Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes, nicknamed "the Baby Bull" and "Peruchin", is a Puerto Rican former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for six teams from 1958 to 1974, primarily the San Francisco Giants. A 7-time All-Star, Cepeda was one of the most consistent power hitters in the National League (NL) through the 1960s. Breaking in with the Giants in their first season after relocating to San Francisco, he was named the NL Rookie of the Year by unanimous vote in 1958 after batting .312 with 25 home runs and 96 runs batted in (RBI), also leading the NL with 38 doubles. Every year from 1958 through 1963, he was among the league leaders in batting, home runs, RBI, slugging percentage and total bases. In 1959 he became the first Puerto Rican player to start an All-Star Game, and in 1961 he was runner-up in voting for the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) after leading the league with 46 home runs and 142 RBI, which remains the club record for right-handed hitters.
Cepeda with the San Francisco Giants in 1965
Cepeda in 1961
Cepeda in 2008
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majority of plays made at that base. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the first baseman is assigned the number 3.
Sean Casey, former first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds tries unsuccessfully to keep his foot on the base while receiving a throw from an infielder.
A high school first baseman takes a throw from the third baseman in an attempt to have the runner called "out".
Eric Hosmer of the San Diego Padres, an example of a left-handed throwing first baseman.
Hank Greenberg, Hall of Fame first baseman and 2-time MVP
