Happy ’80s Birthday to Goose Gossage!
He may be a bit crotchety but I still love him. The game was basically over once you saw him come in and the mustache was on point.
SARGE!
Happy ’80s Birthday to Gary Matthews.
Rookie of the Year – Check
All-Star – Check
Post-season glory – Check
Badass – Check
Happy ’80s Birthday to Dave Eiland, who allowed a homer to the first batter he faced (Paul Molitor) and homered in his first at-bat.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Jeff Innis, who spent seven years with the Mets from 1987 through 1993 and had a brother, Brian, who pitched in the Dodgers system.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Rick Lancellotti, who spent parts of three seasons in the big with the Giants, Padres, and Red Sox.
7/5/87
The Padres trade pitchers Dave Dravecky and Craig Lefferts and OF Kevin Mitchell to the Giants for 3B Chris Brown and pitchers Keith Comstock, Mark Davis, and Mark Grant.
That doesn’t really work out for the Pads.
7/5/88
The Giants sign Lary Sorensen as a free agent.
He appears in twelve games and retires at the end of the season.
7/5/89
The Tigers sign Jose Lima as an amateur free agent. He makes his debut in 1994 and wins 21 games for the Astros in 1999.
7/5/80
Bruce Berenyi makes his major league debut and it doesn’t go well.
He lasts just a third of an inning and allows 6 runs against the Astros . Berenyi is replaced by Mario Soto, who throws 8 2/3 innings of shutout baseball and the Reds rally to win the game 8-6.
7/5/87
Jeff Blauser goes 0 for 1 in his big league debut for the Braves.
He spends thirteen years in the big leagues, makes two All-Star teams, wins a Silver Slugger, and a collects a ring in 1995.
7/5/87
Greg Cadaret walks Wade Boggs as a LOOGY (Lefty one out guy) in his big league debut.
He spends ten years in the bigs leagues and wins 38 games.
7/5/89
Paul O’Neill holds Phillies SS Steve Jeltz at 3rd with his feet.
7/5/80
Mario Soto comes on in relief of Bruce Berenyi and throws 8 2/3 scoreless innings and the Reds beat the Astros 8-6.
7/5/84
The Tigers trail the Rangers 4 – 1 with two outs in the 9th inning, then score six runs to win it 7 – 4.
Lou Whitaker’s bases-loaded single scores two, Alan Trammell’s single scores another, and Kirk Gibson seals it with a three-run shot.
7/5/86
Ken Schrom gives up four homers, including two to Jorge Orta, and still gets the CG win in a 10-5 final against the Royals.
7/5/87
The White Sox administer a beatdown to the Indians at Municipal Stadium.
Chicago bangs out 21 hits and wins 17-0. Every Sox player records at least one hit, including Darryl Boston, who entered the game as a pinch-runner.
Ken Williams hits a 3-run homer.
7/5/87
Mark McGwire becomes the first rookie to hit 30 homers before the All-Star Game as Oakland defeats the Red Sox, 6-2.
He’d finish the season with 49 dingers.
7/5/89
Barry Bonds homers against the Giants. The dinger gives Barry and his father, Bobby, 408 career homers, which surpasses Gus and Buddy Bell for most of any father-son combination.
They’d finish with 1,094 and I don’t think anyone is touching that.
Powered by BlueHost
An excerpt from Patrick Montgomery's new book, Baseball's Great Expectations: Candid Stories of Ballplayers Who…
An excerpt from Eric Vickrey's new book about the 1982 St. Louis Cardinals
An open letter to MLB Network and YOUTUBE TV about their stubbornness.
Nearly half of the players in MLB history to reach 3,000 hits played in the…
A breakdown of the men who managed the Cincinnati Reds in the 1980s