This Day in History: 2000-01-18

January 18, 1973: The Red Sox sign Orlando Cepeda, a veteran of 16 MLB seasons, to be their designated hitter for the new position added in 1973; Orlando told me that when the Red Sox made their offer, he replied, “What’s a designated hitter?” but the DH was tailored for Cepeda with his gimpy knees and he hit .289 with 86 RBI in 1973.