César Francisco Gerónimo Zorrilla (born March 11, 1948), known as César Gerónimo, is a Dominican former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

from through , most notably as a member of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

dynasty that won three National League pennants and two

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

championships between 1972 and 1976. He also played for the Houston Astros and the Kansas City Royals. Although Gerónimo was not a prolific player on offense, he excelled as a defensive player, winning four consecutive Gold Glove Awards between 1974 and 1977. In 2008, Gerónimo was inducted into the

Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum is an entity established by Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds franchise that pays homage to the team's past through displays, photographs and multimedia. It was instituted in 1958 to recognize th ...

Early life

Gerónimo was born in

El Seibo, Dominican Republic Santa Cruz del Seibo or El Seibo, is a city and municipality in the El Seibo Province of the Dominican Republic, located in the eastern part of the country. History El Seibo is one of the oldest towns in the country, it was created by the Const ...

. His father was a driver for a car service, shuttling passengers on the three-hour drive from El Seibo to the capital of the Dominican Republic,

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

.http://www.jockbio.com/Classic/Geronimo/Geronimo.html At age 14, César's parents sent him to school at a seminary with hopes that he would become a priest. However, his athletic prowess continued to develop, especially in basketball. He didn't start playing baseball until he was 17. Two years later in 1967, after scouts saw him play on his father's softball team and recognized his prowess both pitching and hitting, he was signed to a free agent contract by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

Professional career

The Yankees tried unsuccessfully to make Gerónimo a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

during his first professional season (1967). In spring training of 1968 he informed the Yankees that he wanted to end the pitching experiment, and later that year he was drafted out of the Yankees' minor league system in the Rule 5 Draft by the Houston Astros. Gerónimo made his major league debut with the Astros on April 16, 1969 at the age of 21. He notched his first career hit five days later in the ninth inning when, pinch-hitting for

Jack Billingham John Eugene Billingham (born February 21, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty th ...

, Gerónimo doubled off the Reds'

Wayne Granger Wayne Allan Granger (born March 15, 1944) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher who played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1968, 1973), Cincinnati Reds (1969–1971), Minnesota Twins (1972), New York Yankees (1973), Chicago Wh ...

. On November 29, 1971, Gerónimo was involved in one of the most significant trades in the

history of the Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds, a Major League Baseball team, were originally members of the American Association from 1882 to 1889; the team has played in the National League ever since, being one of only five 19th-century teams still playing in its original ...

when he was acquired from the Astros along with

Ed Armbrister Edison Rosanda Armbrister (July 4, 1948 – March 17, 2021) was a Bahamian professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1973 to 1977 for the Cincinnati Reds. Armbrister was a utility player for the Reds t ...

Denis Menke Denis John Menke (July 21, 1940 – December 1, 2020) was a professional baseball infielder and coach. He played all or parts of 13 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1974. He played for the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1962–67), Hou ...

and

Joe Morgan Joe Leonard Morgan (September 19, 1943 – October 11, 2020) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, ...

. The trade helped to transform the Reds into the juggernaut known as the

Big Red Machine The Big Red Machine is a nickname for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team that dominated the National League from 1970 to 1979 and is widely recognized as being among the best in baseball history. The team won six National League West Division ti ...

that would dominate the National League for the next five seasons. A winner of four consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 1974 to 1977, Gerónimo was an outstanding all-around defensive center fielder who combined speed and great range with a powerful arm. He was the starting centerfielder of Reds teams that won five divisional championships, three National League pennants and the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

. Geronimo was known as "the Chief". In the 1975 World Series, he hit .280 with two home runs, but is best known for the iconic image of catching Carl Yastrzemski's fly ball for the final out of the World Series. Gerónimo had his most productive season in 1976, with career-best totals in batting average (.307), hits (149), bases on balls (56), triples (11), stolen bases (22), and on-base percentage (.382). The following season he hit a career-high 10 home runs. He played the last three seasons of his career (1981-1983) in a reserve role with the Kansas City Royals. In his 15 Major League seasons, Gerónimo batted .258, with 51

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 392 RBI, 460 runs scored, 977 hits, 161 doubles, 50 triples and 82 stolen bases. Defensively, he posted a .988 fielding percentage at all three outfield positions. Gerónimo holds the dubious distinction of being the 3,000th strikeout victim of both

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (born Pack Robert Gibson; November 9, 1935October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot" ( ...

and

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...

. "I was just in the right place at the right time," he joked.

Personal life

After retiring, he worked for the Japanese Hiroshima Carp, as a coach in their Dominican baseball academy, and he has been on the board of trustees of the Dominican Republic Sports & Education Academy. He currently resides with his family in

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

. In July 2008 he was inducted into the

. He continues to return to Cincinnati for the annual RedsFest, Big Red Machine reunions and other appearances.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geronimo, Cesar 1948 births Living people Cincinnati Reds players Columbus Astros players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Gold Glove Award winners Houston Astros players Johnson City Yankees players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Oneonta Yankees players

Early life

Professional career

Personal life

See also

References

External links