Happy ’80s Birthday to Spanky LaValliere, who was signed by the Phillies as an undrafted free-agent and spent 12 years behind the plate in the big leagues with the Phillies, Cardinals, Pirates and White Sox.
Happy ‘80s Birthday to Bob James, who was the 9th overall selection in the 1976 draft and saved 32 games for the 1985 White Sox.
Happy ‘80s Birthday to Terry Blocker, who was the 4th overall selection in the 1981 draft and spent parts of three seasons in the bigs with the Mets and Braves.
Happy ‘80s Birthday to Scott Arnold, who appeared in six games for the 1988 Cardinals.
Happy ‘80s Birthday to Marcus Lawton, who led all of baseball with 109 SBs with the Columbia Mets in 1985 and played in 10 games for the 1989 Yankees.
8/18/89
Seeking a leadoff hitter, the Pirates trade Glenn Wilson to Houston for Billy Hatcher. The move allows Jim Leyland to move Barry Bonds down in the order.
8/18/85
The Expos sign Jeff Huson as an amateur free agent. He makes his debut in 1988 and spends 12 years in the bigs.
8/18/87
The Reds sign Tom Hume as a free agent. He appears in 11 games back in Cincinnati and retires with 92 career saves over 11 seasons.
8/18/89
The Orioles sign overall #1 pick Ben McDonald to a three-year deal worth $950,000, the 2nd highest contract ever given to an amateur player. Only Bo got more money.
8/18/81
Steve Sax makes the leap from Double-A and goes 1 for 4 in his big league debut against the Cubs. He wins Rookie of the Year in 1982.
8/18/82
Ron Musselman throws 2/3 of an inning against Detroit in his big league debut. He goes 1-0 in 1982 and returns to the bigs in 1984 with Toronto after being traded for Pat Putnam.
8/18/87
John Farrell throws a scoreless 12th inning and gets the win in his big league debut for Cleveland. He wins five games as a rookie and 14 the following season.
8/18/89
Todd Zeile goes 0 for 1 as a pinch-hitter in his big league debut for the Cardinals in the first game of a doubleheader. He gets the start in game two and goes 2 for 4. He finishes 6th in the Rookie of the Year balloting in 1990 and plays until 2004.
8/18/80
George Brett goes 3 for 3 with a homer and 3 walks to raise his batting average to a cool .406.
8/18/80
Len Barker strikes out 12 and allows just three hits in a 4-2 CG win over the White Sox.
8/18/82
Pete sets yet another MLB record with his 13,941st plate appearance.
8/18/82
Jerry Reuss pitches the final four innings of a suspended game from the day before and picks up the win.
He then starts the regularly scheduled game and gets the win in that one, too.
8/18/82
Pedro Guerrero homers twice and drives in 5 in a 7-4 Dodgers win over the Cubs. Pedro’s emergence allows the Dodgers to part ways with Ron Cey prior to the 1983 season.
8/18/82
Andre Dawson homers twice and drive in 5 in a 12-2 Expos win over the Braves. Hawk goes .301/23/83 in 1982 with 39 SBs.
8/18/82
Jack Clark homers and drives in 6 in a 16-9 Giants win over the Pirates.
8/18/83
The conclusion of “The Pine Tar Game.” Rocco Constantino tells the story.
8/18/84
Gibby becomes the first player in Tigers history to go 20/20. He finishes the season with 27 homers and 29 bags.
8/18/84
Murph goes 5 for 5 with three doubles in an 8-3 win over the Cardinals. From 1982 through 1984, Murph’s average season was .293/36/110 with 20 bags.
8/18/87
Charlie Hough strikes out 13 in a 3-1 CG win over the Royals. The knuckler was working that day.
8/18/87
Larry Herndon homers twice and drives in 5 in an 11-2 Tigers win over Minnesota.
8/18/88
Eric Davis goes 3 for 4 with a homer and 5 RBI in a 9-1 win over the Cubs.
8/18/89
Andre Dawson records his 2,000th hit in a 6-5 loss to the Astros. Imagine if he had good wheels
8/18/89
It’s Johnny Bench night at the Baseball Cathedral known as Riverfront Stadium.
8/18/89
The Yankees fire Dallas Green and replace him with Bucky Effing Dent
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