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Claudell Washington was born OTD in 1954. He spent 17 years in the bigs with seven teams and racked up 1,884 hits, including 164 homers. He passed away in 2020.
Hall of Famer Frank Robinson was born OTD in 1935. Frank won the Rookie of the Year in 1956, and two MVP Awards, including in 1966 when he won the Triple Crown. He later became the first African-American manager in MLB history. He passed away in 2019.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Tom Candiotti, who led the A.L. in complete games in 1986 for Cleveland and spent 16 years in the big leagues.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Bill Nahorodny, who hit his first two home runs off of Balor Moore. The dingers came in two different seasons and Moore was pitching for two different teams.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Jack Perconte, who was a rookie with the Dodgers in 1980. In addition to being denied a postseason berth after a one-game playoff with the Astros that year, he and his wife were nearly taken hostage by a gunman on the way home. That’s a bad week.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Von Hayes, the answer to Who’s on First?
8/31/80
The Expos trade Tony Phillips and cash to the Padres for Willie Montanez. Phillips would be dealt to Oakland the following spring and make his debut in 1982.
8/31/81
The Astros trade PsTBNL and Johnny Ray to the Pirates in exchange for Phil Garner. Houston sends Randy Niemann and Kevin Houston to Pittsburgh to complete the deal. Ray finishes 2nd in the 1982 NL Rookie of the Year balloting to Steve Sax.
8/31/82
The Yankees trade Tommy John to the Angels for a PTBNL. The Angels sent Dennis Rasmussen to the Yankees to complete the deal. California was desperate for pitching and John was desperate to get out of New York.
8/31/83
The Padres trade a PTBNL and Sixto Lezcano to the Phillies for PsTBNL. Philadelphia sends Marty Decker, Ed Wojna, Darren Burroughs, and Lance McCullers with Steve Fireovid going to Philadelphia.
Lezcano hits .282 down the stretch and .308 in the NLCS for the Phillies.
8/31/85
The Pirates trade Bill Madlock to the Dodgers for PsTBNL. L.A. sends R,J, Reynolds, Cecil Espy, and Sid Bream to Pittsburgh to complete the deal.
Mad Dog hits .360 for L.A. down the stretch and .333 in the NLCS.
8/31/87
The Orioles trade Mike Flanagan to the Blue Jays for a PTBNL. Toronto sends Jose Mesa to Baltimore to complete the deal.
8/31/88
The Orioles trade Fred Lynn to the Tigers for PsTBNL and Chris Hoiles. Lynn hits 7 homers in 27 games in Detroit down the stretch.
8/31/88
The Astros trade Denny Walling to the Cardinals for Bob Forsch.
8/31/80
Ed Lynch allows four runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings against the Giants in his big league debut. He spends 8 years in the major leagues and later became General Manager of the Cubs.
8/31/86
Bill Landrum throws 2/3 scoreless against the Cardinals in his big league debut. He spends 8 years in the major leagues and pitches in the postseason twice with the Pirates.
8/31/82
Terry Kennedy drops a ball 325 feet off the Imperial Building in San Diego to Kurt Bevacqua who makes the catch.
8/31/83
During a guest appearance at the Baseball Cathedral known as Riverfront Stadium, The Chicken jams with Frank Pastore, Bruce Berenyi, Jeff Russell, and Ben Hayes.
8/31/87
Minor league catcher Dave Bresnahan pulls “The Great Potato Caper.”
Big Days
8/31/82
Brian Downing homers twice and drive in five in an 11-0 Angels win over the Tigers.
8/31/82
Nolan Ryan takes a no-hitter into the 8th inning against the Mets before steeling for a two-hitter and a 4-0 win.
8/31/84
Dwight Evans homers twice and drives in five in an 8-7 Red Sox win over Cleveland. Dewey just produced.
8/31/84
Tony Pena hits two 3-run bombs to beat the Reds 6-2 at the Baseball Cathedral known as Riverfront Stadium.
8/31/87
Pudge goes 3-for-3 with a homer and 5 RBI in a 5-3 win over the Royals.
8/31/88
Arbitrator George Nicolau finds MLB owners guilty of collusion to destroy free agency for the second time, saying, “There was no vestige of a free market” between the 1986 and 1987 seasons.
8/31/89
Roger Clemens throws a CG and strikes out 13 in a 5-2 win over the Angels.
8/31/89
Arbitrator Thomas Roberts orders MLB owners to pay more than $10.5 million in damages as compensation for free agent collusion in 1985 and 1986. The case centered around Kirk Gibson, Donnie Moore, Carlton Fisk, and Phil and Joe Niekro.
Transactions
8/31/81
The Phillies release Nino Espinosa. He signs with the Blue Jays, appears in one game, and his career is over, scuttled by a shoulder injury.
8/31/81
The Dodgers release Pepe Frias. He returns to Montreal and spends part of 1982 in the minor leagues before his career is over.
8/31/87
The Blue Jays release Phil Niekro. He returns to Atlanta and pitches in one final game before retiring.
Managerial Changes
8/31/81
The Royals fire Jim Frey less than a year after he took them to their first World Series and replace him with Dick Howser.
Deaths
We lost The Franchise OTD in 2020
The real Crash Davis passed away OTD in 2001
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