Ron Cey Apparently Is Through as a Cub, but Not as the Penguin

Third baseman Ron (the Penguin) Cey, put in cold storage by the Chicago Cubs during the 1986 baseball season, will appear soon as a cartoon character in a syndicated television series.

The 5-foot 9-inch Cey, who got his nickname for penguin-like run, announced a deal Thursday with Playhouse Pictures. The half-hour cartoon series, to be called “The Penguin,” will be produced by Cey’s longtime friend, Herb Klynn of Playhouse.

Of his baseball future, Cey said, “I hope to find out during (baseball’s) winter meetings” next month, when the Cubs have promised to try to trade him.

Cey, 38, said Cub President Dallas Green told him in August that “I was not essentially a part of their program. I would be one of their moves, that I would be playing somewhere else.”

Cey played in only 97 games last season, batting .273 with 13 home runs and 36 runs batted in. The former Dodger has hit 312 homers in 14 major league seasons.

Cey has a contract with the Cubs through 1987, guaranteeing him $950,000 for next season.