San Francisco Giants player and Baseball Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda has died at the age of 86, his family announced in a statement through the team on Friday night.
The cause of death has not been announced.
Cepeda’s death came just 11 days after his teammate Willie Mays passed away at the age of 93.
“We have lost a true gentleman and a legend,” Giants president Greg Johnson said in a statement, according to MLB.com. “Orlando was a great ambassador for the game of baseball during his playing days and beyond. He was one of the greatest players in Giants history and will be truly missed.”
Cepeda’s wife, Nidia, said that when he died at home, surrounded by family and “listening to the music he loved.”
Known as “Baby Bull,” the Puerto Rican-born Cepeda reached the major leagues in 1958 and quickly established himself as one of the best players in baseball, winning the National League Rookie of the Year award in the first year the Giants left New York for San Francisco.
Cepeda was named the National League MVP in 1967 with the Cardinals and was named to the All-Star team 11 times during his career, demonstrating his batting prowess.
Perhaps his most brilliant season came in 1961, when he led the National League in home runs (46) and the major leagues in RBIs (142).
Cepeda, who also played for the Braves, Athletics, Royals and Red Sox, finished his 17-year career with 379 home runs, a batting average of .297, an on-base percentage of .350 and a slugging percentage of .499.
In 1999, five years after being left off the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
“This is truly a sad day for the San Francisco Giants,” Giants president and CEO Larry Baer said in a statement released by MLB. “For all of Orlando’s incredible accomplishments in baseball, his defining characteristics were generosity, kindness and joy. No one loved the game of baseball more than he did.”
