Rick Cerone saw 18 major league seasons, exciting 1980
.jpg)
After already seeing time in five major league seasons, Rick Cerone joined the Yankees for 1980 and posted career highs in home runs and RBIs.
He also did it for his home area team, the Yankees.
"It was a pretty exciting year," he told The Lafayette Daily Advertiser that offseason. "Being local, being from New Jersey, it was like a dream come true playing for the team you wanted."
Cerone ultimately spent three different stints with the Yankees over a career that spanned 18 seasons and eight major league teams.
Cerone's career began in 1975, taken by the Indians in the first round of the draft, seventh overall, out of Seton Hall University.
Cerone started with the Indians at AAA Oklahoma City. He then made Cleveland for seven games that year. He went 3 for 12.
He returned for seven more games in 1976, then moved to the Blue Jays in a trade for 1977. He saw 31 games that year, 88 with Toronto in 1978 and 136 in 1979.
Cerone arrived with the Yankees in another trade for 1980. The catcher then saw 147 games and hit .277 with 14 home runs.
Cerone then continued with the Yankees through 1984, but didn't see those 1980 numbers again. He moved to the Braves for 1985 and hoped to get back into form, The Atlanta Journal wrote.
"Some people are saying that was the dream year and that's it," Cerone told The Journal in January 1985. "I believe that was the year I had always hoped for and worked for. I think I'm capable of doing that again."
Cerone saw 96 games for the Braves that year. He hit .216, with three home runs.
He moved to the Brewers for 1986, then returned to the Yankees for 1987. For 1988 and 1989, he played with the Red Sox.
The Red Sox welcomed him to the club and the team started 1988 well with him behind the plate.
"He adds experience to a key position," Red Sox manager John McNamara told The Jackson Citizen Patriot that April. "That's going to help our pitching staff. His experience and his knowledge of hitters are a big plus."
Cerone hit .269 for Boston in 84 games that year. He saw 102 in 1989 and hit .243. He returned to the Yankees for 1990 and saw 49 games in the Bronx, along with brief time in the GCL and at AAA Columbus.
Cerone then played 90 games with the Mets in 1991 and finished out his career with 33 games for the Expos in 1992.
He later became a broadcaster with the Yankees and the Orioles.
- Lafayette Daily Advertiser, Oct. 24, 1980: Cerone Visits Hub City
- Atlanta Journal, Jan. 9, 1985: Cerone hopes to regain '80 form
- Jackson Citizen Patriot, April 20, 1988: Cerone catches on as Red Sox roar
Made the Majors:1,458-31.8%-X
Never Made Majors:3,131-68.2%