Death of Orlando Cepeda: San Francisco Giants legend and Hall of Famer nicknamed “Baby Bull” dies at age 86

SAN FRANCISCO — Orlando Cepeda, the hard-hitting first baseman nicknamed “Baby Bull” who was inducted into the Hall of Fame as one of the first Puerto Ricans to play in the major leagues, has died. He was 86 years old.

The San Francisco Giants and his family announced the death Friday night, and a moment of silence was held on the scoreboard at Oracle Park in the middle of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“Our beloved Orlando passed away peacefully at home this evening while listening to his favorite music and surrounded by his loved ones,” his wife Nydia said in a statement released through the team. “It is a comfort to us that he is resting in peace.”

Cepeda was a regular at the Giants’ home games during the 2017 season until he began to experience health problems. In February 2018, he was hospitalized in the Bay Area after suffering a heart attack.

One of the first Puerto Rican stars in the Major Leagues, although limited by knee problems, he became Boston’s first designated hitter and owes his induction into the Hall of Fame in 1999 to his time as a DH, selected by the Veterans Committee.

When the Red Sox called Cepeda in December 1972 and asked if he wanted to be their first designated hitter, the unemployed player immediately agreed.

An 11-time All-Star, Cepeda played 17 seasons for six MLB teams. He won the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 1958 with the Giants, for whom he played his first nine seasons, and the NL MVP in 1967 with the Cardinals, when he hit a career-high .325 with 25 home runs and 111 RBIs.

Cepeda had a career batting average of .297 with 379 home runs and 1,365 RBIs.

Cepeda is one of only two players in NL history to win both Rookie of the Year and MVP unanimously, along with Albert Pujols, who won Rookie of the Year in 2001 and MVP in 2009.

Cepeda was a surefire candidate for the Hall of Fame until his arrest in 1975 – a year after retiring after 17 career seasons – on marijuana possession charges, for which he served nine months in prison.

His election to the Hall of Fame in 1999 came 20 years after he was first eligible.

“I can’t complain,” Cepeda said in a 1985 interview with the Los Angeles Times. “I’ve seen the good times. I’ve seen the bad times. Not many people experience that.”

Information from The Associated Press and ESPN Stats & information was used in this report.