Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes (; September 17, 1937 – June 28, 2024), nicknamed "the Baby Bull" and "Peruchin", was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman from 1958 to 1974, most prominently as a member of the San Francisco Giants where he established himself as one of the most consistent power hitters in the National League (NL) during the 1960s. An 11-time All-Star player, Cepeda was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.
Breaking in with the Giants in their first season after relocating to San Francisco, he was named the NL Rookie of the Year by unanimous vote in 1958. Every year from 1958 through 1963, he was among the league leaders in batting, home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage, and total bases. In 1959, he became the first Puerto Rican player to start an All-Star Game, and in 1961 he was runner-up in voting for the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) after leading the league with 46 home runs and 142 RBIs, which remains the club record for right-handed hitters. In the ensuing years, the Giants struggled to fit both Cepeda and teammate Willie McCovey, also a first basemen, into their lineup, unsuccessfully trying to shift each of them to left field at different points.
After longstanding knee injuries forced Cepeda to miss most of the 1965 season, limiting him to pinch hitting duties, he was traded in May 1966 to the St. Louis Cardinals, coming back to finish the year with a .301 average. In 1967, Cepeda in helping the team to the NL pennant, won the MVP Award by unanimous vote. Another trade brought him to the Atlanta Braves, and he helped that team win the inaugural NL West division title in 1969. With his play increasingly limited by knee problems, he was traded to the American League shortly before its adoption of the designated hitter, and won the first Outstanding Designated Hitter Award with the Boston Red Sox in 1973 before his career came to an end the following year.
Cepeda struggled in his personal life after the end of his career. After a 1975 arrest for transporting marijuana from Colombia to Puerto Rico, he served ten months in prison and saw his reputation ruined on his home island. Following changes in his personal life, however, he repaired his image after being contracted by the Giants in 1987 to work as a scout and goodwill ambassador, beginning decades of humanitarian work.
Early life Cepeda was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, to Pedro Aníbal Cepeda (1905/6–1955) and Carmen Pennes. The family was poor, and lived in wood houses without a telephone or refrigerator.Fagen et al., p. 5 His father was a professional baseball player in Puerto Rico, where he was known as "Perucho" and "the Bull", and was widely considered one of the best players of his generation.Fagen et al., p. 3 Orlando was thus known as "the Baby Bull". Cepeda saw his father play baseball for the first time in 1946, and was instantly interested in the game.Fagen et al., p. 10
Because he was black and the bulk of his career was played before Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color line in 1947, Perucho Cepeda could not play in the major leagues. Several players from the Negro leagues visited their house, which influenced Orlando's view of the sport. He became a fan of Minnie Miñoso.
When he was 10 years old, Cepeda began to sell newspapers in order to participate in a baseball tournament organized for the paper boys.Fagen et al., p. 14 His first tryout came three years later. He practiced with the team for three months but did not make the roster. Cepeda then began playing basketball, but he tore cartilage in his knee and underwent surgery. The injury kept him inactive for nearly a year, and the doctor recommended that he avoid practicing basketball.Fagen et al., p. 15 He began practicing baseball again, noticing that his physical strength had significantly improved in two years.
One day, an amateur baseball player saw him play and recruited him to play with his team. The organization won Puerto Rico's amateur championship and went on to play against an All-Star team from the Dominican Republic. Pedro Zorilla, then owner of the Santurce Crabbers, attended the game to scout another player, but after seeing Cepeda play, he became interested in him. In 1953, Zorilla brought him onto the team to work as a batboy. After retiring, Pedro Cepeda worked for the government, checking the water of rivers in the municipality. He contracted malaria, which eventually precipitated his death at age 49. This illness worsened the family's living conditions. They moved from Guayama to Juncos, where their financial condition deteriorated. They moved again, this time to San Juan, where his mother worked odd jobs to support the family.Fagen et al., p. 6 After her father's death, there was not sufficient income in the household to pay for Orlando to attend college.Fagen et al., p. 7-8
Professional career Minor leagues In 1955, Zorilla persuaded Cepeda's family to purchase an airplane ticket so that he could participate in a New York Giants tryout. After passing the tryout, he was assigned by the Giants to Sandersville, a Class D team.Fagen et al., p. 23 Cepeda was subsequently transferred to the Salem Rebels, but he had trouble adapting because he did not speak English. He also encountered discrimination due to racial segregation under the Jim Crow laws.Fagen et al., p. 25 Shortly after this move, Zorilla called to inform him that his father was in critical condition. Pedro Cepeda died a few days later; Orlando paid the burial expenses and returned to Salem. He was depressed, which affected his performance.Fagen et al., p. 27 He wanted to quit and return to Puerto Rico, but Zorilla convinced him to play for the Kokomo Giants, a team in the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League. Walt Dixon, the team's manager, assigned him to play third base. Cepeda batted in the cleanup spot, finishing with a .393 average, hitting 21 home runs with 91 RBIs.Fagen et al., p. 28-29
