From Houston Astros to World Series Cardinals: Final Glory

It happens from time to time but not too often. Something magical occurs. God grants one last moment in the sun.  What a player knew in his youth, what he knew in his prime, he gets to feel again, but not for too long, and then it is gone forever.

In the case of Cesar Cedeno this happened in 1985.

When Cesar Cedeno arrived on the scene in 1970 it was immediately apparent that this player was special. It wasn't long before he was drawing comparisons to some of the greatest players ever to play the game.

He was compared to Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente. He was a true five tool player and in the early part of his career he put those five tools together like no one had ever done before him. Literally, like no one had done before him.

In 1972 and 1973 for the first time in Major League history there was a player who hit 20 home runs and stole 50 bases in back to back seasons. His name was not Willie Mays or Roberto Clemente, his name was Cesar Cedeno.

He added a .320 batting average to those totals in those seasons, and he won the Gold Glove for his play in center field as well. Defense, speed, power, a great arm, and the ability to steal bases, Cedeno had it all.

And he accomplished all of this in a baseball market that didn't get a lot of coverage at the time (Houston), and in a stadium that killed offensive numbers (the Astrodome).

He won five Gold Gloves, he stole 50 more more bases from 1972-1977, he was an All-Star from 1972-74 and then again in 1976. How he didn't win the Gold Glove in 1977 is a mystery since he only made one error all year, had 14 assists and completed two double plays. 

His fielding percentage that year was .997. Dave Parker won the Gold Glove that year with 14 errors. Go figure.

But for all of that, Cesar Cedeno was considered by many to be a disappointment. Due to injuries, for the most part, Cedeno never became what so many were predicting when he first arrived. 

He finished his career with a .285 batting average, 199 home runs, 976 RBI, and 550 stolen bases. 

All of these are respectable numbers, and along with his defense place him among the best center fielders ever to play (Bill James ranks him 21st), but it still doesn't make him Roberto Clemente or Willie Mays.

From the Astros Cedeno was traded to the Reds in 1982.  He had a good year in 82, another pretty good one in 1984, and then he was languishing on the bench late into 1985.  

On Aug. 29, 1985 he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for an outfielder named Mark Jackson. With that trade Cesar Cedeno would again be "C.C." for one last shining moment. Cedeno hit .434 for the month of September.

He hit six home runs in 28 games. He lifted the Cardinals to the playoffs in the absence of the injured Jack Clark.

The Cardinals would come very close to winning the World Series that year but would lose to the Kansas City Royals in seven games. Cedeno never played for the Cardinals again and finished his career in the Major Leagues the next year, 1986, in a short stint with the Dodgers.

A great beginning, a very good career, a time when it looked like the sun would never shine on him again, and then one last shining moment when he was like Willie Mays or Roberto Clemente.