SAN FRANCISCO — Orlando Cepeda, the first baseman nicknamed “Baby Bull” who became a Hall of Famer among the first Puerto Ricans to star in the major leagues, has died. He was 86 years old.
The San Francisco Giants and his family announced his death Friday night and a moment of silence was held as his photo appeared on the scoreboard at Oracle Park in the middle of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Our beloved Orlando passed away peacefully at home tonight, listening to his favorite music and surrounded by his loved ones,” his wife, Nydia, said in a statement released by the team. “We were comforted that he was at peace.”
It was a poignant month for the Giants, as Cepeda’s death followed the passing of Hall of Famer Willie Mays just 10 days earlier on June 18 at age 93.
“Man, what another punch in the gut,” said Giants coach Bob Melvin, who grew up in the Bay Area rooting for the team. “Another simply incredible and simply loved personality here. Statue in front. From the numbers he put up, there are a lot of legends here and he’s certainly right in the middle of it. Having him so close to Willie is kind of surprising.”
Cepeda was a regular at Giants home games during the 2017 season until dealing with some health issues. He was hospitalized in the Bay Area in February 2018 after a cardiac event.
One of the first Puerto Rican stars in the majors but limited by knee problems, he became Boston’s first designated hitter and credits his time as a DH with enshrining him in the Hall of Fame in 1999, as selected by the Veterans Committee .
“Orlando Cepeda’s unabashed love for the game of baseball shined through during his extraordinary playing career and later as one of the game’s enduring ambassadors,” said Hall of Fame President Jane Forbes Clark. “We will miss his wonderful smile at Hall of Fame Weekend in Cooperstown, where his spirit will forever shine, and we extend our deepest condolences to the Cepeda family.”
When the Red Sox called Cepeda in December 1972 to ask if he would like to be their first designated hitter, the unemployed player accepted immediately.
“Boston called me and asked if I was interested in being the DH, and I said yes,” Cepeda recalled in a 2013 interview with The Associated Press, in the DH’s 40th year. “DH took me to the Hall of Fame. The rule got me into the Hall of Fame.”
He didn’t know what this would mean for his career, acknowledging, “I didn’t know anything about DH.” The experience worked perfectly for Cepeda, who played in 142 games that season – his second-to-last in a decorated 17-year major league career. The A’s released Cepeda just months after acquiring him from Atlanta on June 29, 1972.
Cepeda was celebrated at Fenway Park on May 8, 2013, for a ceremony that celebrated his role as a designated hitter. The Red Sox invited him to their first home series of the season, but his former franchise Giants were honoring the defending World Series champions at the same time.
“It means a lot,” Cepeda said then. “Amazing. When you think it’s all over, it’s just the beginning.”
He said then-A’s owner Charlie Finley sent him a telegram to call him within a 24-hour period or he would be released. Cepeda missed the deadline and was released in December 1972. He played just three games for Oakland after the A’s acquired him for pitcher Denny McLain. Cepeda was placed on the disabled list due to a left knee injury. He had 10 knee operations in total, sidelining him for four different years.
Cepeda was a first baseman and outfielder before joining baseball’s first class of designated hitters under new American League rules.
“They were only talking about doing this for three years,” he said. “And people still don’t like the idea of DH. They said it wouldn’t last.
The addition of the DH opened up new opportunities for players like Cepeda and others of his era, who were still able to produce at the plate late in their careers, but no longer played on the field with the tight defense of their cousins.
Cepeda was thrilled to have another chance.
He hit .289 with 20 home runs and 86 RBIs in 1973, starting strongly with a .333 average and five home runs in April. He drove in 23 runs in August en route to DH of the Year honors. On August 8 at Kansas City, Cepeda hit four doubles.
“That was one of the best years,” Cepeda recalled, “because I was playing with one leg and I hit .289. And I hit four doubles in one game. Both my knees were hurting and I was named hitter of the year.”
Cepeda surpassed Baltimore’s Tommy Davis (.306, seven home runs, 89 RBIs) and Minnesota’s Tony Oliva (.291, 16 HRs, 92 RBIs) for top DH honors.
“It was not easy for me to win the award,” said Cepeda. “They had great years.”
Cepeda also knew little English when he arrived in the minor leagues in the mid-1950s, which put him among the first wave of Spanish-speaking players thrust into a different culture to play professional baseball, build new lives and send money home.
It was an opportunity to succeed in a sport he loved, as long as daunting off-field challenges could be overcome.
Early on, a manager told Cepeda to return to Puerto Rico and learn English before returning to his career in the United States.
“Coming here my first year, everything was new to me, a surprise,” recalled Cepeda in a 2014 interview with AP. “When I came to Virginia, I was there for a month and my father died. My dad said, ‘I want to see my son play professional football,’ and he died the day before I played my first game in Virginia.
“From there I went to Puerto Rico and when I came back here I had to go back because we didn’t have any money and my mother said, ‘You have to come back and send me money, we don’t have any money to eat,’” he said.
Cepeda continued to be encouraged to see so many young players from Latin America arriving in the United States with better English skills, thanks in large part to all 30 major league organizations placing greater emphasis on such training through academies in the Dominican Republic and in Venezuela.
There are also English classes offered to young players during spring training and during the extended spring, in addition to the various minor league levels.
He also had his problems.
Cepeda was arrested in May 2007 after being stopped for speeding when officers discovered drugs in the car.
The California Highway Patrol officer arrested Cepeda after finding a “usable” amount of a white powdery substance that was likely methamphetamine or cocaine, while marijuana and a syringe were also discovered.
After his playing career ended, Cepeda was convicted in 1976 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, of marijuana smuggling and sentenced to five years in prison.
This conviction was likely one of the reasons he was not elected to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame. Cepeda was eventually elected by the Veterans Committee in 1999.
Cepeda played first base during his 17 seasons in the majors, starting with the Giants. He also spent time with St. Louis, Atlanta, Oakland, Boston and Kansas City. In the spring of 1969, Cepeda was traded by the Cardinals to the Braves for Joe Torre.
A seven-time All-Star who played in three World Series, Cepeda was the 1958 NL Rookie of the Year with San Francisco and the 1967 NL MVP with St. Louis, a city sad to see him enter that trade that led Tower the city. In 1961, Cepeda led the NL with 46 home runs and 142 RBIs. Cepeda was a career .297 hitter with 379 home runs.
It wasn’t until after the 1973 season as DH that Cepeda was able to look back and appreciate everything he had accomplished that year – along with the huge role he played in the history and change of the sport.
“I just did it,” he said of learning the DH. “Every day I tell myself how lucky I am to have been born with the ability to play ball.”
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