Happy ’80s Birthday to Bob Shirley, who won 67 games over 11 seasons and got to wear one of the coolest uniforms of the decade.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Alejandro Pena, who turned in his best season in 1984 as a starter for the Dodgers, going 12-6 with a league-leading 2.48 ERA. He moved to the bullpen in 1987 and posted five double-digit saves seasons.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Mike Stanley, who was a 16th round draft pick who spent 15 seasons in the bigs. His best year came in 1993 with the Yankees when he hit .305 with 26 homers and 84 RBI.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Dick Drago, who spent 13 years in the big leagues and finished up with Seattle in 1981.
He also surrendered the 755th, and final homer of Hank Aaron’s career.
Happy Birthday to former Rangers pitcher Dell Curry.
Curry appeared in a minor league game in 1991 as a publicity stunt, but he played baseball at Virginia Tech and was drafted by the Orioles in 1985.
6/25/82
The Cardinals sign Joe Boever as an amateur free agent. He spends 12 years in the major leagues with seven teams.
6/25/83
Kevin Gross beats the Mets 4-2 in his big league debut.
He’d spend fifteen seasons in the major leagues and win 142 games.
6/25/83
Spike Owen goes 1 for 4 with a leadoff single off Jim Gott in his big league debut.
He spends 13 years in the big leagues and hits .366 in the postseason.
6/25/84
Ken Howell throws a scoreless inning of relief in his major league debut for the Dodgers.
He spends seven years in the big leagues with L.A. and Philadelphia. He passed away in 2018. He was just 57.
6/25/85
Sam Khalifa goes 3 for 4 against the Expos in his big league debut.
He’s the first player of Egyptian descent to reach the major leagues.
6/24/88
Brian Holman is tagged with the loss against the Pirates in his big league debut.
Two years later, while pitching for Seattle, he comes one out away from a perfect game against the A’s.
6/25/88
The Angels/Brewers game begins with just two outfielders.
California CF Devon White is in the clubhouse finishing a phone call when the game starts.
He returns to the field after the first pitch and the game is restarted. The Angels win the game 7-3.
6/25/89
Sid Fernandez and the Mets play a nine-inning game without recording an infield assist
Fernandez and Rick Aguilera beat the Phillies 5-1 on 13 strikeouts, 12 flyouts, and two ground balls to first base.
6/25/80
Not a good day if you happen to be a Cleveland pitcher.
The Tigers beat the Indians 13-3 thanks in large part to 14 walks issued by Cleveland pitchers, including five with the bases loaded.
Dan Spillner gets the start for the Tribe and walks six in two and two-thirds
6/25/80
Ray Knight’s first inning grand-slam paces a Reds 15-3 win over Atlanta.
Knight and Ken Griffey combine to go 5-9 with 3 HRs and 9 RBI
6/25/82
Wade Boggs enters the day batting .242. He goes 2 for 4 and hits .361 for the rest of the year to finish his rookie season with a .349 batting average.
6/25/84
Dave Winfield goes 5 for 5 with five singles and 4 RBI in a 7-3 win over Detroit.
Winfield has three five-hit games in June and bats .476 for the month.
6/25/84
Bill Russell plays his 1,953rd game to become the L.A. Dodgers leader in games played. He’ll extend the mark to 2,181 by the time he’s finished. Zack Wheat is the franchise leader with 2,322.
6/25/86
Mark Langston sets a Mariners record with 15 strikeouts in a 6 – 1 three-hitter against the White Sox.
6/25/86
The Mariners release Gorman Thomas. He returns to Milwaukee and plays in 44 games, hits six more dingers, and his career is over.
6/25/88
Bob Ojeda comes up and in to Hawk, which is a bad idea.
6/25/83
The Mariners shake things up by firing manager Rene Lachemann and DFAing Gaylord Perry and Todd Cruz.
Lachemann was just 36 when he took over the Mariners in 1981 and compiled a 140-180 record over parts of three seasons.
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