Orlando Cepeda, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes (Spanish pronunciation: [oɾˈlando seˈpeða]; born September 17, 1937), nicknamed "The Baby Bull" and "Peruchin", is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball first baseman and a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The 1958 National League Rookie of the Year, Cepeda was voted the National League Most Valuable Player in 1967, the year that 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."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 17-year career, he played with the San Francisco Giants (1958–1966), St. Louis Cardinals (1966–1968), Atlanta Braves (1969–1972), Oakland Athletics (1972), Boston Red Sox (1973), and Kansas City Royals (1974). Cepeda was selected to play in 11 Major League Baseball All-Star Games during his career, becoming the first player from Puerto Rico to start one. In 1975, Cepeda was arrested in San Juan for illegal possession of marijuana. He 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.