Orlando Cepeda: 1937—: Baseball Player

Between 1984 and 1987, Orlando found two very important things. The first was the Buddhist sect Nichiren Shosu, which taught him to deal with the bitterness and anger that he was feeling. The second was his third wife, Mirian Ortiz, a Puerto Rican native he had met while in New York. It was she who first suggested that they move to San Francisco to return to a place where Cepeda had shone as a player. Cepeda, of course was reluctant to go, figuring he would receive the same reaction from fans in San Francisco that he had received in every other part of the country. It wasn't until Giants Magazine publisher Laurence Hyman visited Cepeda in 1986 and invited him to attend a game at Candlestick Park that Cepeda was convinced that he could win back fans. Cepeda attended the game and was received by fans wanting autographs, to shake his hand, and looking to get pictures with him. Shortly after, Cepeda and his wife boxed up their things and moved permanently to San Francisco.

In 1987 the Giants organization hired Cepeda to work for their community relations staff. He worked in the community encouraging students to stick to school and sports and not take the paths of drug use and gang membership. The next year, he worked as a scout for the Giants and began to develop young players. By the 1990s, he was not only scouting for the Giants, but he represented the organization around the United States and internationally as well. He was especially effective in Puerto Rico where he rebuilt his image as a public speaker and a goodwill ambassador for the Giants. Cepeda credited his success with these endeavors directly to "the fans and the Giants who stood by me," according to the Sporting News.