Hall of Fame slugger Orlando Cepeda has died at age 86, Major League Baseball introduced on Friday:
MLB mourns the passing of Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda at the age of 86.
Known as “Cha-Cha” and “The Baby Bull,” Cepeda slugged 379 residence runs, batted .297, and made 11 All-Star groups over 17 seasons.
He was unanimously chosen as the NL Rookie of the Year in 1958 with the Giants. He was additionally a unanimous choice for the the NL MVP Award in 1967 when he helped lead the Cardinals to the World Series championship.
According to Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 in Sacramento, Cepeda’s spouse Nydia launched the following assertion:
“Our beloved Orlando passed away peacefully at home this evening, listening to his favorite music and surrounded by his loved ones. We take comfort that he is at peace.”
Cepeda, a local of Puerto Rico, spent components of 17 seasons in the majors with the New York/San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Oakland A’s, Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals. Over that adorned profession, he amassed 2,351 hits, 379 residence runs, 417 doubles, 142 stolen bases, 1,365 RBI and 50.1 WAR. An 11-time All-Star and former MVP, Cepeda was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.
Most of his profession worth got here throughout his 9 seasons with the Giants, who first signed Cepeda in late 1953 with a $500 bonus. The Giants introduced Cepeda’s passing throughout their recreation towards the Dodgers on Friday and honored him with a second of silence. The membership additionally put out a video tribute:
An integral half of the nice Giants groups of that period, Cepeda solid a particular affinity with San Francisco, whereas the nice Willie Mays was in some ways related to the franchise’s New York days. Of this dynamic, Cepeda mentioned:
“Right from the beginning, I fell in love with the city. There was everything that I liked. We played more day games then, so I usually had at least two nights a week free. On Thursdays, I would always go to the Copacabana to hear the Latin music. On Sundays, after games, I’d go to the Jazz Workshop for the jam sessions. At the Blackhawk, I’d hear Miles Davis, John Coltrane. … I roomed then with Felipe Alou and Rubén Gómez, but I was the only one who liked to go out at night. Felipe was very religious and quiet, and Ruben just liked to play golf, so he wasn’t a night person. But I was single, and I just loved that town.”
After being handled lower than pretty by supervisor Alvin Dark and following the emergence of Willie McCovey, Cepeda in May of 1966 was traded to the Cardinals in alternate for left-hander Ray Sadecki. At 28, Cepeda started the second act of his profession. Cepeda loved a productive the rest of 1966, after which in ’67 he loved maybe the best season of his profession. En path to profitable the National League MVP award in his first full season with St. Louis, Cepeda put up an OPS+ of 164 with 25 residence runs and an NL-leading 111 RBI.
More upheavals got here in the following years, however Cepeda remained one of the recreation’s best hitters regardless of frequent adjustments of surroundings. With the Red Sox in 1973, Cepeda loved one of his final nice runs, as he hit 20 residence runs and have become the inaugural winner of the Designated Hitter of the Year award (now often called the Edgar Martinez award).
His taking part in profession would finish with the Royals in 1974, and 25 years after his closing at-bat Cepeda can be enshrined in Cooperstown.