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Oscar Gamble was born on this day and that’s pretty much all I have to say.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Paul Moskau. Not a lot of guys could pull off this look, but Paul did it with relative ease. Wind blowing the jacket open just enough…Distant gaze… it’s all there.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Cecil Cooper, who hit .352 in 1980 and lost the batting title by nearly 40 points. That sucks.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Jim Norris, who spent four years in the big leagues with Cleveland and Texas.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Mike Hart, who played in five games for the Rangers in 1980 and later managed in the minor leagues.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Bill Laskey, who won 13 games in each of his first two seasons with the Giants and 42 overall.
Jose DeLeon was born OTD in 1960. He won 80 games over 13 seasons in the big leagues for multiple teams. Jose passed away in 2024.
12/20/83
The Kansas City Royals trade Willie Aikens to the Toronto Blue Jays for Jorge Orta. Aikens spends his final two years in the big leagues in Toronto and his career is over. Orta helps Kansas City win a World Series in 1985.
12/20/83
The California Angels traded Bobby Clark to the Milwaukee Brewers for Jim Slaton.
12/20/83
The Montreal Expos traded Pat Rooney to the New York Yankees for Tim Burke. It was one of many questionable deals made by the Yankees in the 1980s.
12/20/84
The Yankees trade Tim Foli, Steve Kemp and cash to the Pirates for Dale Berra, Jay Buhner and Alfonso Pulido. Frank Costanza is thrilled.
12/20/89
The Dodgers trade Mike Marshall and Alejandro Pena to the New York Mets for Juan Samuel.
12/20/82
The Braves sign Pete Falcone as a free agent. He goes 14-11 over two seasons in Atlanta and retires.
12/20/83
The Giants sign Manny Trillo as a free agent. He spends two years in San Francisco and returns to the Cubs in 1986.
Big Days
12/20/80
Teams have until end of day to extend contract offers to certain players, but the Red Sox spit the bit and miss the deadline. This error allows Carlton Fisk and Fred Lynn to be eligible for free agency. Lynn is eventually dealt to the Angels and Fisk goes to Chicago. Nothing like losing two All-Stars who combined to get you 2,041 hits and 286 dingers in one day.
12/20/84
Mets manager Davey Johnson collects four hits, drives in three, and scores three to earn MVP honors as the U.S. Legends team beats the Japan Legends team 15-10 in Hawaii.
“We’re never going to hear the end of this,” says Mets coach Mel Stottlemyre.
Transactions
12/20/85
The Rangers release Dickie Noles. He signs with Cleveland for 1986 where he wins three games.
12/20/85
The Rangers release Ellis Valentine and his career is over. He finishes with 123 homers and 474 RBI over ten years.
12/20/85
The A’s release Mike Warren and his major league career is over. He wins nine games over three seasons, including a no-hitter in 1983.
12/20/85
The Tigers release Milt Wilcox. He signs with Seattle and goes 0-8 in 1986 before retiring.
12/20/85
The Angels release Geoff Zahn and his career is over. He finishes with 111 wins.
12/20/89
The Angels release Mark Clear. He returns to the Angels for 1990 and retires.
12/20/89
The Tigers release Willie Hernandez and his major league career is over. He finishes with 147 saves, an MVP, a Cy Young, and a ring.
12/20/89
The Red Sox release Sam Horn. He signs with the Orioles and plays for multiple teams until 1995.
12/20/89
The Red Sox release Bob Stanley and his career is over. He finishes with 115 wins and 132 saves.
Deaths
We lost Joe DeSa in a car accident OTD in 1986. He was just 27 years old.
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