On this date in Giants history—Jan. 18

On this date in Giants history…

1896: Long before Marvin Miller and Curt Flood attacked the reserve clause, John Montgomery Ward, who has not played or managed for the last two seasons, objects to being reserved by the New York Giants. At the National League meeting in February, his appeal is upheld, and Ward (pictured, left) becomes a free agent.

1973: The Boston Red Sox sign veteran slugger Orlando Cepeda to be their first designated hitter. The Red Sox become the first team to sign a player specifically for the role of DH, a new rule that will go into effect this season. Cepeda played for the Giants from 1958-’66.

2002: Randomly selected from the crowd, Tampa Bay Devil Rays outfielder Randy Winn sinks a half-court shot at a NBA Los Angeles Clippers’ game to win a Mitsubishi Lancer. Winn, who played for the Giants from 2005-’09, also played some college hoops at Santa Clara University.

2005: The New York Mets sign Carlos Beltran to play center field for the next seven years.

(Entries courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com)