San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals great Orlando Cepeda has Friday, the Giants announced Friday. He was 86 years old.
Cepeda was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame through the veterans committee in 1999 and was among the most feared power bats of his generation and among the first great Puerto Rican baseball players. His loss comes just 10 days after the death of Willie Mays, with whom he starred for nine seasons with the Giants.
The Giants announced his death during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with a moment of silence before the sixth inning.
Cepeda retired in 1974 with no shortage of achievements. He was an 11-time All-Star, an NL MVP, a World Series champion, a Rookie of the Year and one of the Giants’ best players. However, his post-retirement life was marred when he was arrested on charges of transporting 170 pounds of marijuana from Columbia to Puerto Rico.
Cepeda had no shortage of legal troubles and spent 10 months in prison. He spent the next few years rebuilding his image as he returned to baseball as a scout, converted to Buddhism and worked for the Giants as a community ambassador.
After missing out on Hall of Fame induction by nine votes in 1994 during his final year of BBWAA eligibility, the veterans commission stepped in five years later to make him the second Puerto Rican to be inducted, joining Roberto Clemente.
