Ron Cey Marquee

b. February 15, 1948 · Los Angeles Dodgers 1971–1982, Chicago Cubs 1983–1986, Oakland Athletics 1987

He played third base beside Bill Russell, Davey Lopes and Steve Garvey for eight and a half seasons in Los Angeles, from 1973 to 1981 — the longest any infield has been kept together, and this archive gives that fact its own page. The four of them reached four World Series and won the last of them.

Seventeen seasons gave him 1,868 hits, 316 home runs, 1,139 runs batted in, 1,012 walks and a .261 average, with six consecutive All-Star selections from 1974. He shared the 1981 World Series award with Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager, the only time three players have shared it.

He was short and thick and ran without much grace, which produced the nickname Penguin and a certain amount of underestimation. He hit 228 home runs for the Dodgers, more than anyone else has at the position for the club. The writers gave him eight votes of 423 in 1993.

Honors

Award	Times	Years
All-Star selection	6	1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979
Player of the Week	4	1973, 1977, 1981, 1983
Babe Ruth Award	1	1981
Lou Gehrig Memorial Award	1	1982
Player of the Month	1	1977
World Series MVP	1	1981

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1971	LAD	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	.000
1972	LAD	11	37	3	10	1	0	1	3	7	10	0	.270
1973	LAD	152	507	60	124	18	4	15	80	74	77	1	.245
1974	LAD	159	577	88	151	20	2	18	97	76	68	1	.262
1975	LAD	158	566	72	160	29	2	25	101	78	74	5	.283
1976	LAD	145	502	69	139	18	3	23	80	89	74	0	.277
1977	LAD	153	564	77	136	22	3	30	110	93	106	3	.241
1978	LAD	159	555	84	150	32	0	23	84	96	96	2	.270
1979	LAD	150	487	77	137	20	1	28	81	86	85	3	.281
1980	LAD	157	551	81	140	25	0	28	77	69	92	2	.254
1981	LAD	85	312	42	90	15	2	13	50	40	55	0	.288
1982	LAD	150	556	62	141	23	1	24	79	57	99	3	.254
1983	CHC	159	581	73	160	33	1	24	90	62	85	0	.275
1984	CHC	146	505	71	121	27	0	25	97	61	108	3	.240
1985	CHC	145	500	64	116	18	2	22	63	58	106	1	.232
1986	CHC	97	256	42	70	21	0	13	36	44	66	0	.273
1987	OAK	45	104	12	23	6	0	4	11	22	32	0	.221
Career	—	2073	7162	977	1868	328	21	316	1139	1012	1235	24	.261

On this day & linked events

1948

Born February 15, 1948

Tacoma, WA, USA

1971

Major-league debut: Ron Cey

Ron Cey made a major-league debut on September 3, 1971.

1973

The Dodgers' Longest-Running Infield

Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Ron Cey, and Bill Russell take the field together as the Los Angeles Dodgers' infield for the first time, beginning a run that would hold the same four positions longer than any infield in Major League Baseball history.

1987

Final major-league game: Ron Cey

Ron Cey played a final major-league game on July 12, 1987.

Image: Public domain