Ron Cey

Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1971-1987)

Ron Cey was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1987 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Chicago Cubs, and the Athletics, a span of 17 seasons. In 2,073 career games, he hit .261 with 1,868 hits, 316 home runs, and 1,139 RBI. Ron Cey was a 6-time All-Star, a World Series MVP, and a Babe Ruth Award. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 19,506.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .261
HR 316
RBI 1,139
H 1,868
OPS .799
PIV 19,506
Position
Third Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 185 lb
Born
2/15/1948 in Tacoma, WA, USA
MLB Debut
1971-09-03
Last Game
1987-07-12
Awards
6× All-Star · World Series MVP · Babe Ruth Award

Full name: Ronald Charles Cey

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Career Batting Statistics

Ron Cey — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
2,073 7,162 977 1,868 328 21 316 1,139 24 1,012 1,235 .261 .354 .445 .799 19,506

Career AVG .261 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .354 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — +9.1% above league average.

Career SLG .445 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — +16.1% above league average.

Career OPS .799 vs. league average .707 across their career seasons — +12.9% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ron Cey Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1971 LAN NL 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
1972 LAN NL 11 37 3 10 1 0 1 3 0 7 10 .270 — — — — 0.0
1973 LAN NL 152 507 60 124 18 4 15 80 1 74 77 .245 .256 (-5%) .325 (+4%) .378 (+2%) .703 (+3%) 356.6
1974 LAN NL 159 577 88 151 20 2 18 97 1 76 68 .262 .256 (+2%) .324 (+8%) .369 (+8%) .693 (+8%) 999.7
1975 LAN NL 158 566 72 160 29 2 25 101 5 78 74 .283 .257 (+10%) .327 (+14%) .374 (+27%) .701 (+21%) 2428.2
1976 LAN NL 145 502 69 139 18 3 23 80 0 89 74 .277 .255 (+8%) .320 (+21%) .360 (+28%) .681 (+25%) 2676.8
1977 LAN NL 153 564 77 136 22 3 30 110 3 93 106 .241 .264 (-9%) .329 (+5%) .401 (+12%) .730 (+9%) 1190.0
1978 LAN NL 159 555 84 150 32 0 23 84 2 96 96 .270 .257 (+5%) .323 (+18%) .378 (+19%) .702 (+19%) 2404.9
1979 LAN NL 150 487 77 137 20 1 28 81 3 86 85 .281 .265 (+6%) .329 (+18%) .397 (+26%) .727 (+22%) 2460.1
1980 LAN NL 157 551 81 140 25 0 28 77 2 69 92 .254 .264 (-4%) .326 (+5%) .387 (+17%) .714 (+11%) 1360.1
1981 LAN NL 85 312 42 90 15 2 13 50 0 40 55 .288 .255 (+13%) .320 (+16%) .368 (+29%) .688 (+23%) 1315.3
1982 LAN NL 150 556 62 141 23 1 24 79 3 57 99 .254 .261 (-3%) .324 (avg) .388 (+10%) .712 (+5%) 561.7
1983 CHN NL 159 581 73 160 33 1 24 90 0 62 85 .275 .260 (+6%) .324 (+6%) .389 (+18%) .714 (+13%) 1480.0
1984 CHN NL 146 505 71 121 27 0 25 97 3 61 108 .240 .259 (-8%) .322 (avg) .384 (+15%) .707 (+8%) 799.5
1985 CHN NL 145 500 64 116 18 2 22 63 1 58 106 .232 .257 (-10%) .323 (-2%) .390 (+4%) .714 (+1%) 166.8
1986 CHN NL 97 256 42 70 21 0 13 36 0 44 66 .273 .257 (+6%) .325 (+18%) .395 (+29%) .720 (+24%) 1231.4
1987 OAK AL 45 104 12 23 6 0 4 11 0 22 32 .221 .262 (-16%) .331 (+9%) .415 (-5%) .746 (+1%) 75.0
Career · 17 seasons 2,073 7,162 977 1,868 328 21 316 1,139 24 1,012 1,235 .261 — — — — 19,506

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Ron Cey — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
45 161 22 42 8 0 7 27 25 29 .261

Playoff Batting by Year

Ron Cey — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1984 NLCS CHN 5 19 3 3 1 0 1 3 3 3 .158
1981 NLCS LAN 5 18 1 5 1 0 0 3 3 2 .278
1981 WS LAN 6 20 3 7 0 0 1 6 3 3 .350
1978 NLCS LAN 4 16 4 5 1 0 1 3 2 4 .312
1978 WS LAN 6 21 2 6 0 0 1 4 3 3 .286
1977 NLCS LAN 4 13 4 4 1 0 1 4 2 4 .308
1977 WS LAN 6 21 2 4 1 0 1 3 3 5 .190
1974 NLCS LAN 4 16 2 5 3 0 1 1 3 2 .312
1974 WS LAN 5 17 1 3 0 0 0 0 3 3 .176

