<img alt="Orlando Cepeda Holding Bat" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/M5yyUr8V-mVdx7EpNuAAUks5wR4=/22x0:4266x2829/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73435119/515392392.0.jpg">
The Hall of Fame outfielder and first baseman was a member of the Atlanta Braves for parts of four seasons including the 1969 NL West Division winning club. Earlier this morning, it was announced that Hall of Fame outfielder and first baseman Orlando Cepeda had passed away. He was 86. The Puerto Rico-native, who played in MLB from 1958 through 1974, spent parts of four season with the Atlanta Braves from 1969 to 1972.
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 home runs, batted .297, and made 11 All-Star teams over 17 seasons.He was unanimously selected as the NL Rookie of the Year in 1958 with the… pic.twitter.com/9ne5NDkHfP— MLB (@MLB) June 29, 2024
Cepeda debuted with the San Francisco Giants in 1958, winning the National League Rookie of the Year award and finishing ninth in the MVP vote. He was an All-Star in six-consecutive campaigns with the Giants from 1959 through 1964 - appearing in 10 All-Star games during that span. He finished second in the MVP vote in 1962 after leading the National League with 46 home runs and 142 RBI while slashing .311/.362/.609.
During his All-Star seasons with the Giants, Cepeda - who teamed with future Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Willie McCovey to form one of the most dynamic threesomes in the National League - averaged 33 home runs, 93 runs and 108 RBI while hitting .309/.356/.541.
After racking up only 40 plate appearances in 1965 due to a knee injury, the Giants traded Cepeda to the St. Louis Cardinals early in the 1966 season. He rebounded in St. Louis and finished 13th in the MVP voting while being named the NL Comeback Player of the Year.
Cepeda had the best season of his career in 1967 leading the Cardinals to the NL pennant and the World Series Championship. Cepeda was an All-Star for the final time in his career and was voted as the unanimous National League MVP. During the regular season, he led the NL with 111 RBI in 151 games and posted a career high in walks leading to a stellar .325/.399/.525 slash line good for a 164 OPS+.
The 1968 season was a major step back for “The Baby Bull” (his father, Pedro Cepeda was nicknamed “The Bull”) as he put up the worst offensive season of his career. After arriving to Spring Training just before exhibition games were to start, the Cardinals swapped “Cha-Cha” for Joe Torre in a trade with the Atlanta Braves. Torre, who had been five-time All-Star with Atlanta would appear in four more All-Star Games with the Cardinals and win the 1971 NL MVP award.
With the Braves, Cepeda’s offense improved slightly from his last season with the Cardinals while becoming the team’s starting first baseman. Atlanta won the NL West in 1969 but fell to the New York Mets in the NLCS despite Cepeda going 5 for 11 with a home run and two doubles in the three-game sweep by New York.
The 1970 season proved to be Cepeda’s best offensive season in Atlanta when he slashed .305/.365/.543 in 148 games with 34 home runs and 111 RBI and more than 300 total bases.
Cepeda would be limited to 71 games with Atlanta in 1971 after a knee injury curtailed his season. Issues with his knee continued in to the 1972 season with the Braves opting to trade Cepeda to the Oakland A’s for struggling former two-time AL Cy Young winner Denny McClain, whose career was nearing its end.
Cepeda picked-up only three plate appearances with Oakland in 1972 before undergoing a second surgery on his knee. Although Cepeda had intended to retire after his second knee surgery, the American League’s adaption of the Designated Hitter rule for the 1973 season led the Boston Red Sox to reach out to the former MVP.
Cepeda would sign with Boston, becoming the first player to hit 20 or more home runs with four different teams after slugging 20 homers for the Red Sox in 142 games.
After being released in what was a some-what surprising move by Boston before the start of the season, Cepeda latched on with the Kansas City Royals in 1974 after spending time playing in Mexico. His 33 games with the Royals would be the last of his MLB career.
For his career, Cepeda was a .297/.350/.499 hitter, collecting 2,351 hits that included 417 doubles and 379 home runs. He drove in 1,365 runs and scored 1,131 times in 2,124 career games. He was an 11-time All-Star and received votes for MVP in eight seasons for four different teams. He played in the World Series in 1962 with the Giants and 1967 and 1968 with the Cardinals in addition to his playoff appearance with the Braves in 1969.
<img alt="Baseball Champions Posing with Bats at Stadium" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1rOV8nvrOkoLcaoCapeNkr4wc0o=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25511365/517829268.jpg">
Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda (l), Lou Brock and Henry Aaron.
After struggling with legal and financial issues in the decade after his retirement, Cepeda would return to the sport and become a fixture with the Giants organization.
Cepeda was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 by the Veterans Committee after failing to gain election by nine votes in his last year of the writer’s vote in 1994.
At the time of his induction, Cepeda became the second native of Puerto Rico to gain entrance to the Hall of Fame, joining Roberto Clemente. Cepeda would have his number 30 retired by the Giants in 1999. San Francisco would also honor him with a statue at their ballpark in 2008.
Cepeda’s time in Atlanta saw him hit .281/.343/.486 in 401 games as the team’s first baseman. His 300th career home run and 2,000th career hit both came during his tenure with the Braves.
