August 23rd in 1980s Baseball.

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Happy Birthday to Julio Franco, who was a much-heralded rookie when he made his debut with the Phillies in 1982. That offseason he was dealt to the Indians in the infamous Von Hayes deal and finished 2nd in the Rookie of the Year balloting. Julio’s first hit came off of Bob Forsch and his final hit came off Lee Gardner 25 years later. He was a teammate of Pete Rose and played against Miguel Cabrera.

Happy Birthday to Mike Boddicker, who made his debut on the next to last day of 1980, pitching seven and a third innings against Cleveland. He joined the Orioles rotation in 1983 and dazzled, winning the ALCS MVP award. The next year, he won 20 games and led the A.L. with a 2.79 E.R.A, finishing 4th in the Cy Young balloting.

Happy Birthday to Tony Ghelfi, who appeared in three games for the 1983 Phillies and went 1-1.

Happy Birthday to Jerry White, who spent 11 years in the big leagues and also played in the Senior League before moving into coaching.

Happy Birthday to Ed Hearn, who made his debut with the 1986 Mets and won a ring before being dealt to Kansas City prior to the 1987 season. Ed suffered a career-ending shoulder injury and his major league career was over after 1988.

Happy Birthday to Randy St. Claire, who won 12 games over nine seasons with multiple teams and also served as a pitching coach for the Nationals and Marlins.

8/23/82

The Reds trade Jim Kern to the White Sox for PsTBNL. Chicago sends Wade Rowden and Leo Garcia to Cincinnati to complete the deal. Kern wanted out of Cincinnati and decided to grow a beard to speed up the process.

8/23/85

Andres Galarraga goes 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter in his big league debut.

He collects his first hit the following day and spends 19 seasons in the major leagues.

8/23/89

Expos pitchers walk no one in 22 innings of work and lose 1-0 to the Dodgers. Rick Dempsey’s homer off Dennis Martinez in the 22nd inning wins it. Umpires also run Youppi. Just another day at the yard. Lots to love for stat geeks in this one. Alfredo Griffin goes 0-for-9, while his teammate Lenny Harris went 5-for-9. The Dodgers scored one run on 20 hits and a relief pitcher for each team threw six scoreless innings.

Big Days

8/23/80

Saying, “I have to leave baseball because of these idiotic, astronomical salaries…” Charlie Finley sells the A’s.

8/23/80

Joe Niekro drives home Enos Cabell in the bottom of the 17th to give the Astros a 1-0 win over the Cubs.

8/23/82

Gaylord Perry is ejected from the game for applying a foreign substance to the ball. It’s the first time he’s ever been ejected for doctoring a baseball.

8/23/83

Rickey steals four bases against the Yankees because Rickey. The four bags give him 87 on the season.

8/23/83

Amos Otis records his 2,000th career hit, a 6th-inning single off Guy Hoffman in a 10 – 2 win over the White Sox.

8/23/85

Joaquin Andujar becomes the season’s first 20-game winner, beating the Braves 6 – 2. He’s the first N.L. pitcher to post consecutive 20-win seasons since Joe Niekro in 1979-1980.