Giants walk-off photo accidentally captures incredible Cepeda tribute originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in the Giants’ case Friday, it was two letters.
Beloved franchise icon and Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda passed away Friday evening, but he still was part of the Giants’ postgame celebration in an incredible way.
After San Francisco defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 Friday night on a Brett Wisely walk-off homer at Oracle Park, the rest of the team met Wisely at home plate to begin an emotional celebration.
As if the satisfaction of defeating their pesky rivals wasn’t enough, a photo captured by Getty Images photographer Thearon W. Henderson displayed the magical moment that proved Cepeda was, in fact, there in spirit.
With the jumping and shouting came the unavoidable water bottle sprays, and as X user @carokell pointed out, the water droplets amazingly formed the letters “OC” just atop the team’s celebration.
The Giants announced Cepeda’s death in the middle of Friday’s game, as Logan Webb was warming up to continue his outing.
For Webb, Giants manager Bob Melvin and the rest of the organization, the news weighed heavily on a team and city that still is mourning the death of baseball icon Willie Mays, who died earlier this month.
But as they planned to do for Mays, they honored Cepeda with a sweet, sweet victory Friday night.
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