Pedro Cepeda

Pedro Anibal Cepeda (January 31, 1905 – April 16, 1955), nicknamed "Perucho" and "the Bull", was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who was considered one of the best players of his generation.

Known the "Babe Cobb of Puerto Rico", 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. 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 was the father of baseball hall of famer Orlando Cepeda.

Baseball career 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.

Throughout the 1930s, Cepeda often played in the Dominican Republic, though he would often return home to play baseball in Puerto Rico. In 1937, he played with the season with the Dragones de Ciudad Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. Featuring future Hall of Famers Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Cool Papa Bell, the team, which was owned by dictator Rafael Trujillo, won the championship of the Dominican League (a professional Caribbean winter league). he toured the museum. He was shown a team picture of the famous Ciudad Trujillo team of 1937, which featured his father. Orlando said: “It’s amazing. I didn’t know my father was here, in that picture, like he was waiting for me. What a surprise!"

Career statistics Cepeda's Puerto Rican League Career Batting Statistics: 1589 240 516 70 31 14 295 -- .325 .434