Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s - #22 Domingo Cedeno

#19
Domingo Antonio (Donastorg) Cedeno
Shortstop

In the middle of the 1999 season, with regular shortstop Desi Relaford lost for a few months due to a right wrist injury, the Phillies needed someone to occasionally spell the new starting shortstop, veteran Alex Arias.  Domingo Cedeno was acquired from the Mariners on July 7th to fill that role, and he stuck around until Relaford came off the disabled list on September 13th.

In his 32 games with the Phillies, the last games of his seven year big league career, Cedeno hit a woeful .152 (10 for 66), but made just one error in 55 chances at short.

The bulk of Cedeno's career was spent with the Blue Jays, where he appeared in 190 games between 1993 and 1996.

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  170
Born:  November 4, 1968, La Romana, Dominican Republic
Signed:  Signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as an amateur free agent, August 4, 1987.
Major League Teams:  Toronto Blue Jays 1993-1996; Chicago White Sox 1996; Texas Rangers 1997-1998; Seattle Mariners 1999; Phillies 1999
Professional Affiliations:  Toronto Blue Jays 1989-1996; Chicago White Sox 1996; Texas Rangers 1997-1998; Seattle Mariners 1999; Phillies 1999; New York Mets 2000; Cordoba Cafeteros (Mexico) 2000-2001

Phillies Career
32 games, .152 (10 for 66), 1 home run, 5 RBIs
Acquired:  Acquired from the Seattle Mariners for Jose Flores, July 7, 1999.
Debut:  July 10, 1999 - Pinch-hit for Paul Byrd in the fifth inning on an eventual 8-4 loss to the Orioles, singling off Mike Mussina and scoring Marlon Anderson.  Cedeno would ultimately score on a Rob Ducey three-run home run.
Final Game:  September 10, 1999 - In Phoenix, struck out swinging against Randy Johnson while pinch-hitting for Scott Aldred.
Departed:  Released, September 13, 1999, and signed as a free agent with the New York Mets, January 5, 2000.

1993 Leaf #486

1994 Topps #776

1995 Topps #89

1998 Pacific Red Threat #199

1 Cedeno Baseball Card in My Collection
1998 Pacific Red Threat #199

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1993 Leaf #486
First Topps Base Card:  1994 Topps #776
Last Mainstream Card:  1998 Upper Deck #522
Other Notable Cards:  1993 Fleer Final Edition #F-289, 1995 Topps #89, 1996 Donruss #134, 1997 Pacific Prisms Gems of the Diamond #GD-30

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s
1 Louie Meadows
2 Dave LaPoint
3 Darrin Chapin
4 Mickey Weston
5 Bob Wells
6 Tom Edens
7 Omar Olivares

8 Kevin Elster

9 Jim Deshaies

10 Chuck Ricci
11 Dennis Springer
12 Manny Martinez
13 Rafael Quirico
14 Bronson Heflin
15 Glenn Dishman
16 Rob Butler
17 Mike Robertson
18 Matt Whiteside
19 Robert Dodd
20 Joel Bennett
21 Joe Grahe
22 Domingo Cedeno
23 Torey Lovullo

This is a continuing series looking at those players who spent time with the Phillies but possess no baseball card proof of their time in Philadelphia.  In some cases, the First and Last Mainstream cards listed above have been subjectively chosen if multiple cards were released in that year.

1999 Phillies - The Missing Links

2000 MLB Showdown 1st Edition #337, 1999 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Team Issue #21 and #6,
1999 Multi-Ad Reading Phillies #6

I'm enjoying researching these Missing Links posts almost as much as I'm enjoying researching and composing my Topps Phillies series of posts.  I plan on continuing these posts through the 2000s, but with the caveat that I may need help as I move through that decade.  My baseball card collection from the '90s is much more comprehensive than what I currently own from the '00s.

But before we get to Y2K, here's a look at those members of the 1999 Phillies team with sparse to non-existent Phillies cardboard representation.  There were 41 different players to suit up with the Phils in 1999.

1999 Phillies Team
Issue #12

3 Cards or More
31 Players

2 Cards
Steve Montgomery (53 games in 1999) - 1999 Phillies Team Issue #57 and 2000 MLB Showdown 1st Edition #337
Tom Prince (4 games in 1999 and 46 games in 2000) - 1999 Phillies Team Issue #12 and 2000 Phillies Team Issue #22

This will sound very strange to all but a few of my readers, but I was beyond thrilled when I tracked down Montgomery's Phillies card from the MLB Showdown set.  It drove me batty that this guy appeared in so many games for the Phillies in 1999, yet he didn't have a proper (regular sized) baseball card.


1 Card

Steve Schrenk (32 games in 1999 and 20 games in 2000) - 2000 Phillies Team Issue #52

Scott Aldred (29 games in 1999 and 23 games in 2000) - 2000 Phillies Team Issue #30

Jim Poole (51 games in 1999) - 1999 Phillies Team Issue #41
Paul Spoljaric (5 games in 1999) - 1999 Phillies Team Issue #50

If not for the Phillies team issued postcard set, this quartet of relievers would have no Phillies baseball cards to their names.

1999 Phillies Team Issue #50 and #41

2000 Phillies Team Issue #52 and #30

0 Cards
Domingo Cedeno (32 games in 1999)
Torey Lovullo (17 games in 1999)
Joe Grahe (13 games in 1999)
Joel Bennett (5 games in 1999)

Cedeno never had a chance for a Phillies card as he falls into that black hole category of players acquired and released by the team within the same year.  He was acquired by the Phillies in early July from the Mariners as an emergency back-up for shortstop Alex Arias, who was forced into starting duties when Desi Relaford tore ligaments in his wrist.  Upon Relaford's return in September, Cedeno was unceremoniously released after posting a .152 average in 32 games.

1994 Topps #776

Lovullo was a September call-up for the Phillies.  He played the last of his 17 games in the Majors with the Phils, after enjoying seven seasons with the Tigers, Yankees, Angels, Mariners, A's and Indians.

Like Lovullo, Grahe was a veteran who had previously played in parts of six seasons with the Angels and Rockies.  He spent the 1999 season, his last in the Majors, between the Phillies and their Triple-A affiliate in Scranton.

Bennett was briefly forced into the starting rotation in May when Spoljaric was traded away to the Blue Jays in exchange for Robert Person.

Past Missing Link Posts

1990 Phillies - Louie Meadows

1991 Phillies - Dave LaPoint

1992 Phillies - Darrin Chapin and Mickey Weston

1993 Phillies - None

1994 Phillies - Tom Edens and Bob Wells

1995 Phillies - Jim Deshaies, Kevin Elster, Omar Olivares, Chuck Ricci and Dennis Springer

1996 Phillies - Glenn Dishman, Bronson Heflin, Manny Martinez and Rafael Quirico
1997 Phillies - Rob Butler and Mike Robertson
1998 Phillies - Robert Dodd and Matt Whiteside