Orlando Cepeda Passes Away

Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda has passed away at age 86, the Giants announced. Cepeda played nine of his 17 MLB campaigns in San Francisco and won the 1967 National League MVP award as a member of the Cardinals.

A native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Cepeda secured a minor league contract with the Giants in 1955. He hit 22 home runs as a 17-year-old in his first minor league season, hinting at the power he’d eventually show in the big leagues. Cepeda quickly hit his way up the ladder, reaching the majors midway through April in 1958. His arrival coincided with the franchise’s move to San Francisco.

The first baseman wasted no time in cementing himself as one of the faces of the organization. He raked at a .312/.342/.512 clip with 25 homers and a National League-high 38 doubles at age 20. Cepeda was a unanimous choice as the Senior Circuit’s Rookie of the Year and finished ninth in MVP balloting. While he didn’t earn an All-Star selection in his first season, Cepeda would earn trips to the Midsummer Classic in the six seasons thereafter.

The 6’2″ slugger reached 35 doubles and topped 20 homers in his second and third years. He took his already excellent form to another level in his fourth season. Cepeda blasted a career-high 46 longballs to top the National League. He drove in a staggering 142 runs while hitting .311/.362/.609 over 152 contests. Cepeda led the majors in RBI and finished runner-up to Frank Robinson in MVP balloting.

While he didn’t quite match those numbers in 1962, Cepeda popped another 35 homers and drove in 114 runs. He finished 15th in MVP voting and helped the Giants capture the pennant. He didn’t have a great World Series as the Yankees dropped the Giants in a seven-game set, but he’d get another couple cracks at the Fall Classic later in the decade.

Those didn’t come in San Francisco. Cepeda remained a productive hitter for the next couple seasons, topping 30 homers while hitting over .300 in each of the next two years. He lost most of the ’65 campaign to injury, though, putting something of a sour end on an illustrious run with the organization. The Giants traded Cepeda to the Cardinals for left-hander Ray Sadecki in May 1966. While Sadecki was a solid starting pitcher for the next couple seasons, that blockbuster turned out squarely in the Cards’ favor.

Cepeda hit .303/.362/.469 in his first year with the Cardinals. He paced the NL with 111 RBI the following season, running a .325/.399/.524 line over 644 plate appearances. Cepeda helped the Cardinals to 101 wins and a trip to the World Series. He topped teammate Tim McCarver to win the MVP. While Cepeda only had three hits in the Series, the Cards triumphed over the Red Sox in seven games to claim the eighth title in franchise history.

The Cardinals won a second straight pennant the following season, though they fell to the Tigers in the ’68 World Series. St. Louis traded Cepeda to the Braves the following Spring Training in a one-for-one swap for Joe Torre. The star catcher and future Hall of Fame manager would win the ’71 MVP in St. Louis, so the Cardinals netted a future MVP on both ends of their respective Cepeda trades.

Cepeda was a key contributor for Atlanta over three and a half seasons in his own right. He remained a well above-average hitter, running a .281/.343/.486 line in 401 games as a Brave. Atlanta traded him to the A’s in 1972 for Denny McLain, a deal that didn’t work out for either team. Cepeda signed with the Red Sox as a full-time designated hitter in 1973 and hit .289/.350/.444 to earn a few more down-ballot MVP votes. He retired after a brief stint with the Royals the year after.

Over a career that spanned parts of 17 seasons, Cepeda hit .297/.350/.499 in more than 2100 games. He finished his playing days with 379 home runs, 2351 hits and 1365 runs batted in. He’s 74th on the all-time leaderboard in homers and tied with Garret Anderson for 87th in RBI. Cepeda spent 15 years on the Hall of Fame ballot, falling just shy of induction with 73.5% of the vote share in his final year (1994). Five years later, he was enshrined by the Veterans Committee.

While Cepeda had an accomplished run for three franchises, he’ll always be best remembered for his time with the Giants. He hit .308/.352/.535 in more than 4500 plate appearances in a San Francisco uniform. The franchise retired his #30 and unveiled a statue in his honor outside of Oracle Park back in 2008. His passing unfortunately comes only 10 days after the death of his longtime teammate and fellow Giants/MLB icon Willie Mays. MLBTR joins others throughout the sport in sending condolences to Cepeda’s family, loved ones, former teammates and the countless fans whose lives he touched over his excellent career.