Ronald Charles Cey (; born February 15, 1948), nicknamed "the Penguin," is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

from through , most notably as an integral member of the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

teams that won four National League pennants and one

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

championship. A six-time

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

, Cey was named the

World Series MVP The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the MLB postseason. The a ...

after leading the Dodgers to victory during the

1981 World Series The 1981 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1981 Major League Baseball season, 1981 season. The 78th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American Lea ...

. He ended his career playing for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

and the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. Cey was nicknamed "The Penguin" for his slow waddling running gait by his college coach, Chuck "Bobo" Brayton.

Early years

Born and raised in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, Cey was a multi-sport athlete at Mount Tahoma High School, its first to earn nine varsity letters. Following graduation in 1966, he attended

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

in Pullman and was a member of the

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded in 1848, and currently headquartered, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, alo ...

fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

. Cey played two years of

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the Cougars, on the freshman team in 1967, and a year on the varsity under head coach Brayton in 1968. He was selected in the second phase of the 1968 MLB draft in June.

Professional career

With the Dodgers, third baseman Cey was part of an

infield Infield is a sports term whose definition depends on the sport in whose context it is used. Baseball In baseball, the baseball field, diamond, as well as the area immediately beyond it, has both grass and dirt, in contrast to the more distant, ...

that included

Steve Garvey Steven Patrick Garvey (born December 22, 1948) is an American former professional Major League Baseball player who played first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres from 1969 to 1987. Garvey began his major league career wit ...

(

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

), Davey Lopes (

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

) and

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played Center (basketball), center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. He was t ...

(

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

). The four infielders stayed together as the Dodgers' starters for eight and a half years. In 1977, he was named NL Player of the Month in April after helping the Dodgers to a fast start by batting .425 with 9 home runs and a major league record 29 RBIs for the month of April. The Dodgers won the Western Division title that season on their way to the National League pennant. Cey continued to have productive seasons with the Dodgers, helping them to pennants in 1978 and 1981. After the 1982 season, the Dodgers traded Cey to the

for two minor leaguers so that Pedro Guerrero could move to third base and rookie Mike Marshall could get in the Dodgers' outfield. Cey provided veteran leadership for the Cubs over four seasons and, in 1984, helped lead the Cubs to the National League East Division title, hitting 25 homers and driving in 97 runs, both team highs. Cey spent the final year of his career in 1987 as a part-time player with the

Oakland A's Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. In a 16-season career, Cey was a .261

hitter In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher. The three main goals of batters are to become a baserunner, to dri ...

with 316

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 1139 RBI in 2073

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

. Cey finished in the top 25 in National League MVP voting four times with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1974-1977) and once with the Chicago Cubs (1984). His highest position in MVP voting came in 1977, when he finished eighth with a career-high 30 home runs and 110 RBIs. In 1973, he finished sixth in National League Rookie of the Year voting. Cey played in the

, helping the Dodgers to four straight victories after losing their first two games, including his return for the clinching Game 6 after being hit in the head by a wild Goose Gossage fastball, and helped off the field in Game 5. Cey was named co-MVP along with Steve Yeager and Pedro Guerrero, and won the annual Babe Ruth Award. He is still a part of the Dodgers organization and continues to make appearances on the team's behalf. "Cey, called Penguin for his peculiar way of running, was a grumpy little guy," recalled Dodger teammate Tommy John. "If you came into the locker room and said 'Hi, how you doing, Penguin?' and he gave you a grunt, you knew he liked you. We called him Mr. Personality. As a defensive player, his range was limited and so was his arm, but he was accurate. If he caught the ball, it was an out. Offensively, he was capable of outbursts of slugging that could carry the team." In 1990, Cey appeared as himself in the " Uneasy Lies the Crown" episode of the television series "

Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

", which aired on the ABC network. In the episode, Cey played poker with actors Dick Sargent and Nancy Walker.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Washington State University Athletics: Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cey, Ron 1948 births Living people Albuquerque Dodgers players 20th-century American sportsmen Albuquerque Dukes players Arizona Instructional League Dodgers players Bakersfield Dodgers players Baseball players from Tacoma, Washington Chicago Cubs players Los Angeles Dodgers announcers Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball third basemen National League All-Stars Oakland Athletics players Spokane Indians players Tri-City Atoms players Washington State Cougars baseball players World Series Most Valuable Player Award winners Phi Delta Theta members

Early years

Professional career

Career statistics

See also

References

External links