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (2073 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Ron Cey — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home10683590492935166583.260
Away10053572485933150556.261

Last 10 Games — Batting

Ron Cey — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1987-07-12 OAKMILL 300000001
1987-07-11 OAKMILW 000000010
1987-07-08 OAKDETL 101000100
1987-07-07 OAKDETL 401000000
1987-07-06 OAKDETW 301000001
1987-06-27 OAKCLEW 100000001
1987-06-26 OAKCLEW 401000001
1987-06-24 OAKKCRW 400000001
1987-06-21 OAKTEXL 311001111
1987-06-20 OAKTEXL 100000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ron Cey — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 7 5 55 1 1 3
3B 1989 1974 1500 4018 223 315

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ron Cey — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1972 LAN 3B 11 11 7 20 3 1
1973 LAN 3B 146 142 111 328 18 39
1974 LAN 3B 158 158 155 365 22 25
1975 LAN 3B 158 158 144 309 19 23
1976 LAN 3B 144 143 111 334 16 22
1977 LAN 3B 153 153 138 346 18 29
1978 LAN 3B 158 158 116 336 16 26
1979 LAN 3B 150 148 123 265 9 25
1980 LAN 3B 157 156 127 317 13 24
1981 LAN 3B 84 84 71 184 16 15
1982 LAN 3B 149 148 93 320 16 23
1983 CHN 3B 157 157 90 270 17 12
1984 CHN 3B 144 142 97 230 11 22
1985 CHN 3B 140 138 75 273 21 21
1986 CHN 3B 77 75 41 118 8 7
1987 OAK 1B 7 5 55 1 1 3
1987 OAK 3B 3 3 1 3 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ron Cey Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 7
Third Base 1990
Designated Hitter 30

Awards & Honors

Ron Cey — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1983 Player of the Week Week of 1983-05-20
1982 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
1981 Babe Ruth Award 3B
1981 Player of the Week Week of 1981-05-15
1981 World Series MVP
1977 Player of the Month April
1977 Player of the Week Week of 1977-04-22
1973 Player of the Week Week of 1973-05-18

Salary History

Ron Cey — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1987 CHN NL $1,050,000
1986 CHN NL $1,400,000
1985 CHN NL $1,450,000
Total Career Earnings $3,900,000

College History

Ron Cey — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Washington State University Pullman WA 1968

Award Voting History

Ron Cey — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1984 Most Valuable Player NL 17th 6.0 336 0
1977 Most Valuable Player NL 8th 60.0 336 0
1976 Most Valuable Player NL 23th 6.0 336 0
1975 Most Valuable Player NL 18th 11.0 336 0
1974 Most Valuable Player NL 25th 1.0 336 0
1973 Rookie of the Year NL 6th 1.0 24 1

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Ron Cey (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Robin Ventura
    .267 avg, 294 HR
  2. 83
    Boog Powell
    .266 avg, 339 HR
  3. 62
    Todd Zeile
    .265 avg, 253 HR
  4. 62
    Tino Martinez
    .271 avg, 339 HR
  5. 58
    Roy Sievers
    .267 avg, 318 HR
  6. 56
    Anthony Rizzo
    .261 avg, 303 HR

Compare Ron Cey

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Cey's closest peers by position and era.

vs Don Sutton
vs Mike Schmidt
vs Harmon Killebrew
vs Willie McCovey
vs George Brett
vs Dick Allen

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Ron Cey: the record in brief

The profile opens with Ron Cey's first major league game on September 3, 1971; the last one listed came on July 12, 1987. The team column moves through the Los Angeles Dodgers (1971 through 1982), the Chicago Cubs (1983 through 1986), and the Oakland Athletics (1987). Cey played primarily as a third baseman and both batted and threw right-handed. Born on February 15, 1948, in Tacoma, WA, USA, Cey was listed at 5'10" and 185 pounds. Cey's full given name, per the bio, is Ronald Charles Cey.

Cey collected 1,868 hits in 7,162 at bats across 2,073 games, good for a .261 batting average, adding 316 homers, 1,139 RBI, and 24 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .354 and .445 give Cey a career OPS of .799. Against a .258 league average for those years, Cey's .261 average was near the norm. For power, 1977 stands out: 30 home runs with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The highest hit total in a season was 160, in 1975.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ron Cey

What years did Ron Cey play?
Ron Cey played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1987.
Was Ron Cey a pitcher?
No. Ron Cey was a position player (Third Baseman).
How many home runs did Ron Cey hit?
Ron Cey hit 316 career home runs with 1868 hits.
What was Ron Cey's career batting average?
Ron Cey batted .261 over his career, with 1,868 hits in 7,162 at bats.
How many RBI did Ron Cey have?
Ron Cey drove in 1,139 runs in his career.
Is Ron Cey in the Hall of Fame?
No. Ron Cey has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.