Cepeda was innate within Ponce, Puerto Rico. His father, slugger Pedro Cepeda, was a baseball legend inside Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. A bit of known as Cepeda a Babe Ruth of Latin America. Pedro's nicknames were Perucho & A Bull. Orlando became called Peruchin & Little Bull.

Around his 1st year around 1958, Cepeda batted .312 with Twenty-five home runs and 96 diarrhea RBI, led the National League in doubles (38), and was known as Rookie of the Year. Inside 1967, he was named a National League MVP by hitting .325 and camping around 111 RBIs. A Cardinals win a pennant that month and so went on to be World Champions by beating the Red Sox.

Cepedthe was a Vii-period All-Star (1959-64. 1967). He retired around 1975 when hitting the .297 BA using 379 homers & 1365 Run batted within in Xvii seasons.

Cepeda faced problems by using drugs in a time period of his playing career, specially during a period he was by using the Giants. This, successively, stimulated him to develop an extremely hard period catching voted into a Baseball Hall of Fame. Per early Nineties, while his instance of eligibility was beginning to rerun out, numerous Puerto Ricans, park & celebrities like, began to campaign for his induction. Numerous of his angel alleged that more members of the Hall of Fame got done items peer or even worse than drug apply & were however inducted. Occasionally international celebrities, previous mate & others besides joined in the campaign to use Cepeda elected. Inside 1996, his endure month of eligibility by ballot, he come in 2 votes of becoming elective. Eventually, around 1999, he was elected by the Hall's Veterans Committee, joining along with Roberto Clemente as the single more Puerto Rican in Cooperstown.

Cepeda was recognized nationally for his human-centered efforts as an ambassador for baseball. He served as an honorary spokesman for the Crohn's and Colitis foundation of America, and participated in Athletes against AIDS.