Orlando Cepeda, Baseball Slugger Known as the Baby Bull, Dies at 86

Orlando Cepeda, the second Puerto Rican native to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and one of the game’s leading sluggers of his time, from the late 1950s to the early ’70s, died on Friday. He was 86.

His death was announced by the San Francisco Giants. The organization did not say where he died.

Playing for 17 seasons in the major leagues, mostly at first base but also in the outfield and, at the end of his career, as a designated hitter, Cepeda hit 379 home runs, had 2,351 hits, drove in 1,365 runs and had a career batting average of .297.

He was a unanimous selection as the National League’s rookie of the year with the Giants in 1958, their first season in San Francisco. He was also a unanimous choice as the league’s most valuable player in 1967, the year he helped lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series championship. He hit at least .300 in nine seasons and played in nine All-Star Games.

Cepeda’s father, Pedro, known as the Bull for his strength, was a professional baseball player, primarily a shortstop, who was called the Babe Ruth of Puerto Rico. Orlando Cepeda, a muscular 6-foot-2-inch, 210-pound right-handed power hitter, became known as the Baby Bull.

While pitching in the Giants’ farm system, Juan Marichal, the future Hall of Famer from the Dominican Republic, was inspired by Cepeda and his fellow Latino players on the Giants.