Orlando Cepeda was born on Friday, September 17, 1937, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Cepeda was 20 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 15, 1958, with the San Francisco Giants. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Orlando Cepeda baseball stats page.
"He (Orlando Cepeda) is annoying every pitcher in the league. He is strong, he hits to all fields and he makes all the plays. He's the most relaxed first-year man I ever saw." - Mays, Willie. Teammate / Hall of Famer. Latino Baseball Legends: An Encyclopedia: An Encyclopedia. Freedman, Lew. Author. Greenwood Publishing. 11 August 2010. Page 88.
Orlando Cepeda![]() Orlando 'Baby Bull' Cepeda Autograph on a 1993 Ted Williams Baseball Card (#87) |
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Orlando CepedaOrlando Cepeda Pitching Stats |
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| Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
| - | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD | ||
Orlando CepedaOrlando Cepeda Hitting Stats |
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| Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| 1958 | 21 | Giants | 148 | 603 | 88 | 188 | 38 | 4 | 25 | 0 | 96 | 29 | 7 | 84 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 18 | .312 | .342 | .512 |
| 1959 | 22 | Giants | 151 | 605 | 92 | 192 | 35 | 4 | 27 | 0 | 105 | 33 | 10 | 100 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 10 | .317 | .355 | .522 |
| 1960 | 23 | Giants | 151 | 569 | 81 | 169 | 36 | 3 | 24 | 0 | 96 | 34 | 9 | 91 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 11 | .297 | .343 | .497 |
| 1961 | 24 | Giants | 152 | 585 | 105 | 182 | 28 | 4 | 46 | 2 | 142 | 39 | 11 | 91 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 21 | .311 | .362 | .609 |
| 1962 | 25 | Giants | 162 | 625 | 105 | 191 | 26 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 114 | 37 | 8 | 97 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 16 | .306 | .347 | .518 |
| 1963 | 26 | Giants | 156 | 579 | 100 | 183 | 33 | 4 | 34 | 0 | 97 | 37 | 11 | 70 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 18 | .316 | .366 | .563 |
| 1964 | 27 | Giants | 142 | 529 | 75 | 161 | 27 | 2 | 31 | 1 | 97 | 43 | 7 | 83 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 13 | .304 | .361 | .539 |
| 1965 | 28 | Giants | 33 | 34 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .176 | .225 | .294 |
| 1966 | 29 | Giants | 19 | 49 | 5 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .286 | .352 | .510 |
| 1966 | 29 | Cardinals | 123 | 452 | 65 | 137 | 24 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 58 | 34 | 10 | 68 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 12 | .303 | .362 | .469 |
| 1967 | 30 | Cardinals | 151 | 563 | 91 | 183 | 37 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 111 | 62 | 23 | 75 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 16 | .325 | .399 | .524 |
| 1968 | 31 | Cardinals | 157 | 600 | 71 | 149 | 26 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 73 | 43 | 13 | 96 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 13 | .248 | .306 | .378 |
| 1969 | 32 | Braves | 154 | 573 | 74 | 147 | 28 | 2 | 22 | 1 | 88 | 55 | 10 | 76 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 12 | .257 | .325 | .428 |
| 1970 | 33 | Braves | 148 | 567 | 87 | 173 | 33 | 0 | 34 | 2 | 111 | 47 | 11 | 75 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 15 | .305 | .365 | .543 |
| 1971 | 34 | Braves | 71 | 250 | 31 | 69 | 10 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 44 | 22 | 7 | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 | .276 | .330 | .492 |
