We are all born equal, some of us go on to be Giants. Here is a close look at some of the best players that have worn a Giants Uniform over the years.

Orlando Cepeda is synonymous with the early days of the San Francisco Giants. Cepeda made his major league debut in 1958, the same year the Giants first played in the Bay Area. Cepeda went on to earn National League Rookie-of-the-Year honors after batting .312 with 25 home runs and a Giants' rookie-record 96 RBI.
For the next six seasons Cepeda was a fixture in the Giants' lineup at first base or in the outfield. He topped the league with career highs of 46 home runs and 142 RBI (a San Francisco record) to go with a .311 batting average in 1961. The following year he batted .306 with 35 homers and 114 RBI. Cepeda, nicknamed "Baby Bull" and "Cha Cha," played in six All-Star Games from 1959-64.
A knee injury limited Cepeda to just 33 games in 1965, and the Giants ultimately traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for pitcher Ray Sadecki on May 8, 1966. Cepeda batted .303 with 17 home runs and 58 RBI for his new team and was named the National League Comeback Player-of-the-Year. He received the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1967 after batting .325 with 25 homers and a league-leading 111 RBI.
Cepeda later played for the Atlanta Braves (1969-72), Oakland Athletics (1972), Boston Red Sox (1973) and Kansas City Royals (1974). He finished his 17-year career with a .297 batting average, 2,351 hits, 379 home runs and 1,365 RBI.
In 1993, in his 15th and final year of eligibility for the National Baseball Hall of Fame (on the Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot), Cepeda missed being inducted by a mere seven votes. It stands as the fifth-narrowest margin in history. Cepeda was inducted into the Puerto Rico Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 3, 1993.

Frankie Frisch was a driven, highly competitive player. There could be only one leader on a team managed by John McGraw, but McGraw knew "The Fordham Flash" could help the New York Giants. In 1919, Frank Francis Frisch (1898-1973) joined the club, and the Giants won NL flags from 1921 to 1925, and New York won world titles in 1921 and 1922. Frisch hit .341 and .327, repectivey, those two years. He also wowed baseball fans with his slick fielding.
In fact, The New York Times called him "possibly the flashiest second baseman of any day." In 1923, he paced the league with 223 hits and began to establish himself as a star. The next season, he led the NL by scoring 121 runs, while garnering 198 hits.
Although he played in the lively ball era, Frisch never hit more than a dozen home runs in a season.
However, he hit over .300 13 seasons, including 11 in a row, from 1921 to 1931.
Frank had a serious clash with McGraw and quit the club in 1926. After suspending Frisch, McGraw traded him to St. Louis for Rogers Hornsby, equally at odds with the Cardinals. The fiery Frisch had worn out his welcome with McGraw, but later admitted "I could have flopped as a ball player under any other teacher." As second baseman and manager of the famous "Gashouse Gang," Frisch appeared in four World Series, winning one in 1931, and another in 1934, a year after becoming player manager. Frisch won the first NL MVP in 1931, hitting .311 with 96 runs, 82 RBI, and a league leading 28 steals. Frankie's playing career ended in 1937, but he managed for 16 years, with St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Chicago. He was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1947.

Carl Hubbell, "The Meal Ticket," won 253 games and lost 154 while posting a remarkable 2.97 earned run average in his 16 year career with the New York Giants.
Carl Owen Hubbell (1903-1988) grew up in Oklahoma. He started pitching for an oil company team after high school, finally turning pro in 1923. Hubbell threw a baffling screwball, which broke towards lefty batters, unlike a curve, which broke away from lefty batters. Carl was sold to the Tigers in 1925, who nixed the screwball, fearing it would ruin his arm. His performance was inferior, and he was optioned to the minors.
After two mediocre seasons, Hubbell was released from Detroit in 1928 and began pitching in the Texas League. Giants scout Dick Kinsella discovered Hubbell, and Giants skipper John McGraw paid $30,000 for him.
Hubbell tossed the NL's only no hitter in 1929, but his big years didn't really begin until 1933. He registered five straight 20 win seasons starting that season. King Carl also pitched an 18 inning shutout against the Cardinals, won two games in the World Series without allowing an earned run, and was voted the leagues' Most Valuable Player.
The following season, he had his most famous moment. In the second All-Star Game, Hubbell fanned Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin in succession.
Hubbell won the MVP again in 1936 when he turned in one of the best pitching records in history at 26-6. Hubbell had finished 1936 with 16 straight wins, and won his first eight in 1937, for a 24 game winning streak. Elbow damage from throwing his screwball necessitated surgery after the 1938 season, and Hubbell was never the same. However, his peak was so strong that the Hall of Fame elected him in 1947.

