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March 1st

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Harry Caray Budweiser advertisement

Harry was born on this day in 1914.

Johnny Ray 1984 baseball card

Happy ’80s Birthday to 1982 NL Rookie of the Year runner up Johnny Ray. Johnny spent 10 years in the bigs with the Pirates and the Angels and hit everywhere he went. He led the N.L. in doubles in 1983 and a984 and finished his career with a .290 batting average.

Bing Devine

Former Cardinals and Mets GM Bing Devine was born OTD in 1916

Happy ’80s Birthday to Bob Davis, who was the Padres Opening Day catcher in 1973 and spent 8 years in the big leagues, retiring after the 1981 season. 

Mark Gardner 1990 Donruss Baseball Card

Happy ’80s Birthday to Mark Gardner, who made his debut with the Expos in 1989 and pitched in the big leagues for 13 years. 

Ed Figueroa 1981 Topps Baseball Card

3/1/81

The Rangers sign Ed Figueroa as a free agent. 

He’s released in May and signs with Oakland where he finishes his career. 

Kiko Garcia 1983 Topps Update baseball card

3/1/83

The Phillies sign Kiko Garcia as a free agent. 

He spends his final three seasons in Philadelphia and retires after the 1985 season. 

Bill Nahorodny 1983 Fleer Baseball Card

3/1/83

The Tigers sign Bill Nahorodny as a free agent. 

He spends most of the year in Triple-A but does appear in two games at the big league level. 

Scott Loucks 1985 minor league baseball card

3/1/85

The Pirates sign Scott Loucks as a free agent. 

He splits the year between Triple-A Hawaii and Pittsburgh and retires.

Matt Keough 1985 baseball card

3/1/86

The Cubs sign Matt Keough as a free agent. 

He goes 5-4 for Chicago and Houston and spends the next four years in Japan.

Lenn Sakata 1986 minor league baseball card

3/1/86

The A’s sign Lenn Sakata as a free agent. 

He appears in 17 games at the big league level and plays for the Yankees in 1987 before retiring. 

Domingo Ramos 1988 Fleer baseball card

3/1/88

The Indians sign Domingo Ramos as a free agent. 

He spends two years in Cleveland, then finishes his career with two years in Chicago with the Cubs.

Duane Walker 1988 minor league baseball card

3/1/88

The Cardinals sign Duane Walker as a free agent. 

He hits .182 in the final year of his career. 

Mark Huismann minor league baseball card

3/1/89

The Orioles sign Mark Huismann as a free agent. 

He spends one year in Baltimore, then finishes his career with two years in Pittsburgh. 

George Brett Hockey

3/1/81

The Miracle on Ice TV movie airs. During production, George Brett was shooting a commercial nearby and was invited to make a cameo as a player on Team Sweden but he didn’t make the final cut. 

Charlie Kerfeld 1987 contract

3/1/87

Charlie Kerfeld and the Astros agree to a contract that calls for the relief pitcher to make $110,037.37 and 37 boxes of orange Jell-O.  

Houston offered Kerfeld $110,000 and he said no. They came back with $110,500 and Kerfeld negotiated backward to pick up some extra Jell-O for clubhouse pranks.  

Transactions

Jim Kern 1983 Topps baseball card

3/1/84

The White Sox release Jim Kern. 

He splits the year between Philadelphia and Milwaukee, going 1-1 in 18 games. 

Deaths

Minnie Minoso 1978 baseball card

We lost Minnie Minoso on this day in 2015. He made his final appearance in a Major League game on October 5th, 1980 making him the second player to appear in five different decades.

We lost Jeff McKnight OTD in 2015. 

Jeff spent six years in the big leagues and passed away from leukemia. He was just 52.  

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