"When Rick Cerone reported to spring training in Fort Lauderdale in 1980, the late, great Elston Howard told him, 'Rick you're not taking Thurman Munson's place. Nobody can. Just be Rick Cerone.'
Cerone listened, had an outstanding year and was a main cog in a machine that swept the East and won 103 games. All dark clouds were behind him- he owned the future.
A broken thumb in 1981 kept the future away.
A broken thumb kept in 1982 the future even further away.
A frustrating, confusing year in 1983 seemed to totally destroy the future.
But Richard Aldo Cerone is a fighter. He asks no quarter and gives none. He likes the idea of winning 103 games and fighting the rest of the East and the West. He truly admires manager Yogi Berra, and he will do anything asked of him.
'To tell you the truth,' he says, 'I don't know if I could have gone through a year like 1983 again. I love this place. I don't want to go anywhere else. I'm from Newark. The whole scene is made for me. If only I knew where I stood.'
He knows now, and the East and West know it, too. The Yankees do not have a backup catcher. They have two front line catchers. If Cerone's years as a backup in 1981, 1982 and 1983 marked him as a 'backup,' how come every team that needs a solid catcher asks for him in a trade?
No, Rick Cerone can never be another Thurman Munson. All that Berra asks of him is to be the Rick Cerone of 1980.
Don't bet that he won't be just that this year."
-The New York Yankees Official 1984 Yearbook
"Cerone appeared in almost half the Yankees' games in 1983. His three-run homer was the difference in the Yankees' 8-7 win at Minnesota on May 7. He had an eight-game hitting streak from July 29 to August 14.
Called up to the majors on August 15, 1975 after just 46 games in the minors, Rick's first big league hit came off Paul Splittorff on August 22. In 1976, he was the International League All-Star catcher. Rick was the Blue Jays' Opening Day catcher in 1977, but broke his thumb five days into the season. He worked himself back into shape at Charleston and celebrated his return to the big leagues with a home run off Nellie Briles. He ended Mitchell Page's consecutive base stealing streak at 26, and in 1978 ended Ron LeFlore's streak at 27. In 1979 Cerone was voted he most improved player by the Toronto BBWAA.
In 1980, Cerone responded to a pressure-filled first Yankee season by being named to the UPI and Sporting News AL All-Star teams, and finished seventh in the AL MVP voting. On May 26 of that year he drove in six runs, including his first career grand slam; all six RBIs came after the man in front of him was intentionally walked.
Rick's 1981 production was off slightly from the 1980 season because of a broken right thumb causing him to miss 32 games, yet he topped the Yankees with five RBIs in the Division Series against Milwaukee. In 1982, for a second consecutive season, Rick suffered a major injury, breaking his left thumb on a tag play at home plate in California on May 11; he missed 53 games.
A local product, he grew up in Newark and had an outstanding career at Seton Hall, where he was a two-time All-American. He played in the College World Series in 1974 and 1975 and hit .410 his senior year ('75) with school records of 15 homers, 64 RBIs and 125 total bases. Cerone had a .362 career batting average at Seton Hall, made Academic All-American in '75 and was also on the fencing team. He played on the Pan-American baseball team in 1974 and the USA World Team in 1973. Cerone holds a B.S. in physical education.
Cerone played baseball, football and fenced at Essex Catholic High. As a quarterback he threw 13 touchdown passes for a 6-0-2 team.
Rick enjoys golf, racquetball and photography. He was nicknamed the 'Italian Stallion' by broadcaster Phil Rizzuto."
-1984 New York Yankees Information Guide
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