From Puerto Rico, Orlando Cepeda was one of the first baseball superstars from the Caribbean Island, which continues to produce some of the best players to this day.
Cepeda joined the Giants in 1958, the franchise's first year in San Francisco, and he was the first Giant star to begin his career on the West Coast. Winning the National League Rookie of the Year in a unanimous vote, Cepeda led the league in Doubles (38), smacked 25 Home Runs, and batted .312.
This man was no one-year wonder, as Cepeda then went off on a six-year All-Star streak, all in seasons that he would at least belt 24 Home Runs and bat over .297. Cepeda batted over .300 six times in San Francisco, winning the Home Run Title in 1961 (46) and the RBI Title (142), and was second to Frank Robinson for the MVP.
Cepeda suffered a knee injury in Winter Ball in 1963, but he powered through it to the point where fans had no idea he was in constant pain. It was not for two years later that he had to take time off, but he was awful, batting well under .200 with one Home Run in 34 Games. He would return to the regular lineup in 1966, but he was not the same player and was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals during the season.
As a Giant, Cepeda batted .308 with 1,286 Hits and 226 Home Runs.
Cepeda entered the Baseball Hall of Fame as a Veteran's Committee entrant in 1999, and San Francisco responded that year by retiring his number 30. He was also part of the Giants first Wall of Fame group in 2008.
Comments powered by CComment