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Happy ’80s Birthday to Tommy Herr, who won a ring with the Cardinals in 1982 and drove in 110 runs in 1985 whilst hitting just 8 homers.
Happy ’80s Birthday to former Braves mega prospect Brad Komminsk. Brad spent eight years in the big leagues with six teams.
The late Jim Fregosi was born on this day in 1942. Jim had a fine career as a player with multiple teams before becoming a manager. He actually began the 1978 season as a player with the Pirates and finished it as a manager with the Angels.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Pete Hernandez, who appeared in 11 games with the Blue Jays between 1979 and 1982.
Happy ’80s Birthday to John Lickert, who appeared in one game as a defensive replacement in 1981. He did not get a chance to hit.
4/4/86
The Pirates trade the enigmatic Jason Thompson to the Expos. Thompson hits .196 in 30 games for Montreal and is released in July.
4/4/86
The Royals sign Rudy Law as a free agent. He hits .261 in 87 games and retires at the end of the season.
4/4/86
The Reds sign Chris Welsh as a free agent. He goes 6-9 in his final big league season and is currently a Reds broadcaster.
4/4/87
The Indians sign Steve Carlton as a free agent. Lefty goes 5-9 in 23 starts before being dealt to the Twins.
4/4/88
The Twins sign Tippy Martinez as a free agent. He makes three appearances and is released later in the month. It’s the end of his career.
4/4/84
19-year-old Bret Saberhagen makes his Major League debut for the Royals. Sabes throws 4.2 scoreless in relief of Paul Splittorff, allows 3 hits and walks no one. He’d finish his rookie season with 10 wins.
4/4/88
Chris Sabo goes 1 for 5 in his Major League debut en route to winning Rookie of the Year.
4/4/88
Brady Anderson goes 3 for 5 against Jack Morris and the Tigers in his big league debut.
He hits .230 in 41 games before being dealt to Baltimore with Curt Schilling in exchange for Mike Boddicker.
4/4/89
Cubs rookie Joe Girardi goes 2 for 3 in his Major League debut. He hits .248 in his rookie season and spends 15 years in the big leagues.
4/4/89
Jerome Walton collects two hits in his big league debut. He begins his career with a 7-game hitting streak and wins the Rookie of the Year Award.
Big Days
4/4/82
J.R. Richard returns to the mound for the first time since suffering a stroke in July of 1980 and throws a scoreless inning against the Blue Jays.
He holds the Jays hitless but walks three. Unfortunately, he never pitches in a regular season game again.
4/4/88
George Bell becomes the first player to hit three homers on Opening Day.
4/4/89
On Opening Day in his age-41 season, Rangers knuckleballer Charlie Hough shuts out the Detroit Tigers 4-0. Buddy Bell also picks up career hit number 2,500
4/4/89
Tommy John draws the Opening Day start for the Yankees. It’s John’s 26th season in the big leagues, which ties a record. He also picks up his 287th career win.
Transactions
4/4/80
The Phillies release Bud Harrelson. He signs with the Rangers and retires after the season.
4/4/81
The Padres release Dave Cash and his career is over.
A three-time All-Star, he finishes with 1,571 career hits.
4/4/83
The Mariners release Clint Hurdle. He signs with the Mets and plays five more years before retiring.
4/4/85
The Rangers release Mickey Rivers and his career is over.
He finishes with 1,660 career hits, 267 stolen bases, and two rings.
4/4/86
The Pirates release Sixto Lezcano and his career is over. He finishes with 1,122 hits and a Gold Glove.
4/4/88
The Yankees release Rick Cerone. He signs with the Red Sox and plays two years there before returning to the Yankees in 1990.
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