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john cerutti, 1991 fleer #172, blue jays

Player: Cerutti, John

Card: 1991 Fleer #172

Position: LHP

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playerbio

John Joseph Cerutti (b. April 28, 1960 in Albany, NY – d. October 3, 2004 in Toronto, Canada) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, and later a broadcaster for the Toronto Blue Jays. John was selected in the first round of the amateur draft by the Blue Jays in 1981 with the 21st overall pick. He played seven seasons in the major leagues with the Blue Jays (1985–1990) and Detroit Tigers (1991).

On June 7, 1989, Cerutti recorded the first Blue Jays win in SkyDome, their new stadium.

After his playing career, he went into broadcasting and started calling Blue Jays games alongside Brian Williams on CBC before becoming a TV analyst for the team's new flagship station, Rogers Sportsnet.

Cerutti was supposed to broadcast the last game of the 2004 season for the Blue Jays, an afternoon home game on October 3 versus the New York Yankees, but uncharacteristically missed an 11:00 AM pregame meeting. The production staff began to worry and started calling him. After numerous attempts, the police had to be brought in to break open the door of his Toronto hotel room. He was found without any vital signs. His death at age 44 was officially declared to be of natural causes due to a ventricular arrhythmia.

The Toronto chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America paid tribute to John in November, 2004, giving him its annual Good Guy Award and renaming the honor for him. The Award has been handed out every year since Toronto's inaugural season in 1977, and is given annually to an individual who best exemplifies a positive image for baseball. John Cerutti was known for his exemplary character, goodwill, and sportsmanship.

(excerpted from Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)

morecards

1987 Topps #557
1990 Topps #211
1992 Donruss #709

tourstops


John is part of the Detroit Tigers Player Tour – Go to the Next Stop


See all of Cerutti’s baseball cards at TCDB


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