In the summer of 1999, baseball’s second-best “Roger C” faced its best one.
And one of Roger Cedeno’s Mets teammates had just rocketed a homer off “The Rocket.”
“So, Roger Clemens, he threw me a ball close to me — I felt like he did it on purpose,” said Cedeno, who later played for the famed 2004 Ƶ Cardinals, by phone Monday. “You know, to push me out of the way of home plate. Maybe not on purpose to hit me, but to push me off the plate. Or send me a warning, I don’t know. But from that particular moment, he woke up a lion.”
Now 50 years old, Cedeno laughed uproariously about his proclamation.
“From that particular moment,” Cedeno continued, “I was like, 'You know what, every time I get in there, I gotta get this guy. I gotta make him pay.'”
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In five plate appearances in 1999 against the Yankees’ Clemens, Cedeno had two hits and a walk.
Thus began one of the more improbable circumstances in baseball — Roger Cedeno owning Roger Clemens.
In Cedeno’s 11 seasons, he only started 100 or more games five times.
Yet in his career, this part-time player went 11-for-26 with six walks against the iconic Clemens. Cedeno hit .423 with a .531 on-base percentage in those plate appearances.
And on April 4, 2004 (04/04/04), the Mets traded the outfielder Cedeno to Ƶ for Wilson Delgado. The 2004 Cardinals went 105-57 — they are considered one of the greatest teams to ever make a World Series but lose (the Red Sox, sorry to bring this up, swept the Cards that October). On the year, the switch-hitting Cedeno hit .265 in 200 at-bats for Ƶ, while socking two homers, driving in 23 runs, stealing five bases and logging a .702 OPS.
And in a September game against Houston, Cedeno hit a single and double off of … yup, Roger Clemens, who would win the 2004 Cy Young with an 18-4 record and a 2.98 ERA.
Sure enough, the Cardinals faced the Astros in the 2004 National League Championship Series. Ƶ hadn’t advanced to the World Series since 1987. But the Astros led the series, 3-2, until Jim Edmonds hit his season-saving walk-off homer in the 12th inning of Game 6.
October 21, 2004.
Twenty Octobers ago.
Game 7. Busch Stadium II in Ƶ. Jeff Suppan vs. Clemens.
Entering the bottom of the sixth, Houston led, 2-1.
Suppan’s spot led off the Cards' half of the inning, so manager Tony La Russa pinch hit for his pitcher.
Roger Cedeno vs. Roger Clemens.
Ball one.
Ball two.
Strike one.
And on the fourth pitch, Cedeno smacked a ground-ball single just past the diving second baseman Jeff Kent.
Edgar Renteria bunted Cedeno to second. One out.
Larry Walker grounded out, but Cedeno scurried to third. Two outs.
“I’ve got this memory,” Cedeno shared. “I was on third base. I’ll never forget the moment Albert Pujols went from the on-deck circle to home plate — I could see it (in him). I know I’m going to score.”
Pujols indeed doubled in Cedeno to tie the game, 2-2.
The next at-bat was the famous one — Scott Rolen’s two-run homer off “The Rocket.”
The Cardinals went on to win the game, 5-2. Roger Cedeno was heading to his first-ever fall classic.
“That was my best year in my whole career, because every player wants to play in the World Series,” said Cedeno, who played 11 big-league seasons with the Dodgers, Mets, Astros, Tigers, Mets (again) and Cardinals. “You just want to be part of the team. And to have the opportunity to play with the greatest person and the greatest player, Albert Pujols? For me, it couldn’t be better.”
Cedeno would go 1 for 4 in the fall classic.
He would play for the 2005 Cardinals, too, but hit just .158 in 57 at-bats. He was released by the team in June and never played in the majors again.
He’s now a baseball coach at the IMG Academy in Florida, where he specializes in outfield and baserunning coaching.
“I gotta tell you something — I think I found my passion,” he said of coaching. “For me, I mean, I can’t even explain it. God brought me here for a purpose.”
And back in Ƶ, many fans will forever remember Cedeno, well, as “The Rocket Slayer.”
The Ƶ Cardinals, again, missed the postseason. And Ƶ fans miss what makes October such a special and unique month.
Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith spoke highly of Ƶ Cardinals rookie shortstop Masyn Winn, who had a breakout season.
“This is the greatest life I've ever lived,” says ex-baseball star Darryl Strawberry, now in the Ƶ area. “It wasn't my baseball career, it wasn't my success.”