CĂ©sar GerĂ³nimo
history
|birthplace=
|debutdate=April 16
|debutyear=
|debutteam=Houston Astros
|finaldate=August 28
|finalyear=
|finalteam=Kansas City Royals
|stat1label=Batting average
|stat1value=.258
|stat2label=Hits
|stat2value=977
|stat3label=Runs batted in
|stat3value=392
|teams=
- Houston Astros (–)
- Cincinnati Reds (–)
- Kansas City Royals (–)
- 4x Gold Glove Award winner (1974, 1975, 1976, 1977)
- 2x World Series champion (, )
In 1967, GerĂ³nimo was signed by the New York Yankees, who unsuccessfully tried to make him a pitcher. Two years later he made his major league debut with the Houston Astros. After the 1971 season, he went to the Cincinnati Reds in a blockbuster, eight-player deal along with, among others, Joe Morgan. A winner of four consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 1974-77, GerĂ³nimo was the outstanding defensive center fielder of five divisional championship series and the 1975-76 World Series Champion Cincinnati teams. He played the last three seasons of his career (1981-3) with the Kansas City Royals.
In his fifteen seasons, GerĂ³nimo batted .258, with 51 home runs and 392 RBI, 460 runs scored, 977 hits, 161 doubles, 50 triples and 82 stolen bases. He also held the dubious distinction of being the 3,000th strikeout victim of both Bob Gibson and Nolan Ryan. "I was just in the right place at the right time," he joked.
His nickname was "The Rifle", earning this sobriquet by virtue of his powerful throwing arm. Once after catching a fly out on the center field warning track, he threw the ball home to keep a runner at third base from scoring and the ball went so far on a fly that it went over catcher Johnny Bench’s head.
After retiring he worked for the Japanese Hiroshima Carp, as a coach in their Dominican baseball academy. He currently resides with his family in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
In July 2008 he was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.