Juan Marichal won more games, 191, than any pitcher during the 1960's. He was a good strikeout pitcher, but also the greatest control artist of his time, walking just 709 men in over 3,5000 innings. His delivery defied logic. The timing oddities and whirl of motion that resulted from his high-kick windup baffled hitters for 16 seasons.
Dominican native Juan Antonio Marichal y Sanchez (born in 1937) signed with the Giants in 1958 and led the Midwest League with 21 wins and 1.87 ERA. Marichal paced the Eastern League in 1959 with 18 wins and a 2.39 ERA, and was 11-5 the next year in the Pacific Coast League. Called to San Francisco in mid 1960 Marichal went 6-2 with a 2.66 ERA. In 1963, Marichal led the NL with 25 wins and pitched a no hitter. He also bested Warren Spahn in a 16 inning complete game win. 1963 was the first of six 20 game seasons in seven years for "Manito", and each season his ERA was under 3.00.
On August 22, 1965, Marichal batted against sandy Koufax. Juan had thrown a few brushbacks, and when Dodgers receiver John Roseboro asked Koufax to retaliate, Sandy refused. Marichal, thinking Roseboro's throw to Koufax ticked his ear, slugged the catcher several times with his bat. A viscous fight ensued. Marichal was suspended and fined, and since the Giants finished just two games back of the flag winning Dodgers, his absence was costly.
The incident may have kept Marichal, who was 243-142 lifetime, from ever winning a Cy Young Award, and he did not make the Hall of Fame until 1983. Perhaps the best right-hander of the 1960's, he finished in the top three in wins five times and ERA three times. He feasted on the Dodgers, beating them in 37 of 55 decisions. Ironically he spent 1975, his last season, with the Los Angeles. "The Dominican Dandy" compiled a lifetime 2.89 ERA.

Christy Mathewson signed his first baseball contract in 1899. Seventeen years later, he retired with 373 victories and universal recognition as the greatest pitcher in National League history to that time. Christopher Mathewson (1880-1925) probably did more than any contemporary to enhance the image of a professional baseball player. Educated, intelligent, and a consummate gentleman, he seemed almost too good to be true.
Mathewson, originally Giants property, was drafted by Cincinnati for $100 in 1900, after a short trial with New York. John Brush, part-owner of the Reds who was planning a move to the Giants, clandestinely returned Matty to New York for aging Amos Rusie.
Beginning in 1903, Mathewson reeled 12 or more victories. 'Big Six' won over 30 on four occasions, capturing 37 in 1908. He had 300 career victories by age 32.
Sometimes, Mathewson struggled in the 'big games'. In his last three World Series appearances - 1911, 1912 and 1913 - Matty won just two games while losing five. In his defense, the Giants scored only seven runs in the last 29 innings he hurled in Series play.
However, Mathewson did some fine work in championship contests. In 1905, his first World Series, he tossed a record three complete-game shutouts against the Philadelphia Athletics to lead the Giants to victory in their first 20th century post-season affair. Matty's feat may be the greatest performance in Series history.
In 1916, with his famed 'fade-away' screwball no longer effective, Mathewson was traded to Cincinnati to become the Reds player-manager. He entered the army in August 1918. While serving overseas, Matty accidentally inhaled poison gas, permanently damaging his lungs and leading to death from tuberculosis in 1925. His 2.13 ERA is fifth best in history. In 1936, Christy was one of the initial five players selected to the Hall of Fame.

