SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -A 9-foot bronzed statue of Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda was unveiled during a ceremony before the Giants game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night.
The first baseman fondly known as Baby Bull was recognized as a player who thrived on the baseball field and persevered through hard times off it.
``Wow ... wow,'' Cepeda said, choking back tears while speaking to the crowd. ``Last night we had a wonderful dinner that was very emotional. But when things like this happen to you in life, that's when I say to myself, ``Orlando, you are a very lucky person.'''
The 75-minute ceremony included a message of congratulations from Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez Reyna and a musical tribute by Grammy Award winning guitarist Jose Feliciano.
An estimated crowd of 2,000 that included several former teammates, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom and baseball's home run king Barry Bonds repeatedly stood and cheered as Cepeda was honored. His son Ali, former teammate and longtime friend ex-Giants manager Felipe Alou and Giants president Peter Magowan were among those who spoke.
Bonds, baseball's career home run king who spent the final 15 years of his career in San Francisco, did not speak but drew the loudest cheers when he was introduced to the crowd.
Cepeda's statue is the fourth the Giants have erected outside their waterfront ballpark since it opened in 2000, joining fellow Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal, all of whom attended the ceremony.
The newest statue stands near the northeast corner of the stadium near the players' entrance and features Cepeda standing with a glove on his left hand and a ball in his right, staring at the intersection near 2nd and King Street in downtown San Francisco.
``The idea was to reflect his infectious enthusiasm for baseball and for people,'' said Larry Baer, the Giants executive vice president and chief operating officer. ``He has more friends than any ballplayer I've ever met.''
Cepeda, who turns 71 on Sept. 17, spent the first eight-plus seasons of his 17-year major league career with the Giants, starting in 1958 when the club moved West from New York. The Giants have been celebrating their 50th anniversary in San Francisco all season - and paying tribute to Cepeda is yet another way of doing so.
He earned NL Rookie of the Year honors in '58, was named NL MVP in 1967 and was selected to 11 All-Star games but played in only nine of those.
During the game the Giants honored Cepeda by wearing their ``GIGANTES'' jerseys against the Pirates.
