7: 45 AM PT -- Cepeda "suffered a severe blow to the skull" after falling in the parking lot of his gym on Monday ... Orlando's family friend, Minor League Dodgers coach Paco Figueroa, told Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Dia.
Figueroa added that Cepeda "is in a delicate state" ... and is currently under examination at a hospital in San Francisco.
Baseball Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda, 80, was rushed to a Bay Area hospital on Monday night ... according to an SF Giants team official who spoke with one of Cepeda's family members.