Happy ’80s Birthday to Randy Jones, who finished 2nd in the Cy Young balloting in 1975 and won it in 1976. He went 42-26 over those two seasons with an E.R.A. of 2.50 in 600.1 innings. He also kicked Cancer’s ass and is still going strong.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Bill Madlock, who won four batting titles. From 1973 through 1983, he hit .317 in 1,340 games.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Mike Marshall, who broke in with the Dodgers in 1981 and spent 11 seasons in the bigs.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Terry Whitfield, who was part of a very strong 1971 draft class and spent 10 years in the bigs. He turned in his best seasons with the Giants, hitting a combined .289 from 1977 through 1980.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Chuck Porter, who was the A.C.C. Player of the Year at Clemson in 1976 and pitched for the Brewers for five years and won 13 games.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Juan Bonilla, who finished 4th in the N.L. Rookie of the Year balloting in 1981 and spent six years in the bigs with the Padres, Yankees, and Orioles.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Casey Candaele, whose mother played in the AAGPBL. Casey spent nine years in the bigs with Houston, Montreal, and Cleveland and finished 4th in the N.L. Rookie of the Year balloting in 1987.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Mike Trujillo, who pitched in the bigs for five years and won 12 games while recording three saves.
Rod Craig was born OTD in 1958. He made his big-league debut in 1979 and played parts of four years in the majors with Seattle, Cleveland, and the White Sox. He was killed in 2013.
1/12/81
The Braves sign free agent pitcher Gaylord Perry to a one-year deal worth $300,000. Perry is just 11 wins shy of 300 but he falls short in 1981 thanks, in large part to the strike, and wins his 300th game in 1982 with the Mariners.
1/12/89
The Angels sign Bob McClure as a free agent. He goes 8-1 over two-plus years and catches on with the Cardinals in 1991.
1/12/83
Juan Marichal and Brooks Robinson are elected to the Hall of Fame.
1/12/88
Pops is elected to the Hall of Fame We miss Pops
1/12/94
Steven Norman Carlton, he of the four Cy Young Awards and 329 career wins, is elected to the Hall of Fame.
1/12/2009
The Hall opens its doors to Rickey and Jim Rice
1/12/81
The Reds DFA Cesar Geronimo. They trade him to the Royals nine days later and finishes his career in Kansas City.
1/12/82
The Minnesota Twins have the 3rd pick in the January draft and use it to select an outfielder from Triton College named Kirby Puckett. Here is the amazing story of how he got to the big leagues.
1/12/82
The Angels release Larry Harlow and his major league career is over, though he does play a year in Japan and parts of two seasons in the minor leagues once he gets back to the U.S. He also played in the Senior League.
1/12/82
The Royals select Danny Jackson in the 1st round (1st pick) of the secondary phase of the January draft.
1/12/82
The Pirates select Benny Distefano in the 2nd round of the secondary phase of the January draft. He is the most recent left-handed catcher in the major leagues.
1/12/82
The White Sox select John Cangelosi in the 4th round of the January draft.
1/12/83
The Brewers release Larry Hisle and name him a special instructor in their development program.
1/12/88
The Brewers release Cecil Cooper and his career is over. He finishes with a .298 batting average, 241 homers, and more than 2,000 hits.
We lost Keith Jackson OTD in 2018
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