Ron Cey

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ron Cey
Runs batted in
1,139
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Ronald Charles Cey (

World Series MVP after leading the Dodgers to victory during the 1981 World Series. He ended his career playing for the Chicago Cubs and the Oakland Athletics. Cey was nicknamed "The Penguin" for his slow waddling running gait by his college coach, Chuck "Bobo" Brayton.[1][2]

Early years

Born and raised in

fraternity. Cey played two years of college baseball for the Cougars, on the freshman team in 1967, and a year on the varsity under head coach Brayton in 1968.[1][2][3] He was selected in the second phase of the 1968 MLB draft in June.[4]

Professional career

Cey at bat for the Dodgers

With the Dodgers, third baseman Cey was part of an

Dodgers' starters for eight and a half years. In 1977, he was named NL Player of the Month in April after helping the Dodgers to a fast start by batting .425 with 9 home runs and a major league record 29 RBIs for the month of April.[5]
The Dodgers won the Western Division title that season on their way to the National League pennant.

Cey continued to have productive seasons with the Dodgers, helping them to pennants in 1978 and 1981. After the 1982 season, the Dodgers traded Cey to the

Oakland A's.[6]

In a 16-season career, Cey was a .261 hitter with 316 home runs and 1139 RBI in 2073 games.[6]

Cey finished in the top 25 in National League MVP voting four times with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1974-1977) and once with the Chicago Cubs (1984). His highest position in MVP voting came in 1977, when he finished eighth with a career-high 30 home runs and 110 RBIs. In 1973, he finished sixth in National League Rookie of the Year voting.[6]

Cey played in the

Pedro Guerrero, and won the annual Babe Ruth Award.[8]
He is still a part of the Dodgers organization and continues to make appearances on the team's behalf.

"Cey, called Penguin for his peculiar way of running, was a grumpy little guy," recalled Dodger teammate Tommy John. "If you came into the locker room and said 'Hi, how you doing, Penguin?' and he gave you a grunt, you knew he liked you. We called him Mr. Personality. As a defensive player, his range was limited and so was his arm, but he was accurate. If he caught the ball, it was an out. Offensively, he was capable of outbursts of slugging that could carry the team."[9]

In 1990, Cey appeared as himself in the "

Uneasy Lies the Crown" episode of the television series "Columbo", which aired on the ABC network. In the episode Cey played poker with actors Dick Sargent and Nancy Walker.[10]

Career statistics

Category G BA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO OBP SLG OPS PO A DP E FLD% Ref.
Total 2,073 .261 7,162 977 1,868 328 21 316 1,139 24 29 1,012 1,235 .354 .445 .799 1,500 4,018 315 223 .961 [6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Bolton, Barry (March 24, 2010). "Ron Cey sets record straight on 'The Penguin'". Coug Fan. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "Flashback: Ron Cey, Mount Tahoma, Class of 1966". Seattle Times. May 11, 2004. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  3. ^ "Washington State University Baseball Players Who Made It to the Major Leagues". Baseball-Almanac.com. Archived from the original on 12 August 2004. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  4. ^ "Draft tabs Pac-8 stars". Spokane Daily Chronicle. June 8, 1968. p. 8.
  5. ^ "Montreal Expos at Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score, April 30, 1977". Baseball-Reference.com.
  6. ^ a b c d "Ron Cey Career Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. ^ Pearlman, Jeff (October 26, 2017). "Remembering Ron Cey and a horrific World Series moment lost to time". The Athletic.
  8. ^ "Babe Ruth Award on Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com.
  9. ISBN 0-553-07184-X
    .
  10. ^ "Uneasy Lies the Crown". IMDb.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ron Cey.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by National League Player of the Month
April, 1977 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ron_Cey&oldid=1217208814"