John Cerutti

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox baseball biography John Joseph Cerutti (April 28, 1960 – October 3, 2004) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers between 1985 and 1991, and was later a broadcaster for the Blue Jays.

Early life

John was the second of six children. His father, Dan Cerutti, was a bricklayer. Mom Marlene was originally from St. Catherines, Ontario, in Canada.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As a kid, Cerutti was a left-handed centerfielder, so talented that his nickname was "Freddie Lynn".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cerutti grew up a fan of the New York Yankees, and idolized Ron Guidry.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Playing career

Born in Albany, New York, Cerutti attended Amherst College, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics. In 1980, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He was selected in the first round of the amateur draft by the Blue Jays in Template:Mlby with the 21st overall pick. Cerutti played seven seasons in the major leagues with the Blue Jays (Template:Mlby–Template:Mlby) and Detroit Tigers (Template:Mlby).

On June 7, 1989, Cerutti recorded the first Blue Jays win in SkyDome, their new stadium.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On December 20, 1990, the Toronto Blue Jays granted him free agency. He signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers on January 14, 1991.

Broadcasting career

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.

Death

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 he uncharacteristically missed an 11:00 am pregame meeting. The production staff began to worry and started calling him. After numerous attempts to contact him, the door of his Toronto hotel room was opened, where he was found without any vital signs, dead at age 44.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Two weeks later, his death was officially declared to be of natural causes due to a ventricular arrhythmia, a condition he knew he had but had been told wasn't a major concern.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

"It was an unbelievable shock," Blue Jays president Paul Godfrey said, in various wire reports. "We all realize, those of us involved in winning and losing games, how unimportant that is at a time like this."

The Toronto chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America paid tribute to Cerutti in November 2004, giving him its annual Good Guy Award and renaming the honor for him, as Cerutti was known for his exemplary character, goodwill, and sportsmanship.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.

External links

{{#if:||* }}Career statistics from {{#invoke:String|join|Template:Space·Template:Space|{{#if: 112160 | MLB | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata MLB Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: | ESPN | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata ESPN Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: c/cerutjo01 | Baseball Reference | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata.shtml Baseball Reference Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: | Fangraphs | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata Fangraphs Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: cerutt001joh | Baseball Reference (Minors) | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata Baseball Reference (Minors) Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: | Retrosheet | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata.htm Retrosheet Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: | Baseball Almanac | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata Baseball Almanac Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}}}{{#if: c/cerutjo01 cerutt001joh 112160

         Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata
  | 
  | Template:Main other Error: Template:Baseballstats must contain at least one valid parameter name.
  }}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters | check
  | unknown = Template:Main other
  | preview = Page using Template:Baseballstats with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"
  | ignoreblank = y | br | brm | espn | fangraphs | id | mlb | retro | nobullet | almanac
  }}