Remembering the legacy of former Atlanta Braves first baseman Orlando Cepeda

On March 17, 1969, the Cardinals sent Orland Cepeda to Atlanta in exchange for Joe Torre, and both teams got what they wanted. Cepeda might have remained a Giant forever, if not for two things: knee problems and Willie McCovey. From 1958 to 1964, Cepeda averaged 32 home runs per season and hit .309/.354/.537 with an OPS+ of 141 for San Francisco, absent his injured knees.

Cepeda could have moved to left field and McCovey could have taken first base, but knee surgery cost him the 1965 season, and 19 games into the 1966 season, the Giants sent him to St. Louis for Ray Sadecki.

Cepeda came alive in St. Louis. The Giants didn’t like his Latin music and jokes, but the Cardinals embraced him. Orlando commented, “You know… if I did all that in San Francisco, they’d look at me funny all the time and everybody would think there was something wrong with me.”

The Sadecki trade was then and remains today one of the dumbest trades in baseball history. Sadecki was a Giant until 1969, posting a 32-39 record. Fangraphs gives him 8.6 fWAR as a Cardinal, while the baseball reference gives him 3.1.

Meanwhile, in Cepeda’s first two years in St. Louis, he hit a combined .314/.381/.500 capped by a .325/.399/.524 line with a .923 OPS in 1967 to become the first unanimous National League MVP since Carl Hubble in 1936. He accumulated an fWAR of 11.1, an rWAR of 11.0 and led the Cardinals to the World Series title.

Yeah, a stupid, stupid, stupid trade.

For the first time in his career, Cepeda struggled to a .685 OPS in 1968, the first OPS under .800 of his career. The Cardinals panicked and eventually sent him to the Atlanta Braves.

The Atlanta Braves were blessed with some exceptional first basemen, and Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda is one of the best players to ever play in Atlanta. Like Fred McGriff, Cepeda didn’t stay in Atlanta long, but he left an indelible mark on the team’s history.

Early in his career, Cepeda faced racism at every turn. Initially signed by the Pirates, conditions on their minor league team were so bad that he wasn’t hitting, and they released him. One of his managers with the Giants—Alvin Dark—was openly hostile to Latino players and often clashed with Cepeda.

Cepeda recounted the experience, saying, “…my knee was hurt. Dark thought I was trying not to play. He treated me like a child. I am a human being, whether I am blue, black, white or green. We Latinos are different, but we are still human beings. Dark did not respect our differences.”

Cepeda loved St. Louis and the idea of ​​playing in the South made him uncomfortable. However, those feelings quickly faded when he met his old friend and former roommate Felipe Alou and Braves icon Henry Aaron.

The 1969 season saw Cepeda rebound slightly and he posted a .753 OPS, hit 28 doubles, two triples and 22 home runs as the Braves won the NL West in the first season of divisional play.

The Miracle Mets swept the Braves in the NLCS, but Cepeda did his best to prevent that, going 5-for-11. He drove in three runs and hit a home run off Nolan Ryan in Game 3, finishing with a .455/.539/.909 line with a 1.448 OPS.

The 1970 season saw Cepeda terrorize pitchers once again. His 33 doubles were 12th in the National League, his 34 home runs tied for seventh, and his 111 RBIs ranked eighth.

He entered the 1971 season on pace for his best performance in 11 years. After 46 games, Cha-Cha had hit 13 home runs, nine doubles, one triple, driven in 35 runs and posted a .303/.364/.584 batting average with a .948 OPS. He had cooled off a bit by June 16, but he was still among the league leaders when he got up to answer his phone and his left knee gave out.

The Braves eventually traded him to the Athletics in late June 1972. He tried to play a few times, but only appeared in three games before requiring season-ending knee surgery.

Orlando spent four seasons with the Braves from 1969 to 1972. During that span, he batted .280 with 414 hits, including 74 doubles, three triples, 74 home runs and 252 RBIs. The trade for Cepeda was everything the team could have hoped for.

The left knee injury ended his days as an all-around player. According to a SABR article, “the Braves’ doctor told him his knee was ‘done.’ He limped to first base for a few weeks before finally calling it a day in late July. He had another knee surgery in September and returned home to Puerto Rico.”

Orlando seemed headed for retirement until the American League decided to experiment with the designated hitter and the Red Sox signed Cepeda to fill that role and he did very well. He hit .289/.350/.444 with 25 doubles, 20 home runs and a .793 OPS en route to winning the inaugural Designated Hitter of the Year Award.

The Baby Bull was the second Puerto Rican to reach the major leagues and the first to be elected to an All-Star team. He would appear on 11 All-Star teams in seven years (there were two ASGs per year for a time).

When Cha-Cha Cepeda retired from playing first base, he had an rWAR of 48.4, which ranked seventh behind Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Johnny Mize, Willie McCovey, Bill Terry and Hank Greenberg, but he didn’t receive his plaque until 1999.

The staff at The House That Hank Built extends our thoughts and condolences to the Cepeda family. He was a very special player and person.

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