Happy ’80s Birthday to the iconic Morgana the Kissing Bandit!
The Boss was born on this day in 1930.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Jose Oquendo, who played twelve seasons in the big leagues with the Cardinals and Mets and played all nine positions over the course of his career.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Jim Beattie, who won a ring with the 1978 Yankees, moved on to Seattle, and later serves in multiple front-office roles, including GM of the Expos and Orioles.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Hal Lanier, who spent ten years in the big leagues as a player with the Giants and Yankees and managed the Astros from 1986-1988.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Wayne Nordhagen, who spent eight seasons in the big leagues, primarily with the White Sox.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Johnny Abrego, who was a first-round pick of the Phillies in 1981 and pitched in six games for the 1985 Cubs.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Dan Larson, who pitched in seven seasons and win a ring with the Phillies in 1980.
Chuck Tanner was born OTD in 1928.
He spent eight years in the bigs as a player and another 19 as a manager, including a World Series title with the Pirates in 1979.
7/4/86
The Giants sign Steve Carlton as a free agent.
He appears in six games, notches his 4,000th strikeout, and is released. He then signs with the White Sox.
7/4/89
Kevin Tapani goes four and third in relief of Bob Ojeda in his big league debut for the Mets.
He is traded to Minnesota in July in a deal that sends Frank Viola to New York.
7/4/85
The Braves and Mets play one of the more bizarre games in history, AKA “The Rick Camp Game.”
7/4/80
Nolan Ryan fans Cesar Geronimo to become the youngest pitcher in baseball history to record 3,000 career strikeouts.
7/4/82
65,666 fans pack Denver’s Mile High Stadium to watch the Denver Bears take on the Omaha Royals.
It’s the biggest crowd in minor league baseball history.
7/4/82
Larry Parrish goes 2 for 3 with two homers and 7 RBI in an 11-4 win over the A’s.
7/4/83
Dave Righetti no-hits the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
It’s the first Yankees no-no since Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series.
7/4/84
Jim Rice goes 5 for 6 with a grand slam and 6 RBI as the Red Sox beat the A’s 13-9.
7/4/84
Phil Niekro strikes out Larry Parrish to become the 9th player in history to record 3,000 strikeouts.
7/4/85
Keith Hernandez’s 12-inning single gives him a cycle against the Braves.
The game goes 19 innings with the Mets winning 16-13.
7/4/87
Phil Niekro beats the Tigers and the Niekro brothers pass the Perrys (Gaylord and Jim) with 530 combined victories.
7/4/88
Mark McGwire’s 16th-inning homer gives the A’s a 4-2 win over Cleveland.
It’s the second day in a row in which Big Mac hits a 16th-inning game-winning homer.
That’s tough to do.
7/4/89
Tom Browning takes a perfect game into the 9th inning against the Phillies before it’s broken up by Dickie Thon.
It would have been his second perfecto.
7/4/86
The Yankees release Ozzie Canseco. He signs with the A’s and makes his big league debut in 1990.
7/4/87
The St. Louis Cardinals release Tito Landrum. He signs with the Dodgers, then finishes his career in 1988 with the Orioles.
7/4/87
The Royals release Bob Shirley. He signs with the Yankees but doesn’t appear in a game, then spends 1988 in Triple-A with the Blue Jays before retiring.
7/4/88
The Royals release Gene Garber and Dan Quisenberry, who combined for 458 career saves to that point. Garber retires, but Quis signs with the Cardinals ten days later.
7/4/80
Bill Gullickson comes up and in and Mike Jorgensen takes exception.
7/4/88
Lee Weyer umps the Cubs/Giants game and is staying with a friend when he suffers a massive heart attack and passes away.
He was just 51.
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