Orlando Cepeda, the Hall of Fame baseball player and first designated hitter in Boston Red Sox history, died Friday at the age of 86.

The Puerto Rican native, nicknamed “Baby Bull” and “Cha-Cha,” was plagued by chronic knee problems during his 17 seasons in Major League Baseball, but still finished his career with a .297 batting average, 379 home runs, 1,365 runs batted in, and was selected to the All-Star Game 11 times.

Shortly after the American League voted to implement the designated hitter rule in December 1972, the Red Sox called Cepeda and asked him to be their first DH. Cepeda, who had been coming off a rough season, immediately accepted the job.

“Boston called and asked me if I was interested in being a DH, and I said yes,” Cepeda recalled in a 2013 interview with The Associated Press in the DH's 40th year. “The DH got me into the Hall of Fame. The rule got me into the Hall of Fame.”

Cepeda played only one season with the Red Sox and achieved a batting average of .289 with 25 doubles, 20 home runs and 86 RBI, for which he was awarded the MLB's first Outstanding Designated Hitter Award in 1973.

“We join our baseball family in mourning the loss of Orlando Cepeda, who gave so much to the game,” the Red Sox said. published on social media“Our thoughts are with the Cepeda family.”

Cepeda played his first eight major league seasons with the San Francisco Giants, splitting time between left field and first base. At age 20, he was unanimously named the National League's Rookie of the Year after posting a .312 batting average with 25 home runs and 96 RBIs.

In 1961, Cepeda led the NL with 46 home runs and 142 RBI, becoming the first foreign-born player since 1800 to lead his league in home runs. He finished second in the Most Valuable Player voting.

Cepeda helped the Giants win the 1962 National League championship and continued to deliver All-Star performances until 1965, when he injured his right knee diving for a ball in left field.

He played alongside Giants legend Willie Mays, who died 10 days before Cepeda at the age of 93.

“Man, what a punch in the gut,” said Giants manager Bob Melvin, who grew up in the Bay Area and cheered for the team. “Another incredible personality who is just loved here. Statue out front. The numbers he's put up, there are a lot of legends here and he's definitely in the middle of them. The fact that he's so close to Willie is kind of mind-blowing.”

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The Giants traded Cepeda to the St. Louis Cardinals in May 1966 after he had only appeared in 19 games for San Francisco to begin the season. After the trade, Cepeda posted a .303 batting average in 123 games for the Cardinals.

Cepeda then helped St. Louis win the 1967 World Series when the Cardinals defeated the Red Sox in seven games after Boston ran into the Fall Classic with its “Impossible Dream.”

He batted .325 with 25 home runs and a National League-leading 111 RBIs. Those numbers earned Cepeda a unanimous NL MVP award in 1967, making him the first unanimous NL MVP since 1936.

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Although he helped the Cardinals win their second consecutive National League championship in 1968, Cepeda was traded to the Atlanta Braves the following year in exchange for Joe Torre, who was named the National League's Most Valuable Player with St. Louis in 1971 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager in 2014.

Cepeda played for six different teams during his major league career: the Giants (1958-1966), Cardinals (1966-68), Braves (1969-72), Oakland Athletics (1972), Red Sox (1973) and Kansas City Royals (1974).

He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1999.

This report uses information from the Associated Press.