The card, in brief: Cedeno shows off a full red/orange/yellow rainbow as he swings for the photographer. Not sure who the lurker is with the long sideburns - there were a lot of players with that style in 1975.
Playing
career, in brief: Cedeno came up with the Astros as a 19-year-old
rookie in 1970 and quickly became a star. An exciting combination of
power and speed, he led the NL in doubles in 1971 and 1972. In both 1972
and 1973, he hit .320 with 20+ HR and 50+ steals. That December, he was
charged with involuntary manslaughter when he was playing with a gun
with a 19-year-old woman in his hotel room; the gun went off, killing
the woman. Cedeno served 20 days in jail and was fined $100. Though
still a productive player for many years, he did not put up the same
kind of numbers after that incident. Overall, in 17 seasons, mostly for
the Astros, Cedeno hit .285 with 199 HR, 976 RBI and 550 SB.
Post-playing career, in brief: After his career he was arrested once for drunk driving and twice for domestic abuse. He had a long coaching career for several organizations, mostly the Astros, and was inducted into the Astros Hall of Fame in 2020.
My collection: I have 44 of his cards, from 1971 to 1986. I would be interested in trading for 1971 Topps Super #15.
Dang. Never heard the gun story before. That's so sad. And it's disappointing that he was involved in domestic abuse situations over the years.
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