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Orlando Manuel Cepeda
Atlanta Braves
First Base
Born: September 17, 1937, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Signed: Signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent before 1955 season
Major League Teams: San Francisco Giants 1958-66; St. Louis Cardinals 1966-68; Atlanta Braves 1969-72; Oakland Athletics 1972; Boston Red Sox 1973; Kansas City Royals 1974
World Series Appearances: San Francisco Giants 1962; St. Louis Cardinals 1967-68
Hall of Fame Induction: 1999
Nicknamed "Cha Cha" and "the Baby Bull," Orlando Cepeda was one of the most feared sluggers of his era, earning a spot on 11 All-Star teams and winning MVP honors in 1967. At just 20 years old, Cepeda was the opening day first baseman in the Giants' first game in San Francisco in 1958, and his stellar season would lead to unanimous Rookie of the Year honors. He batted .312 while leading the league with 38 doubles, finishing second on his team behind Willie Mays (#190) with 25 home runs and tying Mays for the team lead with 96 RBIs. Cepeda would have one of his best seasons in 1961, batting .311 while leading the league with 46 home runs and 142 RBIs - both career bests. Traded to the Cardinals in May 1966 for pitcher Ray Sadecki (#125), Cepeda proved to be a catalyst for St. Louis, leading them to a World Championship in 1967. He was the unanimous choice for the league's MVP.
Hall of Fame Induction: 1999
Nicknamed "Cha Cha" and "the Baby Bull," Orlando Cepeda was one of the most feared sluggers of his era, earning a spot on 11 All-Star teams and winning MVP honors in 1967. At just 20 years old, Cepeda was the opening day first baseman in the Giants' first game in San Francisco in 1958, and his stellar season would lead to unanimous Rookie of the Year honors. He batted .312 while leading the league with 38 doubles, finishing second on his team behind Willie Mays (#190) with 25 home runs and tying Mays for the team lead with 96 RBIs. Cepeda would have one of his best seasons in 1961, batting .311 while leading the league with 46 home runs and 142 RBIs - both career bests. Traded to the Cardinals in May 1966 for pitcher Ray Sadecki (#125), Cepeda proved to be a catalyst for St. Louis, leading them to a World Championship in 1967. He was the unanimous choice for the league's MVP.
Dealt again, this time to Braves before the start of the 1969 season, Cepeda helped lead Atlanta to the first National League West division title. He moved to the American League for the 1973 season, winning the first Outstanding Designated Hitter Award with the Red Sox. He retired with 2,351 hits, a lifetime .297 batting average, 379 home runs and 1,365 RBIs. Personal problems kept him away from the game for a bit, but he'd come back to the Giants as a scout and team ambassador in 1987. Cepeda was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999 by the Veterans Committee, with the Giants retiring his #30 that same year.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #570
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)
The Card / Braves Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)
On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show. The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year. I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova. I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.
I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set. The first place I stopped was a table with well-organized and well-marked binders of commons and semi-stars with 20% Off notes across the front of each binder.
I took my time and found 32 commons and semi-stars needed before asking to see the dealer's star cards from the set. It turned out this first purchase was also my biggest, as I spent over half my allotted budget here, America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, before moving on to my second stop. This was the 11th of 36 total cards bought from America's Pastime, and the 11th of 91 cards for set added overall on the day, and it cost about $16 after the dealer discount. I definitely overpaid for this card, as I kept seeing it for much cheaper at other tables later in the show.
The Card / Braves Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
This has got to be one of the most boring cards in the set, and a card not fitting for one of the top sluggers in the game. I'm assuming Cepeda is wearing a Cardinals jersey here, and Topps had to act quickly to switch his team designation and add a note on the back explaining to collectors he had recently been traded to Atlanta. Cepeda signed a reprint version of this card for the 2018 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set.
Accuracy Index: Cepeda's card scores a -8 for the former team jersey (-5) and lack of a hat (-3).
1969 Season
On March 17th, Cepeda was dealt to the Braves straight-up for Joe Torre (#460). Disappointed to be leaving St. Louis, he nevertheless had a great season, batting .257 in 154 games with 22 home runs and 88 RBIs for the division winning club. Cepeda started 152 of the club's 162 games at first base, with the remaining 10 games started by Tito Francona (#398) with 10, Henry Aaron (#100) with three and Tommie Aaron (#128) with two. Cepeda was second on the club in home runs and RBIs behind only Aaron. In the first NLCS, Cepeda was hot, batting .455 (5 for 11) with a Game 3 home runs off Nolan Ryan (#533), but the Mets still swept the Braves in three games.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #343
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18): 1958-75
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2024 Topps Heritage #192
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 1,171 in the Beckett online database as of 10/5/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
On March 17th, Cepeda was dealt to the Braves straight-up for Joe Torre (#460). Disappointed to be leaving St. Louis, he nevertheless had a great season, batting .257 in 154 games with 22 home runs and 88 RBIs for the division winning club. Cepeda started 152 of the club's 162 games at first base, with the remaining 10 games started by Tito Francona (#398) with 10, Henry Aaron (#100) with three and Tommie Aaron (#128) with two. Cepeda was second on the club in home runs and RBIs behind only Aaron. In the first NLCS, Cepeda was hot, batting .455 (5 for 11) with a Game 3 home runs off Nolan Ryan (#533), but the Mets still swept the Braves in three games.
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First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #343
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18): 1958-75
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2024 Topps Heritage #192
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 1,171 in the Beckett online database as of 10/5/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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