Happy ’80s Birthday to Carney Lansford. Dude could hit. He spent 15 years in the bigs and you could pencil him in to very quietly hit .290 with double-digit homers, 70 RBI and a fantastic mustache every year.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Benny Ayala, who spent 10 years in the bigs and faced lefties in 86% of his career plate appearances.
Happy ’80s Birthday to the late Dan Quisenberry. Submarine pitcher and deliverer of bon mots.
“The future is much like the present, only longer” -Quis
A very special HAPPY ’80s Birthday to Burt “Happy” Hooton who won 151 games over 15 seasons in Los Angeles, Chicago and Texas.
Damaso Garcia was born OTD in 1957. Drafted by the Yankees, Garcia was dealt to the Blue Jays after the 1979 season and finished 4th in the 1980 A.L. Rookie of the Year balloting. He passed away in 2020.
The Pope, Paul Owens, was born OTD in 1924. Baseball lifer.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Charlie Puleo, who pitched in the big leagues for eight years with the Braves, Reds, and Mets.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Ralph Citarella, who was the Cardinals starting pitcher on June 23, 1984 at Wrigley Field, AKA “The Sandberg Game.”
Happy ’80s Birthday to Carlos Ponce, who appeared in 21 games for the 1985 Milwaukee Brewers.
2/7/83
The Cubs trade Butch Benton to the Montreal Expos for Jerry Manuel.
2/7/81
The Reds sign Bill Landrum as a free agent. He makes his big leagues debut five years later and wins 18 games for the Reds, Cubs, Pirates, and Expos.
2/7/83
The Indians sign Otto Velez as a free agent. He plays in 10 games and his career is over.
2/7/83
The Giants front office realizes they have a total of zero players on the roster who had gotten hits in different cities in the same day and sign Joel Youngblood as a free agent.
2/7/84
The Rangers sign Jim Bibby as a free agent. He appears in eight games and is released. He signs with the Cardinals and makes two appearances in Triple-A and his career is over.
2/7/84
The Orioles sign Tom Underwood as a free agent. He goes 1-0 in 37 games and spends 1985 in the minor leagues before retiring.
2/7/85
The Royals sign Pat Putnam as a free agent. He spends the entire season in the minor leagues and his career is over.
Upon his retirement, he is the all-time home run leader among players whose first and last names begin with the letter P. He’s since been passed by Phil Plantier and Placido Polanco.
2/7/86
The Giants sign Rick Lancellotti as a free agent. He hits .222 in 15 games and finishes his big league career in 1990 with the Red Sox.
2/7/86
The Tigers sign Jack Lazorko as a free agent. He appears in three games at the major league level and then spends two years with the Angels before his career is over.
2/7/89
The Astros sign Ron Washington as a free agent. He plays just seven games at the major league level and spends 1990 in the minor leagues before beginning a coaching career.
2/7/96
Dave Winfield announces his retirement after 22 years, 3,110 hits, 465 dingers, and a ring.
2/7/99
El Presidente announces his retirement. Dennis Martinez won 245 games over 23 years years and threw a perfect game
We lost Frank Robinson OTD in 2019.
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