Orlando Cepeda

Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes (Spanish pronunciation: [oɾˈlando seˈpeða]; September 17, 1937 – June 28, 2024), nicknamed “the Baby Bull” and “Peruchin”, was a Puerto Rican first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for six teams from 1958 to 1974, primarily the San Francisco Giants. An 11-time All-Star, Cepeda was one of the most consistent power hitters in the National League (NL) through the 1960s and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.¹

Basics

• Positions
  • First Baseman (1,684 games)
  • Third Baseman (4 total games in 1959)
  • Outfield (231 Games)
  • Designated Hitter (168 games)²
• Major League Debut
  • April 15, 1958
  • Cepeda started at first base, in what would be the first ever Major League Baseball game contested by a California team in California, as Cepeda’s San Francisco Giants hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers at Seal Stadium.
  • Cepeda went 1 for 5, with an RBI and his first Major League home run, taking Dodgers’ reliever Don Bessent deep in the 5th inning.
  • Playing first base, he was credited for 13 put outs and a singular assist (Duke Snyder hit one up the line, and was played Cepeda to pitcher Gomez for the Put Out.)³
• Last MLB Appearance
  • September 19, 1974
  • Cepeda was used as a pinch hitter in 9th inning for the Kansas City Royals hosting the Oakland Athletics at Royals Stadium. He hit a single pinch hitting for Jim Wohlford, and was then removed from the match for pinch runner Vada Pinson. He drove in the game tying run that caused the game to go into extra innings after Ray Fosse failed to catch Freddie Patek stealing second, who moved to third on the error.⁴

Awards and Accolades

• Baseball Hall of Fame – Veteran’s Committee (1999)
• San Francisco Wall of Fame
• San Francisco Giants #30 Retired
• NL MVP – Baseball Writer’s Association of America (1967)
• NL Player of the Year – The Sporting News (1967)
• NL Rookie of the Year – BWAA (1958)
• NL Rookie Player of the Year – The Sporting News (1958)
• All-Star – 1959 – ’64 & ’67
• World Series Champion 1967 with St. Louis Cardinals

Ejections

1. April 24, 1958
   • Umpire: Augie Donatelli
   • Opponent: St. Louis Cardinals
   • Reason: Call at second base – Giants 6th Inning (caught stealing)⁵
2. June 13, 1958
   • Umpire: Jocko Conlan
   • Opponent: Philadelphia Phillies
   • Reason: Call at first base – Giants 3rd (called out at first on ground ball to shortstop)⁶
3. July 19, 1962
   • Umpire: Mel Steiner
   • Opponent: Milwaukee Braves
   • Reason: Call at first base – Giants 4th (called out at first on ground ball to 3rd)⁷
4. August 12, 1962
   • Umpire: Bill Jackowski
   • Opponent:Los Angeles Dodgers
   • Reason: Call at first base – Giants 9th (called out at first on ground ball to shortstop. Threw helmet during argument.)⁸
5. July 15, 1966
   • Umpire: John Kibler
   • Opponent: Cincinnati Reds
   • Reason: Call at first base – Cardinals 7th (called out on ground ball to first baseman who relayed to pitcher for the out)⁹
6. August 8, 1967
   • Umpire: Stan Landes
   • Opponent: Los Angeles Dodgers
   • Reason: Arguing Balls and Strikes – Cardinals 1st (midway thru plate appearance. Replaced by Roger Maris who grounded out)¹⁰
7. July 26, 1968 (game 2 of double header)
   • Umpire: Bill Williams
   • Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates
   • Reason: Arguing Balls and Strikes – Cardinals 4th (called out on a ground ball to shortstop, advancing the runner to second. Ejected for post at bat argument.)¹¹
8. August 22, 1969
   • Umpire: Andy Olsen
   • Opponent: St. Louis Cardinals
   • Reason: Pitcher not coming to complete stop. – Braves 6th (grounded into 6-4-3 double play [shortstop, 2nd baseman, 1st baseman]. Complained to Home Plate umpire Olsen that pitcher wasn’t coming to complete stop as he was running past umpire to dugout.)¹²
9. April 8, 1970
   • Umpire: Mel Steiner
   • Opponent: San Diego Padres
   • Reason: Arguing Balls and Strikes – Braves 8th (midway thru plate appearance. Mike Lum finished the at bat, striking out, but the strike out was credited to Cepeda)¹³
10. June 6, 1970
    • Umpire: Frank Dezelan
    • Opponent: Montreal Expos
    • Reason: Arguing Balls and Strikes – Braves 8th (Cepeda lined out to first base. Argued the strike zone, and was tossed along with his manager Luman Harris. The previous half inning, Expos player Adolpho Phillips and Expos coach Dick Williams were both tossed by Frank Dezelan for also arguing the strike zone.)¹⁴
11. June 7, 1971
    • Umpire: Bob Engel
    • Opponent: St. Louis Cardinals
    • Reason: Call at First Base – Cardinals 10th (Bob Engel called Jose Cardenal safe on a ground ball to short, which Cepeda thought should have been the second out of the inning.)¹⁵