| 1972 | 35 | Braves | 28 | 84 | 6 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .298 | .352 | .476 |
| 1972 | 35 | Athletics | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| 1973 | 36 | Red Sox | 142 | 550 | 51 | 159 | 25 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 86 | 50 | 13 | 81 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 24 | .289 | .350 | .444 |
| 1974 | 37 | Royals | 33 | 107 | 3 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 9 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .215 | .282 | .290 |
| Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
| 17 Years | 2,124 | 7,927 | 1,131 | 2,351 | 417 | 27 | 379 | 9 | 1,365 | 588 | 154 | 1,169 | 4 | 74 | 102 | 218 | .297 | .350 | .499 | ||
Orlando CepedaOrlando Cepeda Fielding Stats |
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| Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| 1958 Giants | 1B | 147 | 147 | 3,956 | 1,435 | 9.8 | 1,419 | 1,322 | 97 | 16 | 131 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .989 | 9.68 |
| 1959 Giants | 1B | 122 | 102 | 2,831 | 1,015 | 8.3 | 999 | 929 | 70 | 16 | 74 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .984 | 9.53 |
| 1959 Giants | 3B | 4 | 4 | 99 | 8 | 2.0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .625 | 1.36 |
| 1959 Giants | LF | 44 | 43 | 1,040 | 70 | 1.6 | 67 | 65 | 2 | 3 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .957 | 1.74 |
| 1960 Giants | 1B | 63 | 61 | 1,626 | 555 | 8.8 | 545 | 518 | 27 | 10 | 37 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .982 | 9.05 |
| 1960 Giants | LF | 91 | 86 | 2,238 | 175 | 1.9 | 172 | 162 | 10 | 3 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .983 | 2.08 |
| 1961 Giants | 1B | 81 | 75 | 1,994 | 693 | 8.6 | 691 | 644 | 47 | 2 | 50 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .997 | 9.36 |
| 1961 Giants | LF | 63 | 59 | 1,536 | 107 | 1.7 | 106 | 104 | 2 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .991 | 1.86 |
| 1961 Giants | RF | 18 | 17 | 435 | 26 | 1.4 | 24 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .923 | 1.49 |
| 1962 Giants | 1B | 160 | 154 | 4,103 | 1,454 | 9.1 | 1,441 | 1,353 | 88 | 13 | 125 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .991 | 9.48 |
| 1962 Giants | LF | 1 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.50 |
| 1962 Giants | RF | 1 | 1 | 24 | 4 | 4.0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .750 | 3.38 |
| 1963 Giants | 1B | 150 | 147 | 3,902 | 1,366 | 9.1 | 1,345 | 1,262 | 83 | 21 | 91 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .985 | 9.31 |
| 1963 Giants | LF | 3 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
| 1964 Giants | 1B | 139 | 139 | 3,698 | 1,309 | 9.4 | 1,291 | 1,211 | 80 | 18 | 89 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .986 | 9.43 |
| 1964 Giants | LF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
| 1965 Giants | 1B | 4 | 3 | 56 | 29 | 7.3 | 29 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 13.98 |
| 1965 Giants | LF | 2 | 2 | 18 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.50 |
| 1966 Giants | 1B | 6 | 5 | 126 | 56 | 9.3 | 56 | 55 | 1 | 0 | 5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 12.00 |
| 1966 Giants | LF | 8 | 8 | 159 | 9 | 1.1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .778 | 1.19 |
| 1966 Cardinals | 1B | 120 | 120 | 3,214 | 1,184 | 9.9 | 1,171 | 1,109 | 62 | 13 | 111 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .989 | 9.84 |
| 1967 Cardinals | 1B | 151 | 150 | 4,014 | 1,404 | 9.3 | 1,394 | 1,304 | 90 | 10 | 103 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .993 | 9.38 |
