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Happy ’80s Birthday to My Mom!
Here she is with my boys at Opening Day 2012 at Wrigley Field. It was a bit brisk.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Dwayne Murphy, who was part of a very talented A’s outfield that included Tony Armas, Mitchell Page, and young speedster named Rickey Henderson.
Charley Pride was born OTD in 1934. Charlie pitched in the Negro Leagues, sang the National Anthem at Game 6 of the 1980 World Series, and sold a crap-load of albums. He passed away in 2020.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Al Olmsted, a screwballing lefty who nearly cost the Phillies the NL East title in 1980. Very interesting read here about him.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Geronimo Berroa, who made his debut with the 1989 Braves and played until 2000, including a 1997 playoff appearance with Baltimore
Happy ’80s Birthday to Rickey Keeton, who was a 3rd round draft pick out of Western Hills HS in Cincinnati and pitched for the Brewers in 1980 and ’81. Other Western Hills alums include Don Zimmer, Jim Frey, Ed Brinkman, and Pete Rose.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Matt Winters, who spent 11 years in the minor leagues before finally getting a shot in the bigs and then doubled in his first at-bat. He later played in Japan for five seasons
Happy ’80s Birthday to Brian Fisher, who was a 2nd-round draft pick in 1980 and won 36 games over seven years with multiple teams between 1985 and 1992.
3/18/81
The White Sox sign Carlton Fisk as a free agent. He plays the final 13 years of his career in Chicago and winds up in the Hall of Fame.
3/18/82
The Twins sign Alvaro Espinoza as a free agent. He makes his big league debut in 1984 and spends parts of 12 seasons in The Show.
Big Days
3/18/82
Tommy Lasorda appears on the short-lived but outstanding show, Police Squad.
3/18/85
Peter Ueberroth reinstates Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, who had been suspended by Bowie Kuhn for working with casinos.
Transactions
3/18/86
The Tigers release Doug Flynn and his career is over. He spends 11 years in the big leagues and wins two rings with the Reds.
3/18/88
The Twins release Sal Butera. He hooks on with Toronto and plays in 23 games in the majors in 1988 and spends all of 1989 in the minor leagues before retiring.
Fights
3/18/89
The Mets and Blue Jays have a big dust up. Ron Darling hits Jesse Barfield with a pitch and Barfield approached the mound before being restrained. Things escalated when Jeff Musselman hit Darryl Strawberry with a pitch. Straw charged the mound before being tackled and later had words with Kelly Gruber.
Injuries
3/18/83
The Cubs shut down Bill Buckner for the remainder of the spring after he is diagnosed with a circulatory disorder that causes numbness in his right hand. The numbness is so severe that once the season starts he hits .280 and leads the NL in doubles.
Deaths
We lost renowned hitting coach Charley Lau OTD in 1984. He was just 50 years old.
We lost Furman Bisher OTD in 2012. He was a long-time Atlanta writer and a member of multiple Halls of Fame. Dude was an institution.
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