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Baseball lost another icon on Friday as former San Francisco Giants star and Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda died at the age of 86. His death was announced by the San Francisco Giants and his family on Friday. A moment of silence was observed with Cepeda's picture on the scoreboard at Oracle Park during the Giants' game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on the night.
Cepeda was born in a baseball family in Ponce, Puerto Rico. His father, Pedro Cepeda, was a professional baseball player in Puerto Rico. Despite his father being regarded as one of the best players in the country, he never got to play in the major leagues because of the color line.
Orlando Cepeda's interest in baseball was inspired when he first saw his father play in 1946. He also practiced basketball in his early career before a knee injury forced him to focus only on baseball.
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In light of his passing, let's celebrate some of the greatest achievements of the MLB icon.
Orlando Cepeda's top five achievements
5) Most home runs by a National League rookie by the end of May
Orlando Cepeda's MLB journey started with the San Francisco Giants in 1958 after being invited to the team's spring training with fellow prospects Felipe Alou and Willie Kirkland.
Cepeda made an instant impression in his rookie season with the Giants, as he hit 13 home runs through the end of May, the most by an NL rookie. His record was finally breached by another MLB icon, Albert Pujols, in 2001 after hitting 16 home runs.
4) NL Rookie of the Year award
Orlando Cepeda continued his searing hitting form for the Giants in his rookie year, smashing 25 home runs along with 96 RBIs. He was named the Most Valuable Giant at the end of the season.
Regardless of competition from teammate and baseball great Willie Mays, Cepeda was unanimously named the NL Rookie of the Year, only the second player to receive a unanimous vote at the time.
3) NL home run leader
Orlando Cepeda continued to flourish in his early MLB years with the San Francisco Giants. After three productive years, Cepeda hit top gear in 1961.
The 11-time All-Star broke the record books after producing a career-high 46 home runs and 142 RBI. He was named the NL home run leader, becoming the first foreign-born player since 1900 to lead the league in home runs.
2) National League MVP
While Orlando Cepeda scaled great heights with the Giants in his nine years with the team, his crowning moment came after being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1966.
He was named the NL Comeback Player of the Year in his first season with the Cardinals. The following year, Cepeda hit .325 with 25 homers and an NL-leading 111 RBI, helping the Cardinals to a famous World Series win over the Boston Red Sox.
He was unanimously named the National League’s MVP that year, the first unanimous MVP since Carl Hubbell in 1936.
1) Hall of Fame induction
Following his World Series triumph with the Cardinals, Orlando Cepeda was troubled with knee injuries, an issue that he struggled with since his early playing days. After a couple of brief stints with the Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals, Cepeda decided to bid farewell to the game in 1974.
He finished his career with 379 home runs, 1,365 RBI and a .297 batting average. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Puerto Ricans to play the game. In 1999, he became only the second Puerto Rican inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
