Looking Back at Cesar Cedeno’s Sizzling Stint in St. Louis
40 years ago, an MLB Veteran helped propel the Cardinals to a Division Title
By Ryan Boman | August 26, 2025
In 1985, St. Louisans were consumed by a battle between good and evil. Their righteous Redbirds, just three seasons removed from a World Series win, were fighting it out with the nefarious New York Mets for the National League East Division title. The Cardinals were in the battle of their baseball lives with the up-and-coming, arrogant young team from the Big Apple.
Whitey Herzog’s team needed something - just a spark - to give them the edge in a division race that had gotten as hot as Astroturf in August.
Enter Cesar Cedeno, a 34-year-old reserve player, who the Cardinals acquired 40 years ago this week. The Dominican-born veteran had once been a vital part of Cincinnati’s ‘Big Red Machine’ in the 1970s. He had already amassed 2,000 hits in his career, but at this stage, he was nearing the end of his tenure in Major League Baseball.
While Cedeno seemed like an afterthought to many fans, what happened next helped turn the tide of the 1985 National League East Division race and became part of St. Louis Cardinals history forever.
Cedeno would hit a home run off Houston’s fireballing pitcher Mike Scott in his first at-bat for St. Louis. But he didn’t stop there. He would go on to hit .434 with six home runs in 28 games with the Redbirds, as the team continued to hold off the Mets. In the midst of his late-season tear, Cedeno played in the outfield and also at first base to replace the injured Jack Clark.
Many MLB observers believe that Cedeno can be credited with being the acquisition who transformed everything. His inspired play, versatility, and veteran presence were all assets for a Cardinals team that was starting to show its fatigue in that long, hot, St. Louis summer. Instead, the club rallied all the way to a 101-61 record and the NL East title.
Unfortunately for Cedeno and the Cards, he didn’t replicate that late-season success when the postseason rolled around. The team’s sparkplug had suddenly run out of power. Hewent 4-for-31 as the Redbirds fell one win (and one bad Don Denkinger call) short of another World Series title.
As for Cedeno, it would be his last big hurrah in the Majors. He was granted free agency in the offseason and would have short stints with the Blue Jays and Dodgers in 1986, before calling it quits in the middle of the season. His playing career was over.
But for one awesome end of August and a sensational September, Cesar Cedeno was an almost mythical figure in St. Louis. While he may be a bit of a footnote in Cardinals’ history, he also added to the mythology of Major League Baseball.
Many people will often use the phrase, One person can’t make a difference.
Well, 40 years ago… Cesar Cedeno proved that adage wrong. And Redbird fans were lovin’ every minute of it.
Ryan Boman is a contributing writer for On SI at Sports Illustrated and the author of the 2023 book, Pop Music & Peanut Butter, a Collection of Essays Looking at Life with Laughter & Love. His previous work has appeared at MSN, Heavy, the Miami Herald, Screen Rant, and Yardbarker. Follow him on social media @RyanKBoman