Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda’s legacy includes being remembered as the first Red Sox designated hitter - The Boston Globe (2024)

The Sox signed Cepeda when the DH rule was adopted by the American League before the 1973 season. “The Baby Bull” was 35 at the time.

Cepeda started the season 0 for 11 before hitting a walkoff homer into the net above the left field wall off Sparky Lyle to beat the Yankees on April 8 before a crowd of 12,754.

According to the next day’s Globe, Cepeda hit a slider that “streaked through the adverse wind as though shot from a gun.”

Playing on sore knees, Cepeda hit .289 with 20 homers and 86 RBIs over 142 games in what proved to be his only season with the Sox. He didn’t play an inning in the field.

Cepeda often said the DH rule led to his reaching the Hall of Fame in 1999 when he was selected by the veterans committee.

A native of Puerto Rico, Cepeda’s many friends included the late José Manuel Cora, the father of Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

Orlando Cepeda Jr. texted Cora on Friday night with the news of his father passing. As recently as 10 days ago, the elder Cepeda was following the Sox and had a message sent to Cora that he was happy to see the team playing well.

“Tough one for us, tough one for the world of baseball and obviously back home,” Cora said Saturday.

Jésus Feliciano, the brother of Cora’s partner Angelica, directs the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School. He hosted an event over the winter that included Cepeda and fellow Puerto Rican Hall of Famers Pudge Rodriguez, Edgar Martinez, and Robbie Alomar.

“To be able to be around those guys, it was a great night,” Cora said. “We felt like probably it was the last time we would have them all together. It was a blessing.”

Cora said Cepeda addressed the crowd and spoke about his time in baseball, including dealing with racism early in his career.

Cepeda broke in with the Giants in 1958, playing with Willie Mays. He was traded to the Cardinals in 1966 and was the National League MVP in ’67.

Cepeda was 3 for 29 with one RBI in the World Series against the Red Sox as St. Louis won the title in seven games.

The Red Sox invited Cepeda back to Fenway Park in 2013 to celebrate his being their first DH. On Saturday, the team honored his memory with a moment of silence before an 11-1 loss against the Padres.

Rafaela’s big brother Bogaerts

Ceddanne Rafaela grew up in Curacao admiring the achievements of Xander Bogaerts, a native of nearby Aruba. When Rafaela signed with the Sox in 2017, Bogaerts made it a point to offer his support.

“He’s always been there for me,” Rafaela said.

Even though Bogaerts is on the injured list for the Padres, Rafaela said this weekend is important.

“Just having Xander watching me play is special,” he said. “I grew up watching him, from the 2013 World Series.”

There are six players from Aruba and Curacao in the majors this season. Along with Bogaerts and Rafaela, Curacaoans Kenley Jansen and the Padres’ Jurickson Profar are at Fenway for the weekend.

“There aren’t that many of us, so we take care of each other,” Rafaela said. “It’s great being around these guys.”

Waiver claim on way to Worcester

The Sox filled the open spot on their 40-man roster by claiming 26-year-old righthander Alex Speas off waivers from the Astros and optioning him to Triple A Worcester.

Speas has four games of major league experience, three with the Rangers last season and one with the Astros this year. He allowed four earned runs on four hits over four innings and stuck out six with six walks.

Speas was a second-round pick of the Rangers in 2016 and the Red Sox are his fifth organization. He is 13-14 with a 5.01 earned run average and 11 saves over seven minor league seasons. Speas has both a high strikeout (13.8 per nine innings) and walk (7.7) rate.

Hendriks ramps up throwing

Liam Hendriks plans to throw in the bullpen three times during the week as the reliever ramps up his return from Tommy John surgery … Bryan Mata will continue his injury rehab assignment with a start for Triple A Worcester on Tuesday at Syracuse. Cora said it would be for no more than three innings. Mata, a 25-year-old righthander, has appeared in six minor league games this season. Cora said Mata hit 98 miles per hour in his last outing. “We still have work with the secondary pitches but everybody’s pleased with the way he’s throwing the ball,” Cora said … Vaughn Grissom doesn’t appear close to a rehab assignment as the infielder works on strengthening his hamstrings to avoid another setback … Connor Wong’s single in the fifth inning extended his hit streak to 15 games. It’s the second-longest active streak in the majors. Bryan Reynolds of the Pirates has a 25-game streak.

Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him @PeteAbe.