“César Cedeño can simultaneously play in all three outfield positions”
– Gene Mauch, Former MLB manager –
In the 1970s, after the games of the Dominican League, it was a customary ritual for a multitude of baseball players and sportswriters to leave the Quisqueya Stadium at the stroke of midnight and wait until dawn on the tennis courts. They frequented various establishments like Borinquen (Herminia), Cambumbo, Aguaría, Pablito, Nancy, El Coco, El Conquistador, El Almendro, and Casa Teresa or Rosada, among other brothels.
Around 2 a.m. on December 11, 1973, a 22-year-old Cesar Cedeno and a beautiful 19-year-old named Altagracia de la Cruz (Malena) arrived in Super Baby’s Camaro and checked into a bungalow at the Keko Motel.
According to Carlos Hernández, an employee of the Keko, he informed the National Police that he overheard Cedeño and de la Cruz having a heated argument upon entering the motel. Hernandez stated that Cedeño was visibly intoxicated and even called the front desk to request a bottle of beer. Approximately five to ten minutes later, he heard a gunshot. After about five minutes, Cedeño departed in his car, claiming to the guard at the gate that “the girl who was with me accidentally shot herself.”
Hernández immediately contacted the police, who discovered Malena with a gunshot wound to her right temple. Cedeño surrendered to the police at 10 a.m. An unidentified PN colonel revealed in an impromptu press conference that Cedeño had unintentionally been shot by the .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver he was carrying without permission.
As per the police report, Cedeño explained that de la Cruz had been curious about the gun and it accidentally discharged when she attempted to take it from him. Despite the incident, Cesar Cedeno, nicknamed “El Super Baby,” was neither charged with murder nor illegal possession of a firearm.
Eleven days later, the judicial system recessed for the festive Christmas period, and the legal proceedings were postponed until January 7, 1974.
The Federico Nina Law Office, representing Cedeño, announced on New Year’s Day that “the homicide was deemed involuntary.” Cedeño posted bail of $10,000 pesos and was released but was not allowed to return to the United States until he faced trial on the manslaughter charge.
On January 14, 1974, prosecutor Frank Díaz requested the dismissal of charges against Cedeño due to lack of evidence. “There are no indications that compromise (Cedeño’s) innocence,” he stated, “and the prosecution believes he should be acquitted.”
Cedeño testified to Judge Porfirio Natera that the gun went off accidentally while Malena was handling it. The coroner’s report concurred with this statement, and police tests on the paraffin wax demonstrated that Ms. de la Cruz had indeed fired the gun.
The trial concluded in just 90 minutes, during which Judge Porfirio Natera denied Díaz’s request and found Cedeño “guilty of involuntary manslaughter, imposing a fine of $100 pesos.”
A voice shouted at the top of its lungs, “It’s an injustice!” It was Felicia de la Cruz, Altagracia de la Cruz’s aunt, expressing her discontent upon hearing the verdict.
Cesar Cedeno, now a free man, exited the court flanked by his 22-year-old wife Cora and Astros president Spec Richardson, who had flown to Santo Domingo with other Astros officials “to offer whatever help was needed.”
A Day Like Today
- 1982: César Cedeño, playing for the Cincinnati Reds, drove in 6 runs in a game against the Giants.
- 1989: Sammy Sosa became the youngest player born in the Dominican Republic to make his Major League debut at the age of 20 years and 7 months, playing for the Texas Rangers.
- 2002: Julio Lugo went 2 for 4 and hit two home runs in a game against Texas, marking the first time in his career.
- 2004: Alex Rodríguez of the Yankees went 1-for-5, extending his on-base streak to 52 consecutive games.