César Cedeño Encarnación (born February 25,ésarCedeñ 1951) is a Dominican former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1970 to 1986, most prominently as a member of the Houston Astros where he helped the franchise win its first-ever National League Western Division title and postseason berth in .
The four-time All-Star player combined speed and power to become one of the best all around players of his era. Cedeño set the standards for major league outfielders in the early 1970s by winning five consecutive Gold Glove Awards between 1972 and 1976. He became only the second player in Major League Baseball history to hit 20 home runs and steal 50 bases in one season, and the only major leaguer to do so in three consecutive seasons. He also played for the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After his playing career, Cedeño spent several years as a minor league hitting coach for the Astros and Nationals organizations. In 2020, Cedeño was inducted into the Houston Astros Hall of Fame. Cedeño still holds the Astros team record for career stolen bases more than 40 years after last playing for the team.
Baseball career
Houston Astros
Signed by Houston as an amateur free agent in 1967, Cedeño debuted on June 20, 1970, at 19 years of age. His .310 batting average in his rookie season in , allowed him to finish 4th in the Rookie of the Year voting. The next season, he led the major leagues in doubles. On September 2 of that year, he hit an unusual home run: against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Astrodome, with the bases loaded, he hit a blooper that dropped between the right fielder and second baseman, who collided with one another as the ball rolled away; Cedeno and the rest of his teammates scurried quickly to reach home plate for an inside-the-park grand slam. The following season, his third, he again led in doubles, not just his league, but in the majors. He batted .320 in both 1972 and 1973. In 1972, Cedeño hit 22 home runs, had 55 stolen bases, and again led the league in doubles. He won a Gold Glove Award that season as well. Houston manager Leo Durocher once compared Cedeño to Willie Mays, saying "At 22 Cedeño is as good or better than Willie was at the same age".
Possessing a rare combination of power, blazing speed, and good defense, Cedeño became the second man in Major League history (after Lou Brock in 1967) to hit 20 home runs and steal 50 bases in one season. He accomplished the feat three years in a row (1972–1974), making him the only player in major league history to do so. Further, he stole 50-plus bases the next three years (1975–1977), twice led the league in doubles (1971–1972) and collected 102 RBI in the 1974 season. He would finish in the top ten of stolen base leaders from 1971–1978 and again in 1980. His 550 stolen bases rank 27th all time as of January 2018. A winner of five consecutive Gold Glove Awards (1972–1976), Cedeño appeared in four All-Star Games (1972–1974; 1976), and was a contender for the National League MVP in 1972. In the All-Star Game of that year, Cedeño beat out Roberto Clemente for the starting National League position. Cedeño also hit for the cycle in both 1972 and 1976.
Cedeno recorded his 1,000th career hit on July 2, 1976, against the Cincinnati Reds, doing so on a single against Pat Zachry, which was the second of four hits he would record in the game (including a 14th inning home run to help boost the Astros to a 10-7 win).
On September 9, 1981, while playing at Atlanta Stadium, Cedeño entered the stands to confront a heckler. No punches were thrown and no charges were filed, but Cedeño was ejected from the game and immediately suspended as a result. On September 11, Cedeño was fined $5,000 by National League President Chub Feeney but received no further suspension, as Cedeño apologized to the fan on the phone and in writing which Feeney cited as "mitigating circumstances".
On December 18, 1981, Cedeño was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Ray Knight. At the time of his departure from the Astros, he was the team's all-time leader in games played, runs, hits, doubles and stolen bases.