Tributes pour in for baseball Hall of Fame star Orlando Cepeda who dies at 86

Orlando Ceveda, a basketball legend who was one of the first Puerto Ricans to star in the major leagues, has died at the age of 86.

The San Francisco Giants and his family announced his death on Friday evening, and a minute of silence was held at Oracle Stadium during the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“Our beloved Orlando passed away peacefully at home this evening, listening to his favorite music and surrounded by his loved ones,” his wife, Nydia, said in a statement released through the team. “We are relieved that he is at peace.”

Cepeda’s death comes just 10 days after fellow Hall of Famer Willie Mays died at age 93.

“Man, what a hit,” said New York Giants manager Bob Melvin, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area cheering for the team. “Another incredible, beloved character right here. A statue in front of us. The numbers he’s put up, there’s a lot of legends here and he’s definitely in the middle of it all. To be so close to Willie, it’s amazing.”

Cepeda, a powerful first baseman nicknamed “Baby Bull,” played for the New York Giants as well as St. Louis, Atlanta, Oakland, Boston and Kansas City. In the spring of 1969, the New York Cardinals traded Cepeda to the New York Braves for Joe Torre.

Cepeda, a seven-time All-Star who played in three World Series, was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1958 with San Francisco and the NL MVP in 1967 with St. Louis.

“Orlando Cepeda’s unabashed love for baseball shone through his extraordinary playing career and later as one of the game’s enduring ambassadors,” Hall of Fame President Jane Forbes Clark said. “We will miss his amazing smile at Hall of Fame Weekend in Cooperstown, where his spirit will forever shine, and we extend our deepest condolences to the Cepeda family.”