First Baseman/Outfielder,
San Francisco Giants
Age: 22 (Sept. 17)
2nd
season with Giants
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’2” Weight: 210
Prior to 1959:
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. He homered in the season-opening
game against the Dodgers and went on to bat .312 with 25 home runs, 96 RBIs,
and a league-leading 38 doubles as well as a .342 on-base percentage and a .512
slugging percentage.
1959 Season Summary
Appeared in 151
games
1B – 122, LF –
44, 3B – 4, PR – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 648 [13]
At Bats – 605 [6]
Runs – 92 [11]
Hits – 192 [3]
Doubles – 35 [5,
tied with Johnny Temple]
Triples – 4
Home Runs – 27 [7,
tied with Dick Stuart]
RBI – 105 [6]
Bases on Balls
– 33
Int. BB – 10 [10]
Strikeouts – 100
[2]
Stolen Bases – 23
[2, tied with Tony Taylor & Jim Gilliam]
Caught Stealing
– 9 [5, tied with Tony Taylor & Sparky Anderson]
Average - .317 [3]
OBP - .355 [19]
Slugging Pct. -
.522 [6]
Total Bases – 316
[6]
GDP – 10
Hit by Pitches
– 5 [7, tied with six others]
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 4 [19,
tied with twelve others]
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 21, HR – 17, RBI - 63, AVG - .331, OBP - .370, SLG - .575
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Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) at Mil. Braves 6/4, (in 5 AB) vs. Cincinnati 6/18
Longest hitting
streak – 14 games
Most HR, game –
2 (in 4 AB) vs. Chi. Cubs 4/15, (in 5 AB) at Mil. Braves 6/4, (in 4 AB) at Mil.
Braves 8/19
HR at home – 13
HR on road – 14
Multi-HR games
– 3
Most RBIs, game
– 7 at Mil. Braves 6/4
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding (1B)
Chances – 1015
Put Outs – 929
Assists – 70
Errors – 16
DP – 74
Pct. - .984
Awards & Honors:
All-Star
(Started for NL at 1B in first game)
19th
in NL MVP voting, tied with Vern Law, Pitt. & Warren Spahn, MilB (3 points,
1% share)
---
The Giants went
83-71 to finish third in the NL, 4 games behind the pennant-winning Los Angeles
Dodgers. Embroiled in a hot three-team pennant race with the Dodgers and
Milwaukee Braves, the Giants moved into first on July 4. Aided by rookie first
baseman Willie McCovey’s arrival at the end of the month, they cruised into
September but, losing seven of their last eight games, dropped into third at
the end. McCovey’s presence caused Cepeda to finish off the year in left field
after a brief trial at third base.
Aftermath of 1959:
While the positional changes didn’t affect Cepeda’s hitting, he chafed at playing 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 with a .343 OBP and .497 slugging percentage. 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, a .306 average, a .347 OBP, and a .518 slugging percentage. 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 37doubles, 25 home runs and a league-leading 111 RBIs plus a .399 OBP and a .524 slugging percentage. He became the first National League player to unanimously be elected MVP. The Cards repeated as pennant winners in 1968 but in the pitching-dominated season Cepeda hit only .248 with 26 doubles, 16 home runs, 73 RBIs, a .308 OBP, and a .378 slugging percentage. He was traded to the Atlanta Braves the following spring and hit .257 with 28 doubles, 22 home runs, 88 RBIs, and a .325 OBP in 1969 for the Braves, who won the NL West in the first season of divisional 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, 111 RBIs, a .365 OBP, and a .543 slugging percentage. 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, 86 RBIs, a .350 OBP, and a .444 slugging percentage. He 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 major league career Cepeda batted .297 with 2351 hits that included 417 doubles, 27 triples, and 379 home runs. He scored 1131 runs and compiled 1365 RBIs, a .350 OBP, and a .499 slugging percentage. With the Giants he batted .308 with 1286 hits 652 runs scored, 226 doubles, 22 triples, 226 home runs, 767 RBIs, a .352 OBP, and a .535 slugging percentage. Appearing in 22 postseason games, Cepeda hit .207 with 3 home runs and 12 RBIs. 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. He died in 2024 at age 86.
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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league
in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum
of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who
led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a
minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between
the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc.
players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the
postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.
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