Willie Mays: Few players had the total package of Hall of Famer Willie Mays. He was a beautiful fielder with a strong arm, a powerful and consistent hitter, a canny base runner, and a durable champion.
Born in 1931 in Westfield, Alabama, Willie Howard Mays joined the Birmingham Black Barons in 1947. The Giants signed him in 1950, and Mays batted .353 in the Inter State League.
In 1951, the Giants promoted Willie, who became Rookie of the Year. Hitting 20 homers and playing an excellent center field, he galvanized the Giants, who came back from 13 ½ games back to win the NL title. Mays won the hearts of teammates and fans with his enthusiasm, humor, and, above all, his stellar performances.
An army stint in 1952 and 1953 robbed Mays of the chance to break Babe Ruth's all time homer title (Willie finished with 660). In 1954, Willie won the MVP Award, pacing the NL in batting average and slugging percentage. His remarkable catch of Vic Wertz's drive in that year's World Series is one of baseball's greatest moments.
Willie led the NL with 51 homers in 1955, and hit 35 or more homers 10 times. He totaled 40 homers six times, twice topped 50, and won five slugging crowns. In addition to his power, average, arm, and defense, he won four stolen base and three triples titles.
In 1962, Mays hit 49 homers and the Giants again won the NL crown. In 1964, he batted .296 with 47 home runs and 111 RBI. The next year he won his second MVP Award after batting .317 with 52 homers and 112 RBI.
Mays won a dozen Gold Gloves in a row and retired with records for games, putouts, and chances for center fielders. The lifetime .302 hitter ended his career in the 1973 World Series.

Willie McCovey: The "other" Willie on the 1960's San Francisco Giants was one of the greatest sluggers of the decade, averaging 30 homers a year and leading the league in round trippers three times.
Willie Lee McCovey, born in 1938, was signed by the Giants in 1955, and promptly led the Georgia State League with 113 RBI. In 1958, Willie hit .319 with 89 RBI in the Pacific Coast League. Unfortunately, the Giants had 1958 Rookie of the Year Orlando Cepeda at first base. After "Stretch" hit .372 with 29 homers in 95 PCL games in 1959, he went to San Francisco and belted 13 homers with a .354 average in 52 games to himself become Rookie of the Year.
In 1960, however, McCovey slumped and returned to the minors. In 1961 and 1962 he hit 38 four baggers in half time play before winning an everyday job in 1963. He promptly led the league with 44 home runs, but slumped due to injuries in 1964.
The Giants reached the World Series in 1962. In the ninth inning of the seventh game, McCovey, with the tying and winning runs on, lined -"the hardest ball I ever hit" - straight to second base.
McCovey won the National League MVP Award in 1969 pacing the loop with 45 homers and 126 RBI. He led the circuit in slugging percentage in 1967, 1968 and 1969. After a .289 average and 39 homers in 1970, he missed much of the next two years with various ailments.
The popular but aging and injury-prone McCovey was traded to the Padres in 1974. In 1977, he returned to the Giants, and batted .280 with 28 homers to win the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award. He is tied with Ted Williams with 521 career home runs. McCovey was named to the Hall Of Fame in 1986.

Johnny Mize: Hard hitting first baseman Johnny Mize, who led the NL in homers four times, linked the great 1930's Cardinal teams to the Yankee dynasty of the 1950's.
John Robert Mize (1913-1993) of Demorest, Georgia, signed with Greensboro of the Piedmont League while still in high school. In 1933, while in the International League, Mize was purchased by the St. Louis cardinals.
Mize joined the cards in 1936 and batted .329 with 19 home runs. He developed his power and also hit .300 for the next eight seasons, peaking at .364 in 1937. In 1939, Johnny led the league in homers and batting average. In 1940, "The Big Cat's" 43 dingers topped the NL, and his 137 RBI also led the league. Mize paced the NL slugging percentage annually between 1938-1940. He hit .312 lifetime, and walked around 75 times a season.
Traded to the New York Giants, Mize led the NL in 1942 with a .521 slugging percentage and 110 RBI. He served three years in the Navy, but returned in 1946 to top the NL twice more in home runs. His 51 round trippers in 1947 are still an NL lefty record. Mize also paced the loop in RBI and runs scored.
Late in the 1949 pennant drive, the Yankees acquired him for $40,000. After pounding 25 homers in just 274 at bats in 1950, Mize was the hero of the 1952 World Series. He hit .400 with three homers, grabbing Series MVP honors. Johnny led the AL in pinch hits from 1951 to 1953.
The Big Cat won five World Series rings with the powerful Yankees. He retired after the 1953 season. The only slugger in history to hit three home runs in a game six times, Mize was named to the Hall of Fame in 1981.

