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Best all-time center fielders in MLB history

By Bobby Mueller

ANAHEIM, CA - JULY 29: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hits a fly ball to deep center during the ninth inning of the MLB game against the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium on July 29, 2018 in Anaheim, California. The Mariners defeated the Angels 8-5. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - JULY 29: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hits a fly ball to deep center during the ninth inning of the MLB game against the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium on July 29, 2018 in Anaheim, California. The Mariners defeated the Angels 8-5. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /
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best all-time center fielders
Portrait of Houston Astros’ outfielder Cesar Cedeno who stole over 50 bases six different times and won five Golden Glove Awards. /

Best All-Time Center Fielders #20: Cesar Cedeno

“No matter what I do, they think I had a bad year.”—Cesar Cedeno

Cesar Cedeno was a great player in his 20s who had very little career value after turning 30. Had he finished his career the way he started, he would be one of the all-time greats. Despite his early fade, he still did enough early in his career to make the final spot on this top 20 list of the greatest center fielders in MLB history.

Through the age of 29, Cedeno was worth 46 Wins Above Replacement (WAR, per Fangraphs). That places him 12th all-time for center fielders before the age of 30. In those early years, Cedeno had seven seasons with 4 or more WAR, including four seasons with 5 or more WAR and two 7-plus WAR seasons.

For reference, here’s a handy guide that shows the caliber of player based on how they do in a season, with an example position player from 2017 for each category.

0-1 WAR—Scrub (Nick Markakis, 0.7 WAR)

1-2 WAR—Role Player (Jordy Mercer, 1.5 WAR)

2-3 WAR—Solid Starter (Ian Kinsler, 2.5 WAR)

3-4 WAR—Good Player (Alex Bregman, 3.5 WAR)

4-5 WAR—All-Star (Daniel Murphy, 4.5 WAR)

5-6 WAR—Superstar (Mookie Betts, 5.4 WAR)

6+ WAR—MVP (Joey Votto, 6.5 WAR)

Cedeno was at his very best in 1972 and 1973, when he was 21 and 22 years old. Across those two seasons, he hit .320/.380/.537 while averaging 94 runs, 24 homers, 76 RBI, and 56 steals per season. He could hit for average and power and steal bases with the best of them. He also won the first two of his five Gold Gloves.

At the time, Houston Astros manager Leo Durocher compared the young Cedeno to Willie Mays, saying, “… I’m not saying he will be better than Mays. No way anybody can be better than Mays. But I will say this kid has a chance to be as good.” There’s no higher praise for a young center fielder than to be compared favorably to Willie Mays.

An incident in the offseason following those two great years seemed to alter Cedeno’s career trajectory. He and his 19-year-old mistress were playing with a gun while drinking alcohol. The gun went off and the young woman was killed. Cedeno was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter before being released after 20 days in jail.

After that incident, Cedeno was never as good as he’d been in those first two glorious seasons. Of course, he’s not the only player in baseball history to start off like a meteoric comet only to fade out over the rest of his career. And it’s not like Cedeno went from great to terrible. He didn’t reach the 7 WAR level after that season, but he didn’t fall off the table either.

In fact, Cedeno continued to be a great player with the Astros through the rest of the 1970s despite increasing trouble with his knees as he grew older. He had a six-season run of 50 or more stolen bases early in his career while also hitting double-digits in home runs all six years. Here’s a video of him stealing home against the Cubs in 1977.

Injuries started to accumulate in 1978, a season in which he played just 50 games. He was limited to 132 and 137 games over the next two seasons, then finished out his career with the Astros by playing just 82 games in the strike-shortened 1981 season.

Cedeno joined the Reds in 1982 but wasn’t close to the player he’d been before. He spent three full years with the Reds, then a season split between Cincinnati and St. Louis, followed by one final year with the Dodgers. After being worth 46 WAR through the age of 29, Cedeno was worth just 3.8 WAR from the age of 30 on.

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