Orlando Cepeda, the charismatic “Baby Bull” who helped lead a new wave of Latin American stars to the major leagues, died on Friday. He was 86 years old.

Cepeda played 17 seasons in his Hall of Fame career, nine of them with the San Francisco Giants.

Cepeda's love affair with the Giants began right from the start. In the team's first game on the West Coast after moving from New York on April 15, 1958, the powerful right-hander from Puerto Rico hit a home run against the Dodgers, helping to secure an 8-0 victory.

“The feeling was incredible,” Cepeda recalled long after his retirement. “I remember as I rounded second base, Pee Wee Reese – my childhood idol – said to me, 'Orlando, well done. Congratulations.' And that blew me away.”

“That was the day my dream came true.”

Cepeda was on pace to earn Rookie of the Year honors that season and cement a place in the hearts of Giants fans. He remained a beloved figure in San Francisco well into his 80s and spent his final 33 years as a community ambassador for the team.

The Giants announced Cepeda's death during Friday night's game at Oracle Park, a game fittingly against the Dodgers, in a stadium where Cepeda's statue now greets visitors at the front gates.

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

The #SFGiants are deeply saddened by the death of the Hall-of-Famer and #ForeverGiantOrlando Cepeda pic.twitter.com/KVB9AwjAPB

— SF Giants (@SFGiants) June 29, 2024

“I was moved by that,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the announcement. “He was a gentleman. I don't think there's anyone in baseball who can say a bad word about Orlando. When that was announced, you felt that two baseball greats, two great Giants, were being lost. There was a somber mood in the stadium tonight.”

No cause of death was given. Cepeda's death follows that of teammate and friend Willie Mays, who died on June 18 at the age of 93.

“We have lost a true gentleman and a legend. Orlando was a great ambassador for the game throughout his playing career and beyond,” Giants chairman Greg Johnson said in the team's statement. “He was one of the greatest Giants of all time and we will truly miss him.”

In 1,114 career games as a Giant, Cepeda hit .308 with 226 home runs and an OPS of .887.

The outfielder and first baseman played for San Francisco until he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in the middle of the 1966 season. The Giants traded him for pitcher Ray Sadecki on May 8, 1966. It was a one-sided trade that is often cited as one of the worst trades in MLB history and which Mays later recalled as “one of my saddest days in baseball. I thought he should have stayed with the Giants.”

Cepeda played three seasons with the Cardinals, winning the NL MVP award in 1967 while leading the Cardinals to the World Series title. When he retired in 1974, he had a .297 average with 379 home runs and 11 All-Star nominations. He also played with the Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals, Boston Red Sox and Oakland A's. Cepeda is one of only two players in NL history to win both Rookie of the Year and MVP unanimously, along with Albert Pujols, who won Rookie of the Year in 2001 and MVP in 2009.

But he is best remembered for his time with the Giants, where he worked with players such as Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry to form one of the most star-studded teams of the early 1960s.

Cepeda still holds the San Francisco record for most RBIs in a season, with 142 in 1961. He also remains among San Francisco's leaders in RBI (fourth), home runs (fifth), hits (sixth) and runs (ninth).

Born on September 17, 1937, in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Cepeda came from a family that didn't have much money but played baseball. Cepeda's father, Perucho “Bull” Cepeda, was the Babe Ruth of Puerto Rican baseball, famous for his long-ball skills. He played with (and befriended) many of the greats of the Negro Leagues when they played in Latin America.

The first professional game Cepeda ever saw was in 1945, when his father played with Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige. In fact, Paige was a regular visitor to the Cepeda house, as were Larry Doby and Roy Campanella.

Orlando Cepeda, a #ForeverGiant 🧡🖤 pic.twitter.com/LcacFSDSK2

— SF Giants (@SFGiants) June 29, 2024

But as great as Perucho was, he had no interest in leaving Puerto Rico to play in the Negro Leagues.

“He was afraid of the racial issue,” Cepeda said in 2015. “He had such a bad temper. He said if someone uttered a racial slur, he wouldn't know what to do. That's why he didn't want to come to the States.”

Instead, his son, Baby Bull, dared to make the leap to the major leagues. Orlando signed with the Giants in 1955. Three years later, he was only the second black Puerto Rican to play in the major leagues after Roberto Clemente.