| 1968 Cardinals | 1B | 154 | 154 | 4,165 | 1,469 | 9.5 | 1,452 | 1,362 | 90 | 17 | 109 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .988 | 9.41 |
| 1969 Braves | 1B | 153 | 152 | 3,941 | 1,428 | 9.3 | 1,419 | 1,318 | 101 | 9 | 91 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .994 | 9.72 |
| 1970 Braves | 1B | 148 | 147 | 3,828 | 1,412 | 9.5 | 1,400 | 1,288 | 112 | 12 | 100 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .992 | 9.87 |
| 1971 Braves | 1B | 63 | 63 | 1,689 | 640 | 10.2 | 635 | 586 | 49 | 5 | 60 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .992 | 10.15 |
| 1972 Braves | 1B | 22 | 21 | 528 | 184 | 8.4 | 184 | 171 | 13 | 0 | 15 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 9.41 |
| Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| 1B Totals | 1,683 | 1,640 | 43,671 | 15,633 | 9.3 | 15,471 | 14,459 | 1,012 | 162 | 1,192 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .990 | 9.57 | |
| LF Totals | 213 | 199 | 5,037 | 363 | 1.7 | 354 | 340 | 14 | 9 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .975 | 1.90 | |
| RF Totals | 19 | 18 | 459 | 30 | 1.6 | 27 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .900 | 1.59 | |
| 3B Totals | 4 | 4 | 99 | 8 | 2.0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .625 | 1.36 | |
| 15 Years | 1,919 | 1,861 | 49,266 | 16,034 | 8.4 | 15,857 | 14,827 | 1,030 | 177 | 1,195 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .989 | 8.69 | |
Orlando CepedaOrlando Cepeda Miscellaneous Stats |
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| Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
| Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 1958 Giants | 15 | 11 | .577 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 24.1 | 7.2 | 6.3 | - | - | - |
| 1959 Giants | 23 | 9 | .719 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 22.4 | 6.1 | 5.8 | - | - | - |
| 1960 Giants | 15 | 6 | .714 | 4 | 0 | n/a | 23.7 | 6.3 | 5.9 | - | - | - |
| 1961 Giants | 12 | 8 | .600 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 12.7 | 6.4 | 4.1 | - | - | - |
| 1962 Giants | 10 | 4 | .714 | 4 | 0 | n/a | 17.9 | 6.4 | 5.5 | - | - | - |
| 1963 Giants | 8 | 3 | .727 | 9 | 0 | n/a | 17.0 | 8.3 | 6.0 | - | - | - |
| 1964 Giants | 9 | 4 | .692 | 3 | 0 | n/a | 17.1 | 6.4 | 5.5 | - | - | - |
| 1965 Giants | 0 | 0 | .000 | 27 | 0 | n/a | 34.0 | 3.8 | 6.8 | - | - | - |
| 1966 Giants | 0 | 1 | .000 | 5 | 0 | n/a | 16.3 | 4.5 | 3.3 | - | - | - |
| 1966 Cardinals | 9 | 8 | .529 | 3 | 0 | n/a | 26.6 | 6.6 | 7.8 | - | - | - |
| 1967 Cardinals | 11 | 2 | .846 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 22.5 | 7.5 | 5.1 | - | - | - |
| 1968 Cardinals | 8 | 6 | .571 | 3 | 0 | n/a | 37.5 | 6.3 | 8.2 | - | - | - |
| 1969 Braves | 12 | 5 | .706 | 2 | 0 | n/a | 26.0 | 7.5 | 6.5 | - | - | - |
| 1970 Braves | 6 | 5 | .545 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 16.7 | 7.6 | 5.1 | - | - | - |
| 1971 Braves | 3 | 6 | .333 | 8 | 0 | n/a | 17.9 | 8.6 | 5.7 | - | - | - |
| 1972 Braves | 0 | 0 | .000 | 6 | 0 | n/a | 21.0 | 4.9 | 9.3 | - | - | - |
| 1972 Athletics | 0 | 0 | .000 | 3 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | - | - | - |
| 1973 Red Sox | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 142 | 27.5 | 6.8 | 6.4 | - | - | - |
| 1974 Royals | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 8 | 0 | 26 | 107.0 | 6.7 | 5.9 | - | - | - |
| Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 17 Years | 142 | 80 | .640 | 89 | 1 | 168 | 20.9 | 6.8 | 5.8 | - | - | - |
Orlando CepedaOrlando Cepeda Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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| Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
