César Cedeño Marquee

b. February 25, 1951 · Houston Astros 1970–1981, Cincinnati Reds 1982–1985, St. Louis Cardinals 1985, Los Angeles Dodgers 1986

He hit .320 with 22 home runs and 55 steals in 1972 and .320 with 25 and 56 in 1973, at twenty-one and twenty-two, playing center field in the Astrodome, and Leo Durocher said he was the best young player he had seen since Mays. He stole 50 or more in six consecutive seasons and 550 in all, which is 27th on the list.

In December 1973, in Santo Domingo, a gun in his hotel room killed a nineteen-year-old woman, Altagracia de la Cruz. He was charged, pleaded to involuntary manslaughter, was fined and was released. He returned for the 1974 season and was jeered in road ballparks for the rest of his career.

Seventeen seasons gave him 2,087 hits, 436 doubles, 199 home runs and a .285 average, with five Gold Gloves and four All-Star selections. The comparison to Mays was never met and the reasons for that are argued about. The 1992 ballot gave him two votes of 430.

Honors

Award	Times	Years
All-Star selection	4	1972, 1973, 1974, 1976
Gold Glove	5	1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
The Sporting News All-Star	4	1972, 1973, 1976, 1980
Player of the Week	2	1976, 1977
Player of the Month	1	1977

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1970	HOU	90	355	46	110	21	4	7	42	15	57	17	.310
1971	HOU	161	611	85	161	40	6	10	81	25	102	20	.264
1972	HOU	139	559	103	179	39	8	22	82	56	62	55	.320
1973	HOU	139	525	86	168	35	2	25	70	41	79	56	.320
1974	HOU	160	610	95	164	29	5	26	102	64	103	57	.269
1975	HOU	131	500	93	144	31	3	13	63	62	52	50	.288
1976	HOU	150	575	89	171	26	5	18	83	55	51	58	.297
1977	HOU	141	530	92	148	36	8	14	71	47	50	61	.279
1978	HOU	50	192	31	54	8	2	7	23	15	24	23	.281
1979	HOU	132	470	57	123	27	4	6	54	64	52	30	.262
1980	HOU	137	499	71	154	32	8	10	73	66	72	48	.309
1981	HOU	82	306	42	83	19	0	5	34	24	31	12	.271
1982	CIN	138	492	52	142	35	1	8	57	41	41	16	.289
1983	CIN	98	332	40	77	16	0	9	39	33	53	13	.232
1984	CIN	110	380	59	105	24	2	10	47	25	54	19	.276
1985	CIN/STL	111	296	38	86	16	1	9	49	24	42	14	.291
1986	LAD	37	78	5	18	2	1	0	6	7	13	1	.231
Career	—	2006	7310	1084	2087	436	60	199	976	664	938	550	.285

On this day & linked events

1951

Born February 25, 1951

Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional, D.R.

1970

Major-league debut: César Cedeño

César Cedeño made a major-league debut on June 20, 1970.

1972

César Cedeño Hits for the Cycle, 1972

César Cedeño hit for the cycle for the Houston Astros against the Cincinnati Reds on August 2, 1972.

1976

César Cedeño Hits for the Cycle, 1976

César Cedeño hit for the cycle for the Houston Astros against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 9, 1976.

1986

Final major-league game: César Cedeño

César Cedeño played a final major-league game on June 2, 1986.

Image: Unknown author Unknown, public domain