Jim Tobin, who owned his contract, noticed his potential and sold his player's rights back to the Giants. After a visit to Puerto Rico, Cepeda returned to New York before being sent to play with the St. Cloud Rox in Class C. The team reassigned him to play first base. Cepeda adapted to the change quickly. That year, he won the Northern League Triple Crown, finishing with an average of .355 with 112 RBIs and 26 home runs. Jack Schwarz promoted him to Class B, a decision that he protested, noting that players with worse performance were being sent to Double A. Following a solid season in Class B, Cepeda played for the Crabbers in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League (LBPPR) during the winter, concluding with a batting average of .310, 11 home runs, and 40 RBIs. He then signed a Class A contract with the Springfield Giants, accepting it on condition that he be allowed to play with the Minneapolis Millers in spring training. Cepeda had a slow start, but his performance improved as the season advanced, and the team retained him on their roster. After completing the 1957 season with the Millers, he returned to Puerto Rico and played in the LBPPR. While he was playing with Santurce, manager Bill Rigney, team owner Horace Stoneham and Tom Sheehan scouted him on behalf of the Giants, who had just moved from New York to San Francisco. He was invited to the team's spring training along with other prospects, including Felipe Alou and Willie Kirkland.
San Francisco Giants (1958–1966)
Cepeda was called up by the San Francisco Giants in . His 13 home runs through May 31 that year place him in a tie with Joc Pederson (2015) for the second-most by a National League rookie through the end of May in baseball history, surpassed only by Albert Pujols (16, in 2001).
He signed his first major league contract ten minutes before debuting in the league, earning $7,000 for the season.Fagen et al., p. 43 In San Francisco, the team received significant media attention. Due to his performance, the team raised his salary to $9,500 in June.Fagen et al., p. 50 During the season, Cepeda lived with Rubén Gómez, but stopped doing so after some tension developed between them.
His average remained steady throughout the season, never falling below .305, which was his average in September.Fagen et al., p. 53 The Giants led the pennant race for a month, but their record in August and September was below .500, and they finished in third place with a record of 80–74, four games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates and twelve behind the Milwaukee Braves, who won their second consecutive pennant.
In his first season, Cepeda batted .312 with 25 home runs, 96 RBIs, and a league-leading 38 doubles. Cepeda and teammate Willie Mays were the only NL players to finish the season ranked among the leaders in hits, home runs, RBIs, batting average, runs scored, and stolen bases.Fagen et al., p. 57 He was unanimously selected the NL Rookie of the Year, becoming the second player, after Frank Robinson in 1956, to receive a unanimous vote. He was also selected the Most Valuable Giant in a poll conducted by the San Francisco Examiner. On September 28, 1958, the publication presented him a plaque in recognition of the selection.
After the season concluded, Cepeda used his salary to buy a new house for his mother. That year he won the LBPPR batting title with an average of .362, while Santurce won the league's championship.Fagen et al., p. 61 The Giants offered him a $12,000 contract, which he refused, asking for $20,000. After negotiations, the parties settled on $17,000.
In 1959, Cepeda reported to spring training with more confidence than the year before. He opened the season hitting in nine straight games, with 15 hits in his first 35 at bats. After experiencing a brief slump during the latter half of May, Cepeda recovered, hitting 12 home runs by June 4; that day he had four hits including a pair of home runs and a double, driving in seven runs in an 11–5 road win over the Braves. He was selected as a starter in both All-Star games during the season.Fagen et al., p. 66 Cepeda was briefly moved to third base to open a spot for Willie McCovey in the starting lineup, but was moved to the outfield after committing errors in the position.Fagen et al., p. 69 He hit six home runs between August and September. The Giants remained in the race for the pennant during the latter part of the season, but were eliminated from competition after losing a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, eventually finishing third. Cepeda led the team in batting average (.317) and RBIs (105).Fagen et al., p. 67
Cepeda subsequently moved from Daly City to the Sunset District, seeking a house within the city. In 1960, the Giants moved him back to first base after McCovey was sent to the minor leagues. Cepeda finished with an average of .297, with 24 home runs and 96 RBIs.Fagen et al., p. 71 He moved twice this year, first to 19th and Pacheco and then to 48th and Pacheco, where he and McCovey bought a building next to the ocean.