First Baseman, San
Francisco Giants
Age: 21 (Sept. 17)
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’2” Weight: 210
Prior to 1958:
The son of
Pedro Cepeda, an outstanding player in his native Puerto Rico as well as the
Dominican Republic who was known as “The Bull”. Cepeda later came to be
nicknamed “the Baby Bull” and grew up playing baseball in Santurce, Puerto Rico. As he grew
and filled out, he developed a power stroke and was signed by the Giants,
receiving a $500 bonus. He was first assigned to Salem of the Class D
Appalachian League in 1955 where he hit just .247 with one home run in 26 games
before moving on to Kokomo of the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League where he
performed much better, hitting 21 home runs and knocking in 91 RBIs while
batting .393 in 92 games. In 1956 Cepeda was promoted to St. Cloud of the Class
C Northern League where he won the Triple Crown with 26 home runs, 112 RBIs,
and a batting average of .355. Moving up to the Minneapolis Millers of the
Class AAA American Association in 1957, he batted .309 with 25 home runs and
108 RBIs. Cepeda filled an opening at first base for the Giants, newly
relocated to San Francisco from New York, in 1958. Concerns about his fielding
ability at first proved to be unwarranted.
1958 Season Summary
Appeared in 148
games
1B – 147, PH – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 643 [8]
At Bats – 603 [4]
Runs – 88 [10]
Hits – 188 [5]
Doubles – 38 [1]
Triples – 4
Home Runs – 25 [8]
RBI – 96 [4,
tied with Willie Mays]
Bases on Balls
– 29
Int. BB – 7
[13, tied with nine others]
Strikeouts – 84
[8]
Stolen Bases – 15
[6, tied with Johnny Temple]
Caught Stealing
– 11 [3, tied with Jim Gilliam]
Average - .312 [7]
OBP - .342 [20]
Slugging Pct. -
.512 [7]
Total Bases – 309
[4]
GDP – 18 [7]
Hit by Pitches
– 3
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 9 [1]
League-leading doubles
were +2 ahead of runner-up Dick Groat
League-leading sac
flies were +1 ahead of five runners-up
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 16, RBI - 50, AVG - .305, OBP - .333
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 4 AB) vs. Philadelphia 4/30, (in 6 AB) at LA Dodgers 5/13, (in 6 AB)
vs. Milwaukee 6/5 – 12 innings, (in 4 AB) at Pittsburgh 9/10 – 10 innings
Longest hitting
streak – 17 games
Most HR, game –
2 (in 4 AB) vs. Pittsburgh 5/4 – 10 innings, (in 5 AB) at Chi. Cubs 5/17
HR at home – 13
HR on road – 12
Multi-HR games
– 2
Most RBIs, game
– 5 at Philadelphia 9/12
Pinch-hitting –
0 of 1 (.000)
Fielding
Chances – 1435
Put Outs – 1322
Assists – 97
Errors – 16
DP – 131
Pct. - .989
Awards & Honors:
NL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
9th in
NL MVP voting (57 points, 17% share)
NL ROY Voting:
Orlando Cepeda,
SF: 21 of 24 first place votes, 88% share
3 votes not
cast
---
Giants went 80-74
in their first San Francisco season to finish third in the NL, 12 games behind
the pennant-winning Milwaukee Braves while leading the league in runs scored (727),
doubles (250) and RBIs (682).
Aftermath of ‘58:
In 1959 Cepeda
started the season at first base and was briefly shifted to third to
accommodate the arrival of another power-hitting rookie, Willie McCovey, at
first and finished off the year in left field. The positional changes didn’t affect
his hitting, as he batted .317 with 27 home runs and 105 RBIs. Cepeda chafed at
having to play in the outfield. Shifting between the outfield and first base in
1960, and adjusting to the new Candlestick Park, his home run total dropped to
24 and he knocked in 96 runs and batted .297. Similarly splitting time in the
field in 1961, Cepeda had a big year at the plate, batting .311 and leading the
NL in home runs (46) and RBIs (142). He placed second in league MVP balloting
and was an All-Star for the third of an eventual six consecutive seasons. The
Giants won the NL pennant in 1962 and Cepeda, playing regularly at first base
while McCovey made the shift to left field, contributed 35 home runs, 114 RBIs,
and a .306 average. Battling chronic knee pain and clashing with manager Alvin
Dark, Cepeda continued to produce at the plate, batting .316 with 34 home runs
and 97 RBIs in 1963 and .304 with 31 home runs and 97 RBIs in 1964. Hobbled by
knee pain that ultimately required surgery, Cepeda appeared in only 33 games in
1965, utilized mostly as a pinch hitter. With McCovey now a fixture at first
base, Cepeda started the 1966 season in left field until he was traded to the
St. Louis Cardinals for LHP Ray Sadecki in May. Moving back to first base for
good, he hit .301 for the year with 20 home runs and 73 RBIs. The Cardinals
soared to the NL pennant in 1967 and won the World Series. Cepeda was a popular
team leader, nicknamed “Cha Cha” due to his penchant for Latin music. He batted
.325 with 25 home runs and a league-leading 111 RBIs and became the first NL
player to unanimously be elected MVP. The Cards repeated as pennant winners in
’68 but in the pitching-dominated season Cepeda hit only .248 with 16 home runs
and 73 RBIs. He was traded to Atlanta the following spring and hit .257 with 22
home runs and 88 RBIs in 1969 for the Braves, who won the NL West in the first
season of division play in major league baseball. The team dropped to fifth
place in 1970 but Cepeda was better at the plate with a .305 average and 34
home runs with 111 RBIs. He started strongly in 1971 until an injury to his
left knee resulted in further surgery that finished his season after 71 games. Cepeda
started the 1972 season with the Braves and was dealt to Oakland at mid-season,
appearing in only 31 games in all until lingering knee trouble sidelined him
again. Released by the A’s it appeared that his career was finished until the American
League adopted the designated hitter rule in 1973. Signed by the Boston Red Sox
strictly to DH, Cepeda appeared in 142 games, never playing in the field, and
batted .289 with 20 home runs and 86 RBIs and was named Designated Hitter of
the Year. Released in the spring of 1974 Cepeda played briefly in Mexico until
signed by the Kansas City Royals. As a DH in his final major league season he
batted .215 with one home run and 18 RBIs. Overall for his career Cepeda batted
.297 with 2351 hits that included 417 doubles, 27 triples, and 379 home runs.
With the Giants he batted .308 with 1286 hits that included 226 doubles, 22
triples, and 226 home runs. He further compiled 1365 RBIs (767 with the
Giants). Cepeda was an 11-time All-Star. Among his struggles in retirement, he
served 10 months in prison for smuggling marijuana, after which he turned
things around and became a “goodwill ambassador” for the Giants and went on to
become honored for his humanitarian work. Cepeda was inducted into the Baseball
Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Giants retired his #30. A statue of Cepeda has
been placed outside of San Francisco’s AT&T Park.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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