The Baby Bull

by Lou Parrotta

I recently had the privilege of reading a wonderful book by my good friend Bruce Markusen. Bruce used to host Sportswatch on WIBX Radio in Utica. He is now a lead researcher/librarian at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Bruce has done tremendous research on the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Oakland A's of the 1970s, and Roberto Clemente. His most recent publication, however, was a book geared towards younger fans on Orlando "The Baby Bull" Cepeda.

Some of you may know that Cepeda was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 1999. Prior to that, however, Cepeda had an amazing career f rom 1958 until 1974. He amassed tremendous numbers in a game that strives on statistics, and the Veteran's Committee rectified the wrongs of fifteen years worth of Baseball Writers ­ not selecting him for enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.

Bruce's book, The Orlando Cepeda Story, told the story of Cepeda's growing up in Puerto Rico in his father's shadow. Cepeda's father, Pedro, was a nationally recognized hero to all Puerto Ricans due to his amazing talent on the diamond. That was a big load for the younger Cepeda to carry as he began his career. After nearly ten years in the majors, however, Cepeda became a star in his own right and those comparisons dissipated.

Orlando Cepeda had a stellar career playing for the San Francisco Giants, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Atlanta Braves, and rounding out his career with the Oakland A's, Boston Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals. Offensively, his best year was 1961, a year made famous by Roger Maris and the first great home run chase, when he hit .311 and led the league in home runs with 46 and runs batted in with a whopping 142. He was a powerhouse at the plate smashing 379 career home runs, knocking in over 1300 runs, scoring over 1100 runs himself, and amassing 2351 career hits. His career batting average was .297, an amazing number given he had nearly 8000 official at bats.

Cepeda endured racism and stereotyping as a Latino player in a league dominated by whites. He suffered similar indignities that black ballplayers did. The difference with him, however, was the way he handled it. He continuously smiled and enjoyed playing the game he loved. He worked hard every day and made the fans proud because of his tremendous work ethic. He was a gentleman of the game, and his induction into Cooperstown came much too late. Bruce Markusen has written a terrific book on one of the greatest Latino players ever to cross the diamond. I urge you to get a copy and experience firsthand the wonderful life of Orlando Cepeda.