ST. LOUIS – Orlando Cepeda, a decorated Hall-of-Famer who won a World Series title and MVP award with the St. Louis Cardinals, has died at the age of 86.
Cepeda died Friday evening surrounded by family members, according to a statement from the San Francisco Giants, his longtime team before the Cardinals.
Nicknamed “The Baby Bull” and “Cha-Cha,” Cepeda made his mark as one of Major League Baseball’s first stars of Puerto Rican descent. He primarily played outfield and first base.
A man of many accomplishments, Cepeda won his only World Series title and MVP award in the same year, 1967, with the Cardinals. In three seasons with St. Louis, near the middle of his career, Cepeda hit .290 with 58 home runs and 242 RBI.
Cepeda has a strong place in Cardinals lore, but perhaps an even stronger place in Giants history. He debuted with the Giants in 1958, their first season after the franchise relocated from New York to San Francisco.
Cepeda won National League Rookie of the Year honors that season with 25 home runs, 96 RBI and a .312 batting average, finishing right around those marks or better for seven consecutive seasons. He represented the Giants as an All-Star in six of those seasons.
Cepeda oftentimes packed a punch with fellow Hall-of-Fame outfielder Willie Mays, who died just 10 days before him.
“We lost a true gentleman and legend,” said Giants chairman Greg Johnson via the team’s statement. “Orlando was a great ambassador for the game in his playing career and beyond.”
The Cardinals said in a brief social media statement after Friday’s game, “Orlando brought his love for life and the game of baseball to St. Louis. … A fan-favorite among Cardinals fans well beyond his three seasons playing for St. Louis, [Orlando] will long be remembered for his distinguished playing career, but more importantly for the cheerful joy he shared with others.”
All told, Cepeda finished with 379 home runs, 1,365 RBI and a .297 career batting average over 17 seasons from 1958-1974. After his Cardinals career, he spent four years with the Atlanta Braves, then joined the Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals for limited stints to end his career.