Orlando Cepeda, the only living Puerto Rican Hall of Fame baseball player, will be making a rare autograph-signing appearance today at Jim and Steve's Sportscards, 2909 Grand Ave., Waukegan. He will be signing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Cepeda, who along with the late Roberto Clemente, is one of just two Puerto Rican natives to attain the exalted Hall status.
Nicknamed "the Baby Bull" for his brute strength as a hitter, and "Cha-Cha" for his clubhouse victory dancing, Cepeda will be signing baseballs and flat objects for $30 and bats and jerseys for $50.
Store owner Steve Wilson said he went after Cepeda for a couple of reasons: He had not been in the area for about six years, and he would hopefully attract a contingency of area Latino baseball fans as well as the store's usual autograph collectors.
Cepeda played 17 seasons from 1958 through 1974 for six different teams, putting up his biggest numbers for the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox.
In addition to putting up Hall-worthy lifetime numbers like 1,365 RBIs, 379 homers, .297 average, a Rookie of the Year award and a Most Valuable Player award, Cepeda established a number of firsts for a Puerto Rican, including:
• the first to win the home run title
• first to win a batting title
• first to start in an All Star Game
• first to be selected at two positions for the All Star Game (first base and left field).
He was still pounding the pill late in his career when the designated hitter position was created, becoming the first winner of the Designated Hitter of the Year award in 1973, two years before he retired.
Wilson said that the pre-sales on tickets to meet Cepeda have "been really good," with about 100 advance tickets sold.
He's hoping to get about 250 collectors and fans in his store for today's session.
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