Happy ’80s Birthday to Charles Hudson who was convinced by a teacher to go to college and was eventually drafted by the Phillies in 1981.
He made his debut two years later and started two games in the 1983 World Series against Baltimore.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Juan Espino, who played in parts of four seasons for the Yankees between 1982 and 1986.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Dan Duran, who appeared in 13 games for the 1981 Rangers.
3/16/82
The Expos trade Dan Briggs to the Cubs for a PTBNL. Chicago sends Mike Griffin to Montreal to complete the deal. Briggs appears in 48 games for the Cubs before playing in Japan in 1983. Griffin spends part of the year in Triple-A and is then sent to San Diego as the PTBNL in another deal.
3/16/85
The Dodgers sign 18-year-old pitcher Juan Guzman out of the Dominican Republic. He’s later dealt to Toronto for outfielder Mike Sharperson.
3/16/87
The Reds sign 17-year-old Rosario Rodriguez as an amateur free agent. He makes his big league debut in 1989, makes 9 appearances for the World Champion 1990 Reds before finishing his major league career with the Pirates in 1991.
3/16/80
The Yankees play the Orioles in an exhibition game in the Louisiana Superdome and Ron Guidry allows five runs and six hits in three innings, prompting George Steinbrenner to say, “Guidry’s poor performance today will affect his contract negotiations.”
3/16/81
The Giants face the Mariners in a spring training game. It’s the first time in major league history that two teams with African-American managers (Frank Robinson and Maury Wills) have played each other.
3/16/85
In his first start of the spring, 42-year-old Tony Perez goes 4 for 4 with a home run. He’d hit .328 in 1985 in limited duty.
3/16/85
A Tampa jury finds 1968 Cy Young winner Denny McLain guilty of racketeering, extortion, and cocaine possession. He’ll serve 29 months of a 23-year sentence before an appeals court overturns the decision.
3/16/89
Members of the Cubs groundskeepers go on strike and laborers building skyboxes honor the strike. The groundskeepers claim the team was trying to cut their salaries nearly in half and wouldn’t schedule talks because “they were busy giving millions of dollars to the players.”
3/16/84
The Mets release Mickey Mahler. He signs with the Cardinals the following day and is sent to Montreal in 1985 in a deal that sends Tom Lawless to St. Louis.
Eric Show passed away on this day in 1994 from a drug overdose. He became well-known for surrendering Pete’s 4,192nd hit but he also won 15 or more games three different times. He was just 37-years-old.
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