| 1958 San Francisco Giants | 30 | $9,500.00 | - | - |
| 1959 San Francisco Giants | 30 | $17,000.00 | Stats | - |
| 1960 San Francisco Giants | 30 | $27,000.00 | Stats | - |
| 1961 San Francisco Giants | 30 | $30,000.00 | Stats | - |
| 1962 San Francisco Giants | 30 | $47,000.00 | Stats | Stats |
| 1963 San Francisco Giants | 30 | $48,000.00 | Stats | - |
| 1964 San Francisco Giants | 30 | $53,000.00 | Stats | - |
| 1965 San Francisco Giants | 30 | $53,000.00 | - | - |
| 1966 San Francisco Giants | 30 | $45,000.00 | - | - |
| 1966 St. Louis Cardinals | 28 | " " | - | - |
| 1967 St. Louis Cardinals | 30 | $83,000.00 | Stats | Stats |
| 1968 St. Louis Cardinals | 30 | $83,000.00 | - | Stats |
| 1969 Atlanta Braves | 20, 30 | $80,000.00 | - | - |
| 1970 Atlanta Braves | 30 | $80,000.00 | - | - |
| 1971 Atlanta Braves | 30 | $80,000.00 | - | - |
| 1972 Atlanta Braves | 30 | $90,000.00 | - | - |
| 1972 Oakland Athletics | 12 | " " | - | - |
| 1973 Boston Red Sox | 25 | $85,000.00 | - | - |
| 1974 Kansas City Royals | 30 | $75,000.00 | - | - |
| Orlando Cepeda Stats by Baseball Almanac | ||||

Did you know that when Orlando Cepeda won the 1958 Rookie of the Year, it was the first by a SAN FRANCISCO Giants player? Willie Mays won ROY in 1951, when the Giants franchise was still playing in New York. Cepeda was the second National League recipient to win the honor unanimously, following Frank Robinson (1956). When Willie McCovey won unanimously a year later, the Giants became the first baseball team with two unanimous Rookie of the Year winners.
Did you know that Orlando Cepeda was the first player to capture both a unanimous Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player Award, each with a National League (NL) team? Cepeda was ROY with the Giants in 1958, and an MVP with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1967. Frank Robinson, the first player in Major League history to capture each unanimously, won ROY with the Cincinnati Reds in 1956, and an MVP with the Baltimore Orioles in 1966. Only one player since was matched this feat, Albert Pujols, winning both unanimously, and the first to capture each with the same team (ROY with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001, and an MVP with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009).
Did you know that Orlando Cepeda was the First Designated Hitter (DH) for the Boston Red Sox? On April 6, 1973, the Red Sox faced off against the New York Yankees in Fenway Park, the first year the American League had adopted the DH rule, and Cepeda, along with Ron Blomberg, appeared in their respective line-up cards in the DH position.

Orlando Cepeda (Designated Hitter Article | The Nevada State Journal | April 7, 1973 | Page 15Baseball Almanac Research Library
On August 8, 1973, Orlando Cepeda hit four doubles in the same game, tying the American League (AL) record. Baby Bull was was twelfth AL player to tie the mark, the third Boston Red Sox player (1st: Billy Werber on July 17, 1935 & 2nd: Al Zarilla on June 8, 1950), and the first ever designated hitter with four doubles in the same game.

Orlando Cepeda | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1999 (HOF)
Orlando Cepeda was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, by the Veterans Committee. Peruchín, the second Puerto Rican player (Roberto Clemente, Class of 1973) in Cooperstown, appeared on the writer's ballots from 1980 through 1994, receiving as few as 10.1% of the votes (in 1982) and as much as 73.5% of the votes (in 1994), but was removed from the ballot in 1995, due to the fifteen-year maximum appearance rule.