San FranciscoOrlando Cepeda, the fearsome Puerto Rican hitter inducted into baseball’s Corridor of Fame after a profession through which he overcame a number of knee accidents and served a jail sentence for drug trafficking after his retirement, has died. He was 86 years outdated.
The San Francisco Giants and the previous participant’s household introduced his dying Friday evening. A second of silence was noticed and an obituary was displayed on the scoreboard at Oracle Park halfway by way of the sport in opposition to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Our beloved Orlando handed away peacefully tonight at dwelling, listening to his favourite music and surrounded by his family members,” his spouse Nydia mentioned in a press release launched by way of the membership. “We take consolation in the truth that he’s at peace.”
Cepeda was an everyday at Giants dwelling video games in the course of the 2017 season till he handled some well being points. He was hospitalized within the San Francisco Bay Space in February 2018 after a coronary heart assault.
One of many first Puerto Ricans to shine within the Main Leagues, Cepeda was the Nationwide League Rookie of the Yr in 1958 with the Giants and the Most Priceless Participant of the identical circuit in 1967 with the St. Louis Cardinals, each unanimously. Enjoying as a primary baseman and outfielder, he was chosen for seven All-Star Video games.
Nicknamed “Peruchín,” “Child Bull” or “Cha-Cha,” Cepeda signed with the New York Giants and, over a profession spanning 17 seasons, he amassed a .297 common with 379 dwelling runs and 1,365 RBIs in 2,124 video games.
His main league debut got here in 1958, the season the Giants moved from New York to San Francisco. He hit a house run in his second at-bat, on a workforce the place he was surrounded by three different legendary figures, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal.
Mays handed away precisely 10 days in the past.
In 1966, after surgical procedure on his proper knee, the Giants determined to commerce Cepeda to St. Louis in trade for pitcher Ray Sadecki. It was probably the most criticized transactions in San Francisco historical past, however the Cardinals discovered the primary baseman with whom they gained the World Sequence championship a yr later.
His father, Pedro, was thought-about among the best baseball gamers on the island between the mid-Twenties and Nineteen Forties, however he by no means performed in the USA as a result of ban on black baseball gamers within the Main Leagues.
Making his approach by way of the minors within the Giants group, with whom he signed for a $500 bonus, Cepeda Jr. needed to confront racial segregation.
In his rookie season, Cepeda hit 25 homers and batted .312. It was the beginning of a profession that included 9 seasons with a median above .300 and one other eight with 25 or extra homers.
His closing season was with the Kansas Metropolis Royals in 1974.
The yr after retiring, Cepeda was arrested at San Juan’s worldwide airport, accused of attempting to select up a cargo of marijuana. He was sentenced to 5 years in jail, however served solely 10 months.
The incident affected his Corridor of Fame voting amongst members of the Baseball Writers’ Affiliation. He realigned his life with the Buddhist faith and his duties as a humanitarian ambassador for the Giants.
His entry into Cooperstown lastly got here 1 / 4 of a century after his final at-bat, when he was elected by the Veterans Committee. He was the second Puerto Rican to be inducted, following in Clemente’s footsteps.
Roberto Alomar, Edgar Martínez and Iván Rodríguez joined the group of immortal Puerto Ricans in later years.
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– 2024-07-06 03:57:41
