|
Orlando Manuel "Peruchin" Cepeda Pennes ((:orˈlando seˈpeða); born September 17, 1937) is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball first baseman and a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The 1958 National League Rookie of the Year, Cepeda was voted the National League Most Valuable Player in 1967, the year his team, the St. Louis Cardinals, won the World Series. Overall, he appeared in three World Series and was the first winner of the American League's Outstanding Designated Hitter Award in 1973. He batted .300 or better 10 times in the 14 seasons he appeared in over 100 games, much of it played in what is now called the "(Second Deadball Era )." Cepeda was born to a poor family. His father, Pedro "Perucho" Cepeda, was also a baseball player in Puerto Rico, an upbring that influenced Cepeda's interest in the sport from a young age. His first contact with professional baseball was as a batboy for the Santurce Crabbers of Puerto Rico. Pedro Zorilla, the team's owner, persuaded his family to let him attend a New York Giants tryout. He played for several Minor League Baseball teams before attracting the interest of the Giants, who had just moved to San Francisco. During a career that lasted sixteen years, he played with the San Francisco Giants (1958–66), St. Louis Cardinals (1966–68), Atlanta Braves (1969–72), Oakland Athletics (1972), Boston Red Sox (1973), and Kansas City Royals (1974). Cepeda was selected to play in seven Major League Baseball All-Star Games during his career, becoming the first player from Puerto Rico to start one. In 1978, Cepeda was sentenced to five years in prison on drug possession charges, of which he served ten months in prison and the rest on probation. In 1987, Cepeda was contracted by the San Francisco Giants to work as a scout and "goodwill ambassador." In 1999, Cepeda was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. ==Early life== Orlando Cepeda was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, to Pedro Aníbal Cepeda (1905/6-1955) and Carmen Pennes. The family was poor, and lived in wood houses without a telephone or refrigerator.〔Fagen et al., p. 5〕 His father was a professional baseball player in Puerto Rico, where he was known as "Perucho" and "The Bull", and was widely considered one of the best players of his generation.〔Fagen et al., p. 3〕 Orlando was thus known as "The Baby Bull." Cepeda saw his father play baseball for the first time in 1946, and was instantly interested in the game.〔Fagen et al., p. 10〕 Because he was black and the bulk of his career was played before Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color bar, Perucho Cepeda could not play in the major leagues. Several players from the Negro leagues visited their house, which influenced his view of the sport. He became a fan of Minnie Miñoso, following his career in the Cuban League, Negro leagues, Major League Baseball, and the Caribbean. When he was ten years old, Cepeda began to sell newspapers in order to participate in a baseball tournament organized for the paper boys.〔Fagen et al., p. 14〕 His first tryout came three years later. He practiced with the team for three months but did not make the roster. Cepeda then began playing basketball, but he tore a knee cartilage and underwent surgery. The injury kept him inactive for nearly a year, and the doctor recommended that he avoid practicing basketball.〔Fagen et al., p. 15〕 He began practicing again, noticing that his physical strength had significantly improved in two years. One day, an amateur baseball player saw him play and recruited him to play with his team. The organization won Puerto Rico's amateur championship and went on to play against an All-Star team from the Dominican Republic. Pedro Zorilla, then owner of the Santurce Crabbers, attended this game to scout another player, but after seeing Cepeda play, he became interested in him. In 1953, Zorilla brought him onto the team to work as a bat boy. After retiring, Pedro Cepeda worked for the government, checking the water of rivers in the municipality. He contracted malaria, which eventually precipitated his death at age 49.〔 This illness worsened the family's living conditions. They moved from Guayama to Juncos, where their financial condition deteriorated. They moved again, this time to San Juan, where his mother worked odd jobs to support the family.〔Fagen et al., p. 6〕 After her father's death, there was not sufficient income in the household to pay for college.〔Fagen et al., p. 7-8〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Orlando Cepeda」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|