Mel Ott stood out even in an era of great sluggers for his youth, his odd batting stance, and his great performance over nearly two decades.
Melvin Thomas Ott (1909-1958) of Gretna, Louisiana, was a three sport high school star. He played semi-pro ball at age 16 for a team with connections with John McGraw.
McGraw himself eventually gave Ott a tryout. Impressed with his hitting ability, even though Mel had an odd batting technique, McGraw signed Ott but refused to send him to the minors, fearing a farm skipper would alter Ott's stance and "ruin" him.
Ott's stance was certainly unique. He lifted his front foot before swinging, his hands almost below his belt. The result was a level swing with terrific power, amply announced by 42 home runs and 152 RBI in 1929, his second full year.
He also led the league in 1929 with 113 walks, a sign of the discipline that would lead to a lifetime on base average of .410. He was just 20, and his youthful appearance and size (5'7", 160 pounds) reinforced the impression of youth that stayed with him throughout his career. In fact, Ott made the Hall of Fame when he was just 42.
Ott was a fine outfielder with a great arm, leading NL outfielders in double plays in 1929 and 1935. Ott benefited greatly from his home park, hitting just 187 of his 511 homers on the road. Mel was World Series hero in 1933, hitting .389 with two homers, one winning the final game in the tenth inning.
Mel became player manager of the Giants in 1942 but failed to win a pennant. Known for his sweet disposition, he was also task master as a manager, and helped the careers of such players as Johnny Mize. A 1958 car crash took Ott from this world too soon.

Gaylord Perry - the only pitcher to have won the Cy Young Award in both leagues - fooled hitters and umpires for 22 years. An admitted proponent of the spitball, he entitled his autobiography The Spitter and Me. He maintained that simply the idea of using a spitball put hitters at a disadvantage.
Gaylord Jackson Perry, born in Williamston, North Carolina, in 1938, is the younger brother of fellow major-league hurler Jim. Gaylord was first called to San Francisco in 1962. He became a regular starter in 1964, and responded well, with a 2.75 ERA. In 1966, he posted a 21-8 mark and a 2.99 ERA. He kept his ERA under 3.00 for four straight years, tossed a no hitter in 1968, and led the NL with 23 wins in 1970.
Traded to the Indians for a used up Sam McDowell before the 1972 season, Perry won the Al Cy Young Award with a 24-16 mark a 1.92 ERA. He was 19-19 in 1973, and the next year brother Jim joined him in Cleveland. In 1974, Jim was 17-12 and Gaylord went 21-13. Their 38 victories represented half of Cleveland's 1974 win total.
Although Gaylord won 70 games for Cleveland in just over three years, he was traded to Texas. Three years later, he returned to the NL, and won the 1978 Cy Young Award with a 21-6 season for the Padres. He won his 300th game for Seattle in 1982, and ended his career with Kansas City in 1983 using a rosin coated "puff ball".
Perry won 314 games with a remarkable 3.10 ERA. His 3,534 strikeouts rank him No. 6 on the all time list, and his 5,351 innings pitched are in the lifetime top ten. Perry retired after the 1983 season and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991.

Hoyt Wilhelm blazed the trail for the modern relief specialist, and was the first career reliever to enter the Hall of Fame. He entered more games than any pitcher ever, and retired with more relief wins than anyone else.
James Hoyt Wilhelm (born 1923) grew up in North Carolina as a fan of Washington Senators' pitcher Dutch Leonard, one of the first hurlers to rely almost exclusively on the knuckleball. Eventually, Wilhelm himself became a master of the elusive pitch.
A winner of the Purple Heart in World War II, Wilhelm was a starting pitcher in the minors. He spent eight seasons in the bushes, lost three more years to the war, and did not make his big league debut until he was 28.
In 1952, Hoyt made the Giants as a reliever, bursting out of nowhere to lead the National League with 71 games pitched, 15 relief wins, and a 2.43 ERA. He led the league in appearances in 1953, and notched 15 saves. In 1954, Wilhelm posted a 2.10 ERA and a league best 12 relief wins as the Giants won the World Series. Soon, however, he lost favor with the Giants. The Orioles converted him back to the starting rotation in 1958. Wilhelm promptly tossed a no hitter that year and led the AL in 1959 with a 2.19 ERA. Ultimately, he ended up back in the bullpen.
From 1962 to 1968, with the Orioles and the White Sox, he registered ERAs below 2.00 six of the seven years. The ageless Wilhelm rolled on, pitching effectively through the early 1970s, and finished his career aged 49 with the 1972 Dodgers. He totaled 227 career saves, including a personal best 27 in 1964 with the White Sox.
Like those of other baseball pioneers, many of Wilhelm's career totals have been eclipsed. His total of 1,070 career games still stands. Even if that mark, too, is broken, Wilhelm's place in history - and in the Hall of Fame - is secure.