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Happy ’80s Birthday to Lee Smith, who went 8-10 with a 5.98 E.R.A. as a starter at Double-A Midland in 1978. The Cubs moved him to the bully and he became the all-time saves leader for a time.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Barbaro Garbey, who was the first member of Cuba’s national team (in the Castro era) to come to the U.S. He hit .287 for the 1984 Tigers and played in 226 games over three years for Detroit and Texas.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Tucker Ashford, who saw limited action in the bigs, but he did play 233 games for the Padres AAA team in Hawaii which doesn’t suck in the least.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Charlie Beamon, who played 45 games for the Mariners and Jays between 1978 and 1981. His father, Charlie, pitched for the Orioles in the 1950s.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Pat Sheridan, who made his debut with the Royals in 1981 and spent nine years in the bigs, including winning a ring in 1985 with KC.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Mike Couchee, who went 0-1 in eight games for the 1983 Padres and later became a has been coaching since the late 1980s.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Alexis Infante, a defensive specialist who spent parts of four years in the bigs with Toronto and Atlanta.
David Green was born OTD in 1960. He was so talented, he was one of the main pieces of the trade between the Brewers and Cardinals that sent Ted Simmons, Pete Vuckovich and Rollie Fingers to Milwaukee. Unfortunately, the stardom many predicted didn’t materialize. David passed away in 2022.
Former Brewers skipper Harvey Kuenn was born on this day in 1930.
12/4/84
The Cubs trade Porfi Altamirano, Rich Bordi, Henry Cotto and Ron Hassey to the Yankees for Brian Dayett and Ray Fontenot. It’s the first trade of the Winter Meetings, which began the previous day.
“It’s awful slow,” said Braves scout Bobby Wine. “I think everyone is waiting on the free agents to sign.”
12/4/85
The Giants trade David Green, on his birthday, to the Brewers for a PTBNL. Milwaukee releases him, re-signs him, and then sells his contract to the Kintetsu Buffaloes of the Japanese League. He returns to the U.S. to finish his career with St. Louis in 1987.
12/4/88
The Twins trade Mark Portugal to the Astros for a PTBNL. He wins 52 games over the next five seasons in Houston, including an 18-4 season in 1993.
12/4/88
The Orioles trade Eddie Murray to the Dodgers for Juan Bell, Brian Holton and Ken Howell. The official announcement of the deal was delayed by nearly an hour because Roland Hemond and Fred Claire were stuck in an elevator at the winter meetings in Atlanta.
12/4/89
The Yankees trade Don Slaught to the Pirates for Jeff Robinson and Willie Smith.
12/4/81
The A’s sign Joe Rudi as a free agent. He plays one more season in Oakland and retires, but not after homering in his final at-bat.
12/4/88
The Reds sign Rick Mahler to a two-year, $1.58 million free agent contract.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to play for the 1989 world champion Reds,” he tells the assembled media.
Big Days
12/4/80
Tony Perez is named the winner of the 1980 Lou Gehrig Award.
Transactions
12/4/89
The Astros select Xavier Hernandez from Toronto in the Rule 5 draft. He wins 22 games over the next five seasons in Houston and records 25 saves.
12/4/89
The Phillies select 3B Dave Hollins from the Padres in the Rule 5 draft. Hollins hits just .184 in 1990 but becomes a key member of the 1993 Macho Row.
12/4/89
The Reds select Tim Layana from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft. He becomes a key bullpen guy for the 1990 Reds, winning five games and recording two saves.
12/4/89
The Twins select Shane Mack from the Padres in the Rule 5 draft. Given regular playing time, Mack responds by hitting .326 in 1990 and helps the Twins win the World Series the following year.
12/4/89
The Expos select Bill Sampen from the Pirates in the Rule 5 draft. He makes the jump from Double-A and goes 12-7 with two saves for Montreal the following season with an E.R.A. of 2.99.
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