Orlando Cepeda HOF signed 1973 Topps Card & Photo-A's, Giants, Braves, Cardinals
The photo is on foam core.
Orlando CepedaOrlando CepedaCepeda with the Giants in 1962First basemanBorn: September 17, 1937
Ponce, Puerto RicoBatted: RightThrew: RightMLB debutApril 15, 1958, for the San Francisco GiantsLast MLB appearanceSeptember 19, 1974, for the Kansas City RoyalsMLB statisticsBatting average.297Home runs379Runs batted in1,365TeamsSan Francisco Giants (1958–1966)
Career highlights and awards11× All-Star (1959–1964, 1967)
Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Inducted1999Election MethodVeteran's CommitteeOrlando Manuel "Peruchin" Cepeda Pennes (Spanish pronunciation: [orˈlando seˈpeða]; born September 17, 1937) is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball first baseman and a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The 1958 National League Rookie of the Year, Cepeda was voted the National League Most Valuable Player in 1967, the year his team, the St. Louis Cardinals, won the World Series. Overall, he appeared in three World Series and was the first winner of the American League's Outstanding Designated Hitter Award in 1973. He batted .300 or better 9 times in the 14 seasons he appeared in over 100 games, much of it played in what is now called the "Second Deadball Era."[1]
Cepeda was born to a poor family. His father, Pedro "Perucho" Cepeda, was also a baseball player in Puerto Rico, which influenced Cepeda's interest in the sport from a young age. His first contact with professional baseball was as a bat boy for the Santurce Crabbers of Puerto Rico. Pedro Zorilla, the team's owner, persuaded Cepeda's family to let him attend a New York Giants tryout. He played for several Minor League Baseball teams before attracting the interest of the Giants, who had just moved to San Francisco.
During a career that lasted sixteen years, he played with the San Francisco Giants (1958–66), St. Louis Cardinals(1966–68), Atlanta Braves (1969–72), Oakland Athletics (1972), Boston Red Sox (1973), and Kansas City Royals(1974). Cepeda was selected to play in seven Major League Baseball All-Star Games during his career, becoming the first player from Puerto Rico to start one. In 1978, Cepeda was sentenced to five years in prison on drug possession charges, of which he served ten months in prison and the rest on probation. In 1987, Cepeda was contracted by the San Francisco Giants to work as a scout and "goodwill ambassador." In 1999, Cepeda was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
Early life[edit]Orlando Cepeda was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, to Pedro Aníbal Cepeda (1905/6-1955) and Carmen Pennes. The family was poor, and lived in wood houses without a telephone or refrigerator.[2] His father was a professional baseball player in Puerto Rico, where he was known as "Perucho" and "The Bull", and was widely considered one of the best players of his generation.[3] Orlando was thus known as "The Baby Bull." Cepeda saw his father play baseball for the first time in 1946, and was instantly interested in the game.[4][5]
Because he was black and the bulk of his career was played before Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color bar, Perucho Cepeda could not play in the major leagues. Several players from the Negro leagues visited their house, which influenced his view of the sport. He became a fan of Minnie Miñoso, following his career in the Cuban League, Negro leagues, Major League Baseball, and the Caribbean.*
*Wikipedia