A slightly belated happy 79th birthday to Orlando the Baby Bull Cepeda. He made...
Posted by Buster Posey Fan Zone on
A slightly belated happy 79th birthday to Orlando the Baby Bull Cepeda. He made his MLB debut on 4/15/58 as a first baseman for the Giants, and was a Gman for 9 years. He signed his first MLB contract just 10 minutes before debuting in the league (remind anyone of Matt Moore?!), earning $7,000 for the season. He negotiated a higher, yet still meager, salary the following year and bought his mom a new home. He played 8 more years in MLB, for 5 other teams, including 1 year with the Oakland Athletics.
Some of his career highlights and awards: •NL Rookie of the Year (1958) •NL home run leader (1961) •2× NL RBI leader (1961, 1967) •11× All-Star (1959–1964, 1967) •World Series Champion (1967) •NL MVP (1967) •First winner of the American League's Outstanding DH Award (1973) •San Francisco Giants retired his number (#30) •Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Inducted in 1999
Since retiring, Cepeda has been 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 has been involved in many other honorable charities and causes.
In September 2008, the Giants added a life size bronze statue on the 4th corner of the stadium to honor Cepeda as one of the greatest Giants of all time, joining other Hall of Fame players on the other three corners of the stadium. They include Willie Mays, Juan Marichal, and Willie McCovey.
Cepeda continues to be a part of the Giants front office staff and is often involved with the team's spring training activities.
We're proud to call you a Giant Mr. Cepeda, once and always. Happy birthday Baby Bull!
