César Gerónimo

Who is César Gerónimo?

César Francisco Gerónimo Zorrilla, known as César Gerónimo, is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball, who was a member of the famed Big Red Machine of the Cincinnati Reds during the 1970s. He batted and threw left-handed.

In 1967, Gerónimo 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 at age 21 on April 16, 1969. He notched his first career hit five days later in the ninth inning when, pinch-hitting for Jack Billingham, Gerónimo doubled off the Reds' Wayne Granger.

After the 1971 season, he went to the Cincinnati Reds in a blockbuster, eight-player deal along with, among others, Joe Morgan and Billingham. 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 1975-76 World Series Champion. 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.