Happy ’80s Birthday to Sammy Khalifa, who was the first in a long line of Pirates shortstops of Egyptian descent.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Scott Munninghoff, who was the Phillies first-round pick in 1977 and also tripled in his one and only at-bat.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Gary Roenicke, who was a productive part of the Orioles outfield rotation in the early ’80s and once hit a grand slam against the Yankees that won a fan $1 million in a contest sponsored by a bank.
Bill Swaggerty, who won four games for the Orioles over four yeas and earned a ring in 1983.
Dave Hudgens, who played in six games for the A’s in 1983. His lone big-league hit was an infield single off Dave Stieb. After retiring, Dave was a long-time coach.
German Jimenez, who was signed out of Mexico by the Braves in 1988 and went 1-6 for Atlanta that year before winning 11 games in double-A in 1989.
Gene Harris, who made his debut with the Expos in 1989 and sent to Seattle, along with Randy Johnson in exchange for Mark Langston. Gene spent seven years in the bigs with six teams.
12/5/83
The Phillies trade Ron Reed to the White Sox for a PTBNL. Chicago sends Jerry Koosman to Philadelphia to complete the deal. Reed goes 0-6 in Chicago, while Koosman wins 14 for the Phillies in 1984.
12/5/83
The Phillies trade Tony Perez back to the Reds for a PTBNL. Two years later, Doggie becomes the oldest player in history to hit a grand slam. The homer comes against the Phillies.
12/5/84
The A’s trade Rickey Henderson to the Yankees Rickey leads the American League in runs scored and stolen bases in his first two seasons in New York.
12/5/84
The Yankees trade Rick Cerone to Atlanta for Brian Fisher. Cerone spends one season in Atlanta and is traded to Milwaukee for Ted Simmons.
12/5/87
The Angels trade Gary Pettis to the Tigers for Dan Petry. Pettis swipes 44 bases and wins another Gold Glove for Detroit, while Petry wins six games over two seasons in California and returns to Detroit as a free agent.
12/5/88
The Yankees trade Bob Meacham to the Rangers for Bob Brower.
12/5/88
The Cubs acquire Mitch Williams, Curtis Wilkerson, Paul Kilgus, and Steve Wilson, and a pair of minor leaguers from the Rangers. Unfortunately, they sent Rafael Palmeiro, P Jamie Moyer and P Drew Hall to Texas to get them.
12/5/84
The Rangers sign Cliff Johnson as a free agent. Johnson plays in 82 games for the Rangers before being dealt back to Toronto.
12/5/89
The Tigers sign Tony Phillips as a free agent. He spends five years in Detroit and leads the A.L. in runs scored (114) in 1992 and and walks (132) in 1993.
12/5/89
The Royals sign Richard Dotson as a free agent. He throws just 28 2/3 innings and his career is over.
12/5/89
It’s the day of the annual photo of all the managers at the Winter Meetings and superstition reigns. The previous four seasons, a manager seated next to Tommy Lasorda has lost his job the following year. To minimize the damage, Lasorda is seated at the end of a row with Atlanta skipper Russ Nixon to his left. Nixon is fired in June of 1990.
12/5/88
Harold Baines wins the Most Outstanding Designated Hitter Award for the second consecutive season. Baines hits .277 with 13 homers and 81 RBI.
12/5/83
The Blue Jays select Kelly Gruber in the Rule 5 Draft, who had hit .263 for the Indians Double-A club in Buffalo in 1983. He wins a ring with the Jays.
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