Home > Orlando Cepeda

Cepeda was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. His father, slugger Pedro Cepeda , was a baseball legend in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Some called Cepeda the Babe Ruth of Latin AmericaLatin America consists of the countries of South America and North America (including Central America and the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken there. Most freque. Pedro's nicknames were Perucho and The Bull. Orlando became known as Peruchin and Little Bull.

In his first season in 1958See also 1957 in sports, other events of 1958, 1959 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'. Auto Racing NASCAR Championship Lee Petty Indianapolis 500 Jimmy Bryan USAC Racing Tony Bettenhausen won the season championship Formula One Championship Mike, Cepeda battedBatting average is a statistic in both baseball and cricket measuring the performance of baseball hitters and cricket batsmen, respectively. Batting average in baseball In baseball, the batting average is defined as the ratio of hits to at bats. The Major .312 with 25 home runIn baseball, a home run is a base hit in which the batter is able to circle all the bases, ending at home plate and scoring a run, with no errors on the play that result in the batter achieving extra bases. Home runs are among the most popular aspects ofs and 96 runs RBIIn baseball statistics, a run batted in RBI is given to a batter for each run scored as the result of a batter's plate appearance. There are certain exceptions: a player does not receive an RBI if he hits into a double play, if an error is charged on the, led the National LeagueThis article refers to the American baseball league. For the English cricket league of the same name, please see National League (cricket). The term National League generally refers to the organization more properly referred to as the National League of P in doublesBaseball statistics In baseball, a double is the act of a batter safely reaching second base by striking the ball and getting to second before being made out, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay (see error) or another runner being put out on a fiel (38), and was named Rookie of the Year. In 1967, he was named the National League MVP by hitting .325 and driving in 111 RBIs. The Cardinals won the pennant that year and then went on to become World Champions by beating the Red Sox.

Cepeda was a 7-time All-Star (1959-64. 1967). He retired in 1975 after hitting a .297 BA with 379 homers and 1365 RBI in 17 seasons.

Cepeda faced problems with drugs during his playing career, specially during the period he was with the Giants. This, in turn, caused him to have an extremely difficult time getting voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. By the early 1990s, when his time of eligibility was beginning to run out, many Puerto Ricans, commons and celebrities alike, began to campaign for his induction. Many of his backers alleged that other members of the Hall of Fame had done things equal or worse than drug use and were still inducted. Some international celebrities, former teammates and others also joined in the campaign to have Cepeda elected. In 1996, his last year of eligibility by voting, he came within two votes of becoming elected. Finally, in 1999, he was elected by the Hall's Veterans Committee, joining along with Roberto Clemente as the only other Puerto Rican in Cooperstown.

Cepeda was recognized nationally for his humanitarian efforts as an ambassador for baseball. He served as an honorary spokesman for the Crohn's and Colitis foundation of America, and participated in Athletes against AIDS.