Happy ’80s Birthday to Butch Hobson, who had a nice three year run with the Red Sox. From 1977 through 1979, Hobson averaged 25 dingers and 95 RBI before injuries torpedoed his career. He’s currently managing in independent ball.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Dave Lemanczyk, who was the first player to sign a contract with the Toronto Blue Jays and now runs a baseball academy in New York.
Happy ‘80s Birthday to Bill Landrum, who finished 6th in the NL in saves in 1989 with 26. His father pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Happy ‘80s Birthday to Jeff Moronko, who appeared in 14 games for the Indians and Yankees.
Happy ‘80s Birthday to Brad Wellman, who spent eight years in the bigs with the Giants, Royals, and Dodgers and once earned $1,000 by shaving his head on a clubhouse dare.
Happy ‘80s Birthday to Jeff Fischer, who appeared in six games for the Expos and Dodgers in 1987 and 1989.
8/17/83
Cleveland trades traded Manny Trillo to the Expos for minor leaguer Don Carter and $300,000.
8/17/86
The Red Sox trade PsTBNL and Rey Quinones to Seattle for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen. This proves to be a big move as Henderson’s home run saves Boston’s season in the ALCS.
8/17/86
Ron Karkovice goes 1 for 4 with an RBI single off Tim Leary in his big league debut for the White Sox. He spends twelve years in the bigs, all with Chicago.
8/17/87
Tom Glavine makes his debut and it doesn’t go well. He goes 3.2 innings and allows 6 runs on 10 hits and 5 walks
8/17/80
Al Kaline becomes the first Tigers player ever to have his number retired.
8/17/80
Al Oliver hits 4 homers in a doubleheader and adds a double & a triple for 21 total bases. Not a bad day, Scoop!
8/17/80
George Brett goes 4 for 4 to raise his average to .401, part of an amazing season.
8/17/82
Mario Soto strikes out 15 and walks no one in a 9-2 Reds win over the Mets. The 15 punchouts bring his season total to 209 in 189.1 innings. He’d finish the season with a career-high 274.
8/17/84
Pete singles off former teammate Dick Ruthven in his first plate appearance after returning to the Reds.
8/17/85
Led by rookie catcher Darren Daulton, the Phillies hit 6 homers in a 10-5 win over the Cubs, including four in the 7th inning.
8/17/85
Reggie Jackson hits his 522nd career homer to move past Ted Williams and Willie McCovey into 8th place on the all-time list.
8/17/86
Steve Carlton becomes just the 10th pitcher in major league history to throw 5,000 innings. He also wins his 320th game. He’d finish with 329 wins and 5,217 2/3 innings.
8/17/86
Pete Rose strikes out as a pinch-hitter against Goose Gossage. It’s his final major league appearance.
8/17/87
Paul Molitor’s bunt single extends his hitting streak to 32 games, the longest of the decade. The streak reaches 39 games before it’s finally snapped on August 26th.
8/17/89
Cal Ripken Jr. plays in his 1,208th consecutive game, moving him past Steve Garvey into 3rd place on the all-time list.
8/17/89
Zim gets upset.
Powered by BlueHost
From Jack Morris to Len Barker, here are the wins leaders for every major league…
From Robin Yount to Chili Davis, here are the hits leaders for every major league…
From Mike Schmidt to Carmelo Martinez, here is the home run leader for every major…
An excerpt from Patrick Montgomery's new book, Baseball's Great Expectations: Candid Stories of Ballplayers Who…