<img alt="Orlando Cepeda Holding Bat" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/M5yyUr8V-mVdx7EpNuAAUks5wR4=/22x0:4266x2829/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73435119/515392392.0.jpg">
The Hall of Fame outfielder and first baseman was a member of the Atlanta Braves for parts of four seasons including the 1969 NL West Division winning club. Earlier this morning, it was announced that Hall of Fame outfielder and first baseman Orlando Cepeda had passed away. He was 86. The Puerto Rico-native, who played in MLB from 1958 through 1974, spent parts of four season with the Atlanta Braves from 1969 to 1972.
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 home runs, batted .297, and made 11 All-Star teams over 17 seasons.He was unanimously selected as the NL Rookie of the Year in 1958 with the… pic.twitter.com/9ne5NDkHfP— MLB (@MLB) June 29, 2024
Cepeda debuted with the San Francisco Giants in 1958, winning the National League Rookie of the Year award and finishing ninth in the MVP vote. He was an All-Star in six-consecutive campaigns with the Giants from 1959 through 1964 - appearing in 10 All-Star games during that span. He finished second in the MVP vote in 1962 after leading the National League with 46 home runs and 142 RBI while slashing .311/.362/.609.
During his All-Star seasons with the Giants, Cepeda - who teamed with future Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Willie McCovey to form one of the most dynamic threesomes in the National League - averaged 33 home runs, 93 runs and 108 RBI while hitting .309/.356/.541.
After racking up only 40 plate appearances in 1965 due to a knee injury, the Giants traded Cepeda to the St. Louis Cardinals early in the 1966 season. He rebounded in St. Louis and finished 13th in the MVP voting while being named the NL Comeback Player of the Year.
Cepeda had the best season of his career in 1967 leading the Cardinals to the NL pennant and the World Series Championship. Cepeda was an All-Star for the final time in his career and was voted as the unanimous National League MVP. During the regular season, he led the NL with 111 RBI in 151 games and posted a career high in walks leading to a stellar .325/.399/.525 slash line good for a 164 OPS+.
The 1968 season was a major step back for “The Baby Bull” (his father, Pedro Cepeda was nicknamed “The Bull”) as he put up the worst offensive season of his career. After arriving to Spring Training just before exhibition games were to start, the Cardinals swapped “Cha-Cha” for Joe Torre in a trade with the Atlanta Braves. Torre, who had been five-time All-Star with Atlanta would appear in four more All-Star Games with the Cardinals and win the 1971 NL MVP award.
With the Braves, Cepeda’s offense improved slightly from his last season with the Cardinals while becoming the team’s starting first baseman. Atlanta won the NL West in 1969 but fell to the New York Mets in the NLCS despite Cepeda going 5 for 11 with a home run and two doubles in the three-game sweep by New York.
The 1970 season proved to be Cepeda’s best offensive season in Atlanta when he slashed .305/.365/.543 in 148 games with 34 home runs and 111 RBI and more than 300 total bases.
Cepeda would be limited to 71 games with Atlanta in 1971 after a knee injury curtailed his season. Issues with his knee continued in to the 1972 season with the Braves opting to trade Cepeda to the Oakland A’s for struggling former two-time AL Cy Young winner Denny McClain, whose career was nearing its end.
Cepeda picked-up only three plate appearances with Oakland in 1972 before undergoing a second surgery on his knee. Although Cepeda had intended to retire after his second knee surgery, the American League’s adaption of the Designated Hitter rule for the 1973 season led the Boston Red Sox to reach out to the former MVP.
Cepeda would sign with Boston, becoming the first player to hit 20 or more home runs with four different teams after slugging 20 homers for the Red Sox in 142 games.
After being released in what was a some-what surprising move by Boston before the start of the season, Cepeda latched on with the Kansas City Royals in 1974 after spending time playing in Mexico. His 33 games with the Royals would be the last of his MLB career.
For his career, Cepeda was a .297/.350/.499 hitter, collecting 2,351 hits that included 417 doubles and 379 home runs. He drove in 1,365 runs and scored 1,131 times in 2,124 career games. He was an 11-time All-Star and received votes for MVP in eight seasons for four different teams. He played in the World Series in 1962 with the Giants and 1967 and 1968 with the Cardinals in addition to his playoff appearance with the Braves in 1969.
<img alt="Baseball Champions Posing with Bats at Stadium" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1rOV8nvrOkoLcaoCapeNkr4wc0o=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25511365/517829268.jpg">
Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda (l), Lou Brock and Henry Aaron.
After struggling with legal and financial issues in the decade after his retirement, Cepeda would return to the sport and become a fixture with the Giants organization.
Cepeda was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 by the Veterans Committee after failing to gain election by nine votes in his last year of the writer’s vote in 1994.
At the time of his induction, Cepeda became the second native of Puerto Rico to gain entrance to the Hall of Fame, joining Roberto Clemente. Cepeda would have his number 30 retired by the Giants in 1999. San Francisco would also honor him with a statue at their ballpark in 2008.
Cepeda’s time in Atlanta saw him hit .281/.343/.486 in 401 games as the team’s first baseman. His 300th career home run and 2,000th career hit both came during his tenure with the Braves.
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