Teams Played for

• Kokomo Giants – Mississippi-Ohio Valley League (D)
• Salem Rebels – Appalachian League (D)
• St. Cloud Rox – Northern League (C)
• Minneapolis Millers – American Association (AAA)
• Santurce – Puerto Rican Winter League
• San Francisco Giants – National League
• St. Louis Cardinals – National League
• Atlanta Braves – National League
• Oakland Athletics – American League
• Boston Red Sox – American League
• Leones de Yucatan – Mexican League (AAA)
• Kansas City Royals – American League ¹⁶

Career Stat Line

• Average: .297
• OPS: .849
• At Bats: 7.927
• Runs: 1,131
• Hits: 2,351
• Home Runs: 379
• RBI: 1,365
• Stolen Bases: 142

Transfers

• January 1, 1955
  • Signed as undrafted free agent by New York Giants
• May 8, 1966
  • Traded by San Francisco Giants to St. Louis Cardinals
  • Giants received Ray Sadecki
• March 17, 1969
  • Traded by St. Louis Cardinals to Atlanta Braves
  • Cardinals received Joe Torre
• June 29, 1972
  • Traded from Atlanta Braves to Oakland Athletics
  • Braves receive Denny McLain
• December 18, 1972
  • Released by Athletics
• January 18, 1973
  • Signed free agency contract with Boston Red Sox
• March 26, 1974
  • Released by Red Sox
• August 6, 1974
  • Signed free agency contract with Kansas City Royals
• September 27, 1974
  • Released¹⁷

Injured List

• May 7 – August 18, 1965
  • Right knee cartilage
• August 5 – September 10, 1971
  • Loose bodies in left knee
• July 12 – October 8, 1972
  • Left Knee¹⁸

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_Cepeda ↩︎
2. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/C/Pcepeo101.htm ↩︎
3. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1958/B04150SFN1958.htm ↩︎
4. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1974/B09190KCA1974.htm ↩︎
5. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1958/B04240SFN1958.htm ↩︎
6. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1958/B06130SFN1958.htm ↩︎
7. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1962/B07190MLN1962.htm ↩︎
8. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1962/B08120SFN1962.htm ↩︎
9. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1966/B07150CIN1966.htm ↩︎
10. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1967/B08080SLN1967.htm ↩︎
11. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1968/B07262PIT1968.htm ↩︎
12. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1969/B08220SLN1969.htm ↩︎
13. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1970/B04080SDN1970.htm ↩︎
14. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1970/B06060ATL1970.htm ↩︎
15. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1971/B06070ATL1971.htm ↩︎
16. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=cepeda001orl#all_standard_roster ↩︎
17. https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/9767/tranx/ ↩︎
18. https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/9767/tranx/ ↩︎