MLB History Ron Cey (#19)
“I was eternally grateful that I was able to live my childhood dream.”—Ron Cey
A native of Tacoma, Washington, Ron Cey played college baseball at Washington State University for legendary coach Bobo Brayton, who was head coach of the Cougars for 33 years. Cey played one year on the freshman team and a second year on the varsity before being selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 19th round of the 1968 draft. He’s the only player selected in that round that year to make the big leagues.
Cey spent three years in the minor leagues before getting into two games with the Dodgers in 1971. He spent most of the 1972 season in Triple-A before finally establishing himself as the Dodgers’ starting third baseman in 1973. On June 13, 1973, he played third base with Bill Russell at shortstop, Davey Lopes at second and Steve Garvey at first.
This foursome would be regulars in the Dodgers infield for the next eight-and-a-half years. Throughout the 1970s, it was Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey. Garvey and Cey were the power-hitting run producers. Lopes was the base-stealer. Russell was the light-hitting shortstop with a good glove.
Together, they went to the World Series four times from 1974 to 1981. They lost the first three times, but finally won it all against the Yankees in their final year together. In that 1981 series, the Dodgers came back from two games down to sweep the final four games. Cey was beaned in the head by Goose Gossage in Game 5, but returned to play in Game 6. He hit .350/.458/.500 and was named co-MVP of the series along with Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager.
Cey was well known as “The Penguin.” If you’ve ever seen him play, you know why. He looked like a human penguin, with short legs and a beefy caboose and muscular thighs. His mustache was pure-1970s gold. From 1974 to 1981, he averaged 24 homers and 85 RBI per year and made the NL all-star team six times.
In 1977, Cey was part of another record-setting foursome. He hit 30 home runs for the only time in his career. This coincided with 30-homer seasons from teammates Steve Garvey, Dusty Baker and Reggie Smith, making them the first quartet of teammates to hit 30 or more homers in a season.
In 1983, Cey was traded to the Chicago Cubs, where he played four seasons. He was then traded to the Oakland Athletics and finished out his career with one final season in 1987. Like many third basemen over the years, Cey had little support for the Hall of Fame, receiving just 1.9 percent in his one year on the ballot.