After being unanimously voted Rookie of the Year in 1958, Cepeda continued his winning streak in 1959 (27 home runs, 105 RBIs) and 1960 (24 home runs, 96 RBIs). In 1961, he exceeded all expectations by leading the NL with 46 home runs.

Cepeda was never a fan of Candlestick Park, telling author Steve Bitker, “I think in any other stadium I would have hit 65 or 70 home runs. But I learned not to complain about it. Mays never complained. Willie McCovey never complained. I knew it was hard to play there, but I just had to do it.”

Cepeda was a hit off the field too. San Francisco's lively nightlife suited his tastes. Cepeda, who became known as “Cha-Cha,” once walked into a jazz bar in North Beach and found Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderly and John Coltrane playing. When the trio saw the Giants' first baseman, they began to improvise a musical tribute. This is how the Latin jazz classic “Viva Cepeda!” was born.

Cepeda also played at the All-Star level in 1962, helping the Giants win the championship with 35 home runs and 114 RBIs.

It was Cepeda's turn when McCovey hit a famous line drive to New York Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson for the final out of the 1962 World Series. When McCovey stepped up to the plate, Cepeda wanted to play the hero.

“Felipe Alou was right behind me and I said to Felipe, 'They're going to walk him.' I thought they were going to throw me the ball and I was ready,” he said. “How many times in your career do you get the chance to go to bat in Game 7 of the World Series against the New York Yankees with three men on base?

“So I thought, I better do something.”

Instead, McCovey hit a fiery low shot to clinch the Yankees' 1-0 victory.

After his playing days, Cepeda faced more frustration. Police arrested him in 1975 as he went to San Juan International Airport to pick up a package. Cepeda said he had accommodated a friend by allowing him to pack a 5-pound bag of marijuana into a box that was being shipped to Puerto Rico.

Cepeda was found guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced to prison in a federal prison, and people began to turn away from him.

“I blew it,” Cepeda told sportswriter Ron Bergman of the San Jose Mercury News in 1999. “I made a big mistake. When Roberto Clemente died, they said in Puerto Rico, 'At least we have Orlando Cepeda alive.' When I disappointed everyone, they got very angry. We deal hard with people who make mistakes.”

Eventually, Cepeda found peace. And when Peter Magowan bought the Giants in 1993, he was able to breathe new life into his baseball life. Magowan made it a point to reconnect Cepeda with the franchise.

“When he took over, he told me right from the start, 'We will do everything we can to get you into the Hall of Fame,'” Cepeda said.

Fueled by Magowan, the Giants launched a Heisman-like hype campaign to bring Cepeda to Cooperstown. At the beginning of his eligibility, Cepeda polled at just 10.1 percent on the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot, peaking at 73.5 percent in 1994, seven votes shy of the ballot.

The Giants were finally able to convince the veterans committee and Cepeda was inducted in 1999.

“I freaked out. I couldn't believe it,” Cepeda said in 2015. “It's hard to describe how you feel when they call and tell you you're in the Hall of Fame.”

Jane Forbes Clark, chairwoman of the Baseball Hall of Fame, paid tribute to Cepeda late Friday night.

“Orlando Cepeda's unwavering love for baseball was evident during his extraordinary playing career and later as one of the game's enduring ambassadors,” she wrote. “We will miss his beautiful smile at Hall of Fame weekend in Cooperstown, where his spirit will forever shine, and we extend our deepest condolences to the Cepeda family.”

In 2004, he was one of four men to receive the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association Achievement Award, the highest honor given to MLBPAA alumni, joining Jim Bunning, Al Kaline and Roger Maris.

The Giants expressed their deepest condolences to his wife Nydia, his five children Orlando Jr., Malcolm, Ali, Carl and Hector, his nine grandchildren and great-granddaughter, as well as his extended family and friends.

“This is truly a sad day for the San Francisco Giants,” said Giants President and CEO Larry Baer. “For all of Orlando's extraordinary accomplishments in baseball, it was his generosity, kindness and joy that set him apart. No one loved the game more.”

— The athleteFabian Ardaya contributed to this report.

(File photo of Cepeda during spring training: Getty Images)