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Orlando " The Baby Bull" Cepeda, the son of legendary Puerto Rican baseball star Pedro Perucho "The Bull" Cepeda, was only 20-years-old when he arrived to the Major Leagues in 1958. In his first Major League game, Cepeda homered to help beat Don Drysdale and the Dodgers. It was a picture perfect beginning to a spectacular career that includes nine .300 seasons and eight seasons of 25 or more homers.
As a rookie in 1958, Cepeda belted 25 homers, led the National League with 38 doubles, knocked in 96 runs and batted .312. Those numbers won Cepeda Rookie of the Year honors for the San Francisco Giants and his manager for the first two years, Bill Rigney called him "The best young right-handed power hitter I've ever seen." Despite being a fan favorite in San Francisco which made him as popular as Willie Mays, Cepeda's conflicts with management bounced him to the St. Louis Cardinals in mid-1966. First baseman Orlando Cepeda was now "Cha-Cha" in St. Louis because of his constant love & desire to bring a stereo to the club house to share his beloved salsa music. Respecting Cepeda's taste turned him into the 1967 MVP by hitting .325 and driving in 111 RBIs. After leading the Cardinals to a pennant in 1967, they went on to become World Champions by beating the Boston Red Sox in a 7-game series.
Cepeda appeared in three world series, was a seven-time All-Star (1959-64, 67) and was the National League MVP in 1967 with the St. Louis Cardinals. Cepeda was also known to get that clutch hit or home run to knock in winning runs late in the game. He homered against 187 different pitchers, with Milwaukee Braves teammates Warren Spahn and Lew Burdette his favorite targets (10 homers apiece). No wonder Burdette called Cepeda "the toughest hitter I ever faced."
This bat was manufactured by the Hillerich & Bradsby Company. It is a signature model with Orlando Cepeda's name stamped in script on the barrel as he had an endorsement contract with the company at the time of manufacture. This bat has what is commonly referred to as 1965-68 era labeling. Cepeda's uniform number 30 is evidenced on the knob of this bat in vintage black faded marker. The Model Number S2 is stamped into the knob of this bat. The bat has a natural, or regular, finish. It measures 34 inches in length and currently weighs approximately 34 ounces. This bat has a slight handle crack which appears 9 inches from the knob and has been repaired, and is almost impossible to see. The repaired crack does not detract from the display quality of this bat at all. Rack marks, hit marks, and cleat marks are evidenced on the barrel of this bat, and there is a small chip on the knob. This bat does not appear in Cepeda's personal H & B factory records. Although he used Model S2 bats at various times in his career, that model is not documented during this label period. The length of this bat, 34", is not often seen during Cepeda's career and is not consistent with Cepeda's documented orders during this labeling period. This bat was likely part of a team index order for bats that were available for use throughout the organization.View Lot Detail page