major League Baseball player, best known for his years with the St. Louis Cardinals. Primarily a left fielder, Coleman played from to and set a number of stolen base records. He was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed.-Biography:Coleman attended...
. He finished his career with the Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
and played his final game on June 2, 1986.
In a 17-year career, Cedeño was a .285 hitter with 199 home runs and 976 RBI in 2006 games. His 550 stolen bases rank him 25th on the all-time list, and the 487 steals he accumulated with the Astros ranks him first on the franchise's all-time leader list ahead of superstar Craig Biggio
Craig Biggio
Craig Alan Biggio is a former Major League Baseball second baseman, catcher, and outfielder. He played his entire 20-year baseball career with the Houston Astros . He ranks 21st all-time with 3,060 career hits, and is the ninth player in the 3000 hit club to get all his hits with the same team. He...
.
After retiring, Cedeño has been both a fielding and hitting coach
Coach (baseball)
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...
in the Dominican
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n winter leagues
History of baseball outside the United States
Recorded instances of baseball played outside North America came in 1874, when a party comprising members of the Boston and Philadelphia clubs toured England both playing cricket and demonstrating baseball...
. He also served as a coach for the rookie-level Gulf Coast League farm team of the Washington Nationals before being let go in 2009.
See also
- List of Gold Glove Award winners at outfield
- List of Major League Baseball players with 2,000 hits
- List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1,000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
- List of players from Dominican Republic in Major League Baseball
- List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
- List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
Quote
- A talented player in the mold of Willie Mays, César Cedeño never reached superstar status for many reasons, some beyond his control. The Dominican-born Cedeño was involved in a scandalous off-the-field episode that resulted in the death of his girlfriend; played much of his career for a team that rarely made headlines above the Oklahoma border; suffered from playing in the Astrodome, a stadium that cost him power numbers that may have gave him notoriety; and finally, injuries and attitude problems cost him playing time. Despite all of that, Cedeño had a very good career, winning five Gold Gloves and finishing among league leaders in steals, batting average, and doubles on many occasions. -- Dan Holmes and Kirk Robinson, at The Baseball Page.