SAN FRANCISCO – A block north of Willie Mays Plaza, where fans paid their respects to a deceased Giants legend this week, a second bronze statue had been transformed right into a makeshift memorial when the gates to Oracle Park opened Saturday afternoon.
After learning of Orlando Cepeda's death on the age of 86 on Friday night, admirers of the trailblazing Puerto Rican slugger nicknamed “Baby Bull” began decorating his towering effigy on the corner of Second and King streets with bouquets of flowers, handwritten messages and pictures.
“What a punch in the gut,” said manager Bob Melvin. “The fact that he's so close to Willie is just mind-blowing.”
In the Giants' dugout, they displayed Cepeda's No. 30 jersey and every player wore his name and number on a patch on the left sleeve of his jersey. It was the one space available for the commemorative patch, as there was already one honoring Mays on the left chest of every jersey.
“It's been a tough month for the Giants, losing such special guys,” said starting pitcher Logan Webb, who was in the identical position he was in last Tuesday when he learned of May's death and was on his option to the mound to start out the sixth inning.
An image of Cepeda appeared on the middle field scoreboard, and the 40,052 fans watching the Giants' series opener against the Dodgers in a sold-out stadium responded with a moment of silence. Webb and lots of other players on the sector paused and removed their caps.
The emotions on the sector paled compared to those three floors above, within the Spanish-language radio booth, where Cepeda was an everyday guest. Cepeda, once a roommate of two of the Giants' only Latin American players, got here to Tito Fuentes's booth three or 4 times per week, broadcast partner Erwin Higueros said.
Higueros was informed about half-hour before the Giants made the general public announcement and had the sense to attend until the published was over, then informed Fuentes just before the remaining of Oracle Park came upon.
“I've never seen a man cry so much,” Higueros said. “They were like brothers. Like brothers. Orlando was still teasing Tito and Tito wasn't responding. It was that kind of respect, even in old age. It was a kind of brotherly relationship, so he obviously took it very hard yesterday.”
When Fuentes was called as much as the Giants midseason in 1965 as a 21-year-old from Havana, Cuba, he knew he had a powerful ally on his side. Cepeda, already an eight-time All-Star, Rookie of the Year winner and MVP finalist, first met Fuentes a yr earlier at winter ball in Puerto Rico and lobbied for him to be added to the roster that spring, a suggestion that got here true a couple of months later.
Fuentes was called up in August and placed with Cepeda, who showed him around the town. It was the start of a lifelong friendship. At a time when players were still discriminated against based on the colour of their skin, Cepeda also helped the young Fuentes overcome language and cultural barriers.
“He couldn't teach you how to hit. But he could teach you how to behave off the field,” Fuentes said. Cepeda showed him the restaurants that welcomed black customers – and at all times paid the bill – introduced him to salsa music and taught him how you can dress.
“Back then, blacks and whites weren't allowed to eat together. So we had to go to black restaurants that he knew. Of course, he usually paid because he was making money.”
Cepeda's groundbreaking profession didn’t end along with his time as a player, as he also gave Higueros words of wisdom when he joined the Giants in 1998.
he told him.
“That's one of the things he told me and one of the things I still remember,” Higueros said.
Fuentes remembers the day Cepeda was sold to St. Louis – Mother’s Day 1966 – and he cried then, too.
“He hugged me and said, 'Roommate, I have to go. They traded me,'” Fuentes said.
Needing to make room for one more up-and-coming first baseman named Willie McCovey, the team sent Cepeda to the Cardinals in some of the regrettable transactions in franchise history. Before knee problems ended his profession, Cepeda was named MVP for the Cardinals in 1967.
Cepeda's profession lasted one other eight seasons and took him from St. Louis to Atlanta to Oakland to Boston to Kansas City. But his legacy at all times remained in San Francisco, where he became a community ambassador in retirement and where his statue has stood since 2008.
“Ever since he retired, he considered himself a Giant and he was here,” Melvin said. “Just such a great personality. I didn't get to be around him as much as I did Willie, but I know the impact he had in San Francisco growing up and watching him play.”
Cepeda's connection to San Francisco was never more evident than during his frequent visits to Fuentes.
“He came into the locker room and just talked about baseball. He wasn't expecting to be interviewed,” Higueros said. “He just wanted to come in and hang out with his roommate. It was just a pleasure to hear them talk about the old days and joke around.”
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