Orlando Cepeda died at the age of 86

SAN FRANCISCO – For the second time in as many weeks, the Giants have lost a legend.

Orlando Cepeda, the 11-time All-Star who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999, died Friday at the age of 86, his wife Nydia said in a statement released by the Giants.

“Our beloved Orlando passed away peacefully at home tonight while listening to his favorite music and surrounded by his loved ones,” Nydia said. “It is a comfort to us that he is resting in peace.”

Cepeda’s death was announced between the fifth and sixth innings of the Giants’ game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night, and the crowd in attendance honored the “Baby Bull” with a moment of silence. Giants players took the field for the start of the sixth inning, and many stopped and removed their caps.

Many Giants players also learned of Willie May’s death last week when it was announced between innings at Wrigley Field.

“We have lost a true gentleman and a legend,” Giants chairman Greg Johnson said in a statement. “Orlando was a great ambassador for the game throughout his playing career and beyond. He was one of the greatest Giants of all time and we will truly miss him. Our condolences go out to the Cepeda family for their tremendous loss and our thoughts are with Orlando’s teammates, friends and all those affected by his passing.”

Named Rookie of the Year in 1958, the Giants’ first year in California, Cepeda went on to play 17 major league seasons, nine of them in San Francisco, where he made 10 of his 11 All-Star appearances (MLB had two All-Star games per year from 1959 to 1962) and hit 226 of his 379 career home runs, including a league-high 46, while finishing second in the 1961 MVP voting and eventually winning the award for the St. Louis Cardinals six years later.

Cepeda’s 142 RBIs in 1961 still stand as the Giants’ franchise record, and he is among the San Francisco era’s leaders in RBIs (4th, 767), home runs (5th, 226), hits (6th, 1,286), and runs (9th, 652).