"Unless you are from New Jersey or followed Seton Hall baseball around the mid-seventies, the name Rick Cerone may not have been familiar to you prior to last November 1. It was on that date the Yankees, feeling the need for a right-handed hitting catcher, pried Rick loose from Toronto and brought him back home to the Metropolitan Area.
Rick left the campus of Seton Hall University as Cleveland's Number One selection in the June 1974 draft and reached the majors briefly in 1975 and 1976. In the ensuing off-season, he was shipped to the expansion Blue Jays, becoming a part-time regular in 1978.
Last season was Rick's first as a regular catcher. He showed enough promise for the Yankees to select him as the heir apparent to the void left by the untimely death of Thurman Munson. Rick was named the Blue Jays' most improved player last season when he drove in 61 runs and hit .261 after the All-Star break. He is also known as an excellent defensive catcher, having ended Ron LeFlore's 27 consecutive stolen base streak and Mitchell Page's streak of 26 straight.
It's a happy homecoming for the 26-year-old Newark native, and if he comes on early as he did late last season, New York will be off to a fast start."
-The New York Yankees Official 1980 Yearbook
"After a slow start, Cerone came on in the second half of the season for the Blue Jays. Batting just .219 at the All-Star break, he batted .261 after the break to finish at .239. Rick had 61 RBIs, fourth on the Jays, and was third on the club in triples (4) and doubles (27). He had six game-winning RBIs, tied for second on the Jays, and he was the most difficult Blue Jay to double up.
Rick had a 10-game hitting streak from August 14-27, batting .500 (15-for-30), raising his average from .216 to .238. He finished the season strong with a six-game hitting streak, going 10-for-23 (.435), raising his final average from .229 to .239, which marked his highest average of the year.
Cerone was not affected by right or left-handed pitching, batting .239 against right-handers and .238 against southpaws. His best month was July when he hit .282 with 14 RBIs. He batted .378 against the Red Sox and .458 against the West champ Angels. Rick was voted the Blue Jays' most improved player by the Toronto BBWAA for the 1979 season.
Rick was Cleveland's number one selection in the June 1974 Free Agent Draft, was assigned to Oklahoma City, and was called up to the Indians, after only 46 games in the minor leagues, on August 15, 1975. He appeared in seven games for the Indians that year, getting his first big league hit off Kansas City's Paul Splittorf on August 22. Rick started the 1976 season at Toledo, where he was the International League's All-Star catcher, and was called up by the Indians after an injury to Alan Ashby. He was traded to the Blue Jays in the off-season (December 6, 1976) with John Lowenstein for Rico Carty.
Cerone was the Jays' Opening Day catcher in 1977 but then broke his thumb five days into the season. He was optioned to Charleston to get back into shape, and upon his return to Toronto homered off Nelson Briles. 1978 was Rick's first full season in the major leagues, and he hit .302 that August. He threw out Ron LeFlore to end his consecutive stolen base streak at 27 (in 1977 he threw out Mitchell Page after he had 26 consecutive steals).
Rick had an outstanding collegiate career at Seton Hall University. Two times an NCAA All-American catcher, he played in the College World Series in 1974 and 1975. Rick holds nearly every offensive record at Seton Hall. He batted .410 his senior year in '75 with a school record 15 home runs, 64 RBIs and 125 total bases, and was an academic All-American. He had a .362 career batting average and fenced at the Hall. Rick has a B.S. in Physical Education.
Cerone played baseball, football and fenced at Essex Catholic High School. As a quarterback in his senior year, he threw 13 touchdown passes for a 6-0-2 team.
Born and raised in Newark, Rick recently bought a new home in Dunedin, Florida. He enjoys golf, tennis, racquetball and photography."
-New York Yankees 1980 Media Guide
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