The Orlando Cepeda Story by Bruce Markusen
Author:Bruce Markusen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arte Público Press
Published: 2001-03-14T16:00:00+00:00
Chapter Nine
Trying to Repeat
As well as Cepeda had played in 1967, it would be tough for him to match that performance in 1968. After a shaky start to the new season, Orlando hit a major slump during the month of July. His bat looked so slow that manager Red Schoendienst took him out of the lineup for two straight games on July 20 and 21. Prior to that, he had played every inning of every game. Cepeda’s teammates tried to ease the tension by joking with him, calling him “El Bencho.” There was no such word in Spanish, but Cepeda understood the message. He smiled, knowing that his mates were teasing him in a friendly way. But underneath the smile, the benching hurt Cepeda’s pride.
If Orlando had any doubts about the difficulties of trying to repeat what he had done the previous summer, they ended on July 22. Something strange happened that day, something that never would have happened during his dream season of 1967.
The Cardinals trailed the Phillies by two runs as they came to bat in the ninth inning. Cepeda, by now returned to the starting lineup, was scheduled to bat with the potential tying runs on first and second base. Manager Red Schoendienst told Orlando to hold on. He called his slugging first baseman back and told him that he was taking him out of the game for a pinch-hitter. Schoendienst sent up Lou Brock, who singled in a run. The Cardinals ended up scoring three runs to win the game, 5-4. They completed the comeback without Cepeda.
Orlando was stunned by Schoendienst’s decision. He had never been removed for a pinch-hitter in 5,548 official major league at-bats. “This is a new experience for me,” Cepeda told The Sporting News. “I wanted to bat. I was mad at first.”
If Cepeda had been replaced with a pinch-hitter during his early major league days in San Francisco, he might have stayed mad and said something he shouldn’t have. Now a member of the Cardinals, Orlando was older and more mature. He actually went on to defend Schoendienst’s decision. “You never stop learning in this game. The manager made the right move,” Cepeda said calmly. “I haven’t been hitting. [Brock’s] been hitting well.”
Cepeda’s classy reaction to Schoendienst’s decision did not go unnoticed. In its August 10th editorial, The Sporting News pointed out that Cepeda had been “quite ordinary” as a player that year. “Yet, in our opinion,” The Sporting News went on to say, “Cepeda proved himself a better man or, at least, a better person this year because of a remarkable incident that occurred the other day.” After describing the pinch-hitting incident and Orlando’s reaction to it, The Sporting News gave Cepeda its highest praise. “We hope that the great and the near-great in baseball remember Orlando’s words. It takes a great man to swallow bitter disappointment and acknowledge that the manager’s judgment must prevail.”
Although Cepeda was showing great maturity in handling his baseball career, he was having problems in other areas.
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