Midwest League Profile

Cha Cha

Orlando Manuel Cepeda started the 1955 season at Salem in the Appalachian League. He played 26 games there before being assigned to the Kokomo Giants in the MWL predecessor Mississippi-Ohio Valley League. The kid -- he wasn't yet 18 -- had an excellent partial season at Kokomo:

   G  AB  R   H 2B 3B HR RBI   BA
  92 374 83 147 23  2 21  91 .393

Cepeda was the league's batting average champion, and his 21 homers were just 3 behind teammate (and manager) Walter Dixon. He was selected as third baseman on the league's postseason All-Star team.

Two years latter later Cepeda joined the big league Giants. On the day this essay was written, the Baby Bull was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Orlando Cepeda's major league career.

Notes:

Every source I've got says the 1955 Kokomo nine was an independent team. The coincidence of team names--the New York Giants assigning Cepeda to a minor league team also named the Giants--appears to actually be a coincidence.

I wasn't going to write one of these on July 25, but we watched the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies while we unpacked from our vacation. Nolan, George, & Robin, who were also inducted that day, bypassed the MWL....

This profile originated as the July 25, 1999, Midwest League Tidbit on the Midwest League Mailing List.