Happy ’80s Birthday to Larvell “Sugar Bear” Blanks, who spent nine years in the bigs and wrapped up his career in 1980 with the Rangers.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Stu Pederson, who appeared in eight games for the 1985 Dodgers. His son, Joc, has had a nice career.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Gary Mielke, who spent three years in the bigs with the Rangers between 1987 and 1990 and later served as a minor-league pitching coach
Joe Beckwith was born OTD in 1955. He made his debut with the Dodgers in 1979 and went 3-3 out of the bullpen in 1980 but missed the entire 1981 season due to blurred vision that forced two surgeries. He won 18 games over seven seasons in the bigs. Joe passed away in 2021.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Bill White, who spent 13 years in the big leagues as a player and later served as President of the National League.
1/28/82
The Orioles trade Doug DeCinces and Jeff Schneider to the Angels for “Disco” Dan Ford. The move frees up 3B for some hotshot prospect. I can’t remember what happened to that kid.
1/28/81
The Twins sign Butch Wynegar to a multi-year, million-dollar contract, saying they hoped the fans of Minnesota would take it as an act of good faith. Sixteen months later, the Twins have moved into a new ballpark and traded away many of their best players, including Wynegar.
1/28/82
The A’s sign Danny Goodwin as a free agent. Goodwin is the only player to be selected 1/1 in two different drafts. Here’s his story.
1/28/82
The Phillies sign Ed Farmer as a free agent. He is one of seven Phillies pitchers to record at least two saves in 1982. Philadelphia releases him in August of 1983, and he signs with Oakland.
1/28/83
The Yankees sign Rudy May to a two-year contract extension. May was selected by the White Sox as a free agent compensation pick, but his agent argued that the no-trade clause in his contract meant the Yankees should have protected him from the draft. It turns out to be his final major league season.
1/28/86
Darrell Porter signs a one-year deal with the Rangers to serve as Don Slaught’s backup. He spends the final two seasons of his career in Texas before retiring.
1/28/86
The Orioles sign Juan Beniquez as a free agent. He hits .300 in 113 games and is traded to Kansas City in November.
1/28/86
The Padres sign Dane Iorg as a free agent. He spends his final big-league season with the Pads and retires.
1/28/88
The Giants sign Phil Garner as a free agent. He plays in just 32 games between the big leagues and Triple-A.
1/28/80
Hank Aaron refuses to accept an award from Bowie Kuhn commemorating Aaron’s 715th homer. Aaron charges that baseball’s treatment of retired black players was inadequate and cited the lack of retired black players in front office, coaching, and managerial positions.
1/28/85
Crews begin tearing down Metropolitan Stadium in Minnesota.
The ballpark served as the home of the Twins from 1956 through 1981 before being replaced by the Metrodome.
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