'So long, kid': Mays' touching letter highlights Cepeda celebration

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants channeled the spirit of Orlando Cepeda on Sunday, blasting salsa music and donning white panama hats as part of the celebration of life for the late Hall of Famer at Oracle Park.

Cepeda’s four sons -- Orlando Jr., Carl, Malcolm and Ali -- and several grandchildren were on hand for the poignant pregame ceremony, which was also attended by baseball greats Juan Marichal, Tony Oliva, Dusty Baker and Barry Bonds.

“I’m very sad today because I have to talk about what I consider [to be] my brother,” Marichal said. “We gather today to honor the life and legacy of Orlando Cepeda. A beloved friend, teammate and true icon of the game. It is hard to find the right words to encapsulate the impact Orlando had on all of us, both on and off the field. Orlando wasn’t just a remarkable athlete. He was a beacon of generosity and kindness. Beyond his athletic prowess, it was Orlando’s spirit that truly made him stand out.”

“My heart is really heavy right now thinking about Orlando,” Baker said. “I was with him almost every day when he got traded from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Braves. He taught me so much about life. He was probably one of the smartest guys I ever met. He taught me a lot about the spiritual part of life and the mental part of life.”

Cepeda died on June 28 at 86, dealing another emotional blow to the Giants, who had mourned the loss of franchise icon Willie Mays only 10 days earlier. Mays knew Cepeda’s health was failing and prepared remarks he planned to share upon his former Giants teammate’s passing.

Mays never got the chance to eulogize the “Baby Bull” himself, but Mike Krukow -- who served as master of ceremonies alongside fellow Giants broadcaster Erwin Higueros -- read his full letter on Sunday:

“Today is a hard day for me. I’ve known Orlando 70 years -- since he was 17 years old. He was like a little brother. How do you say goodbye to a little brother?

“Orlando was our bat boy in Puerto Rico when I played winter ball for the Santurce team. That 1954 team was a great team. We had Roberto Clemente, Valmy Thomas, Buster Clarkson and Bob Thurman. Some said it was one of the best winter teams ever put together. And there was this big kid hanging around. They called him the ‘Baby Bull,’ after his father, Pedro Cepeda, ‘The Bull.’

“Sometimes the kid caught balls Clemente and I would throw in from the outfield. You could just feel how much he loved the game. He grew up fast. Four years later, he’d be my Giants teammate.

“Orlando stayed an eager kid to us. He looked up to us veterans. He watched everything. And he learned all kinds of things. Everything. When he saw that I carried a record player with me, he got one the next day. He trained the same way. He grew stronger, more powerful and confident. He was a kid playing with men and learning how to become one. I knew he watched us, and that made me watch him, too, and make sure I was doing the right things for him. The kid could play. I knew he’d be alright.

“I felt proud of Orlando. You already know his successes, his records, his numbers. He’s an MVP-winning Hall of Famer. But to me, he was like family. While he was looking up to me, I was watching out for him. He made his own way, but he will always be my little brother. You always look after your little brother. Even after they grow.

“So long, kid.”

The 1967 National League MVP for the Cardinals, Cepeda spent the first nine seasons of his 17-year career in San Francisco, where he quickly became a fan favorite after debuting with the Giants in 1958, the franchise’s first season on the West Coast. The Puerto Rican first baseman crushed his first career home run against the Dodgers on Opening Day at Seals Stadium and went on to unanimously win NL Rookie of the Year honors after batting .312 with 25 home runs and 96 RBIs over 148 games.

Cepeda earned six All-Star nods over his Giants tenure and finished second in NL MVP voting in 1961, when he led the league with 46 home runs and 142 RBIs, a single-season San Francisco record. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999, the same year the Giants retired his No. 30.

“What an effervescent personality,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “He just loved to play and it showed up every day. Teammates loved him. You can see the way that baseball feels about him and certainly the city of San Francisco.”