Happy Birthday to Ron “Louisiana Lightning” Guidry, who went 25-3 in 1978 with a 1.74 E.R.A. Dude threw nearly 275 innings and had a WHIP of less than 1.00.
Happy Birthday to Sweet Lou, who won Rookie of the Year with the Royals, two rings as a player with the Yankees and another as manager of the Reds.
Happy Birthday to Joel Youngblood, who did something we’ll likely never see again.
Happy Birthday to Mike Torrez, who won 185 games over 18 big league seasons for seven teams.
Happy Birthday to Mark Ryal, who played professionally for 16 years, including six seasons in the big leagues and two years in Japan.
8/28/83
The Braves trade PsTBNL and $150,000 to Cleveland for Len Barker. Atlanta sent Rick Behenna, Brett Butler, and Brook Jacoby to Cleveland to complete the trade.
8/28/84
The Astros trade Ray Knight to the Mets for PsTBNL. New York sent Gerald Young, Manuel Lee, and Mitch Cook to Houston to complete the trade. Knight got a ring.
8/28/85
The Rangers trade Cliff Johnson to the Blue Jays for PsTBNL. Toronto sends Matt Williams (Not that one), Jeff Mays, and Greg Ferlenda to Texas to complete the deal. Cliff hits .274 down the stretch for the Jays.
8/28/89
The Twins trade Jim Dwyer to the Expos for a PTBNL. Montreal sent Alonzo Powell to Minnesota to complete the deal and Dwyer was available in the 7th inning or later for the Twins for the rest of the season.
8/28/81
Tim Laudner makes his big league debut and becomes the second Twins player in four days (Kent Hrbek) to homer in his first game.
Laudner’s shot comes off Dave Rozema in a 6 – 0 win.
8/28/85
Todd Worrell throws 1 2/3 scoreless innings against the Reds in his big league debut.
He wins Rookie of the Year the following season.
8/28/87
Jose Lind makes his big league debut as a defensive replacement for Johnny Ray.
He gets his first start the following day and goes 1-for-3 and spends 9 years in the major leagues.
8/28/89
Jose Cano allows five runs in five innings against the Cubs in his big league debut.
He appears in six games at the major league level but his son, Robinson, has a longer career.
8/28/88
The Phanatic gets on Tommy Lasorda’s last nerve.
8/28/80
Dane Iorg goes 3-5 and drives in 7 in an 11-2 Cardinals win over the Braves
8/28/83
Greg Luzinski joins Ted Williams and Jimmie Foxx as the only players to hit three home runs onto the roof at Comskey Park. That’s pretty select company.
8/28/86
The Orioles steal 7 bases against Oakland, including three double steals, but the A’s win the game 8-7 on Carney Lansford’s walk off triple. Rough day for Mickey Tettleton.
8/28/87
Michael Jack Schmidt hits his 522nd dinger and passes Willie McCovey AND Ted Williams on the all-time list. That’s a helluva day.
8/28/89
Jack Clark homers twice and drives in six in a 9-4 Padres win over Montreal. Clark drove in 23 runs in August.
8/28/89
Von Hayes, Charlie Hates, and Rickey Jordan each double twice while Lenny Dykstra and Dickie Thon also double in a 19-1 Phillies win over the Giants. The Phillies had 12 hits and eight of them were doubles.
8/28/89
Frank Viola and the Mets beat Orel Hershiser and the Dodgers 1-0 in L.A. It’s the first-ever matchup of defending Cy Young winners.
8/28/80
The Expos release Dale Murray. He signs with Toronto and pitches until 1985.
8/28/88
The Pirates release Dave Hostetler and his career is over. A member of the 1978 National Champion USC Trojans, Hostetler looked to be a future start but he could never quite put it together long-term at the big league level. From all accounts, he’s a great dude.
Former umpire Frank Pulli passed away OTD in 2013
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