Richard Aldo Cerone (born May 19, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player, television sports color commentator and minor league baseball team owner. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to with the Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, and Montreal Expos.
Amateur career
Cerone played high school baseball and football at Essex Catholic High School.
Cerone then attended Seton Hall University, where he played baseball for the Pirates under head coach Mike Sheppard.
Major league career
1970s
Cleveland Indians (1975-76) Cerone was drafted by the Cleveland Indians with the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 1975 MLB Draft. He made his MLB debut on August 17, 1975, pinch hitting for first baseman Boog Powell in the top of the ninth inning in a 14–5 win over the Minnesota Twins, as he lined out. Cerone then replaced catcher Alan Ashby in the bottom of the ninth. On August 22, Cerone collected his first career hit, a single off Paul Splittorff of the Kansas City Royals. Overall, he finished the season playing in seven games with the Indians, batting .250.
Cerone saw little action again with the Indians in 1976, hitting .125 with an RBI in seven games with the club. On December 6, the Indians traded Cerone and John Lowenstein to the Toronto Blue Jays for Rico Carty.
Toronto Blue Jays (1977-79) Cerone joined the Toronto Blue Jays for their expansion season in 1977, and was the starting catcher for their first game on April 7, in which he had two hits in their 9-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox. On August 17, Cerone hit his first career home run off Nelson Briles of the Texas Rangers. Overall, Cerone played in 31 games with Toronto, hitting .200 with a home run and ten RBI.
He saw more playing time with the Blue Jays in 1978, playing in 88 games, hitting .223 with three home runs and 23 RBI, as he split his playing time with Alan Ashby. The Blue Jays traded Ashby after the season, and named Cerone as their primary catcher for the 1979 season.
Cerone appeared in 136 games with Toronto in the 1979 season, hitting .239 with seven home runs. His 61 RBI represented the fourth highest total on the club. After the season, the Blue Jays and the New York Yankees completed a trade which sent Cerone, Tom Underwood and Ted Wilborn to the Yankees for Damaso Garcia, Chris Chambliss and Paul Mirabella.
1980s
New York Yankees (1980-84) Cerone joined the New York Yankees for the 1980 season, following the death of catcher Thurman Munson the year before. In his first season with the Yankees, Cerone batted .277 with 14 home runs and 85 RBI in 147 games, and finished seventh in American League MVP voting, as he helped New York win the American League East division and qualify for the playoffs. Defensively, Cerone led the American League as he threw out 57 attempted stolen base attempts, which was a league best 51.8%. In his first playoffs, Cerone hit .333 with a home run and two RBI, however, the Yankees were swept by the Kansas City Royals in three games.
Cerone's production dipped in the 1981 season, as he hit .244 with two home runs and 21 RBI in 71 games. He told the Associated Press in October he had been getting threatening telegrams and phone calls for over a month, forcing him to change his phone number. However, the Yankees reached the post-season once again. After a tough loss in Game 3 of the American League Divisional Series (ALDS) against the Milwaukee Brewers, Yankee owner George Steinbrenner accused the team of showing him up and not playing well. Cerone swore at Steinbrenner, who responded, "You're gone next year. Nobody talks to me that way." Cerone left the room, returned, and shouted, "What do you know about it? You never played this game!" Steinbrenner's only response was a glare. In the playoffs, Cerone hit .333 with a home run and five RBI in the Yankees victory over the Brewers in the ALDS. In the American League Championship Series against the Oakland Athletics, Cerone struggled with a .100 batting average, however, the Yankees won the series and reached the 1981 World Series. In the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cerone hit .190 with a home run and three RBI, as the Yankees lost to Los Angeles in six games.