1977 Topps Baseball #90 - Cesar Cedeno

• Cesar Cedeno was THE guy for the Astros for most of the 1970s. He wasn't quite a Hall of Fame guy, but he was a heck of a player for a long time.
• It's interesting to see his stat lines on baseball reference. He was hit by a pitch 11 times in 1977. He was hit only once in the previous season (1976) and wasn't hit at all the next year (1978). I wonder what happened to cause him to be hit so many times in '77.
• 1977 Stats: .279, 14 HR, 71 RBI, 92 runs, 61 stolen bases in 141 games
• As late as July 25 Cedeno was batting only .207. He had a late season surge, including a 22 game hitting streak in August and September, to raise his average to a respectable level.
• 1977 Highlights:
• May 6 - Charged the mound after Al Hrabosky hit him with a pitch. A ten minute brawl ensued, and both Cedeno and Hrabosky stayed in the game after the fight. Houston pitcher Joaquin Andujar and the Cardinals' Roger Freed were ejected.
• July 25 - Stole home to cap a seven run rally in the top of the 8th inning. The Astors had been behind 7-0 after seven innings. The Chicago Cubs ended up winning the game 9-7.
• Sept 12 - Homered twice and tripled and went 4 for 5, helping Houston beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-2.
• Sept 27 - Went 4 for 5 with a home run and knocked in four runs to lead the Astros to a 7-5 win over the Atlanta Braves.
• Other card blogs: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976