Pedro Cepeda
| Pedro Cepeda | |||
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Pedro Cepeda is pictured in the back row second from right with "Los Dragones"
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| Utility player | |||
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Born: January 31, 1905 Cataño, Puerto Rico |
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Died: April 16, 1955 San Juan, Puerto Rico |
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| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .325 | ||
| Home runs | 14 | ||
| Runs batted in | 295 | ||
| Teams | |||
| "Los Dragones baseball team" | |||
Pedro Cepeda, a.k.a. "Perucho" and "The Bull" (January 31, 1905 – April 16, 1955) was a Puerto Rican baseball player who was considered one of the best players of his generation. Called "The Babe Ruth of Puerto Rico" and "Babe Cobb" (referring to his dominance as a hitter and his legendary hustle evocative of both Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb), Cepeda was a Latin American baseball superstar. He was denied the chance to play in the major leagues because he was of African descent and played the bulk of his pro career (which spanned the years 1928 to 1950) before the color line was broken by Jackie Robinson in 1947. Known as "Perucho" and "The Bull", Cepeda refused offers to play in the Negro Leagues in the mainland United States as he abhorred the racism endemic to American society at the time. He is now best known as the father of Baseball Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda.
Cepeda (birth name: Pedro Anibal Cepeda) was born on January 31, 1905 in Cataño, Puerto Rico. As an adult Cepeda stood 5'11" tall (180 cm.) and weighed 200 lbs (91 kilos). He played sandlot baseball before signing his first pro contract with the San Juan Athletics in 1928. He played shortstop when he came up, although later in his career, he also played first base and the outfield. His aggressive baserunning was evocative of Ty Cobb, as he would slide into an opposing player defending a base with spikes up.
In 1929, he played in the Dominican Republic with the Sandino club, ranking among the league's batting leaders with a .429 average. In 1930, he played with the Venezuelan teams Cincinnati and Macon; he returned to Venezuela to play with Valencia in 1932, Selecion in 1934, Gavilanes in 1935, Centauros in 1939 and 1940 and Santa Marta in 1941.
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