The Big Bopper was born OTD in 1943. Lee May spent 18 years raking for the Reds, Astros, Orioles, and Royals. He retired in 1982 and passed away in 2017.
Bo Diaz was born on this day in 1953. A two-time all-star, Diaz spent 13 seasons in the bigs with the Indians, Phillies, Reds and Red Sox. He was killed in an accident at his home in 1990.
Ron Johnson was born OTD in 1956. He appeared in 22 games over three seasons with the Royals and Expos and spent nearly 30 years as a minor league coach or manager. Ron passed away in 2021.
3/23/82
The Braves trade Eddie Miller to the Tigers for Roger Weaver. Miller appears in 14 games at the major league level and Weaver spends the year in Triple-A
3/23/88
The A’s trade Rod Beck to the Giants for Charlie Corbell. Shooter throws 177 innings in the Midwest League in his age 19 season.
3/23/89
The Tigers trade Tom Brookens to the Yankees for Charles Hudson. Hudson goes 1-5 in Detroit and his career is over.
3/23/89
The Tigers trade Luis Salazar to the Padres for Mike Brumley.
3/23/89
The Tigers trade Eric King to the White Sox for Ken Williams. King wins 21 games over the next two seasons in Chicago and Williams eventually becomes the GM of the White Sox.
3/23/85
The White Sox sign Oscar Gamble as a free agent. He appears in 70 games and retires. Over 17 years, Gamble hits .265 with 200 homers.
3/23/86
The Orioles sign Mike Kinnunen as a free agent. He appears in 9 games at the bog league level and another 18 games in 1987.
3/23/88
The Tigers sign Mark Huismann as a free agent. He goes 1-0 in 5 games at the big league level.
3/23/82
19-year-old Dodgers prospect Sid Fernandez faces the big club in an intrasquad scrimmage. He doesn’t allow a hit in two and two-thirds but walks seven and hits two. It takes him 73 pitches. He’d begin the year at Single-A Vero Beach and end it at Triple-A Albuquerque.
3/23/82
Fernando Valenzuela ends his holdout and reports to Dodgers camp. Fernando had been seeking a multi-million dollar deal from L.A. but he settles for $360,000 for 1982.
3/23/81
The Giants purchase Billy Smith from the Phillies. He appears in 36 games for the Giants as Joe Morgan’s backup and retires.
3/23/82
The Braves release Brian Asselstine. He signs with the Giants and appears in 116 games for Triple-A Phoenix in 1983 and his career is over.
3/23/83
The Angels release Mick Kelleher. He signs with the Padres and spends the year in Triple-A before retiring.
3/23/84
The Mariners release Manny Castillo. He signs with Toronto and spends the year in Triple-A before playing in Mexico.
3/23/84
The Mariners release Ron Roenicke. He signs with the Padres and spends most of the year in the minor leagues but he does hit .300 in 12 games at the big league level.
3/23/84
The Mariners release Rick Sweet and his playing career is over. He becomes Seattle’s bullpen catcher and has spent many years as a minor league manager.
3/23/86
The Padres release Roy Lee Jackson. He signs with the Twins and goes 0-1 in 28 games before finishing his career in the minor leagues.
3/23/87
The White Sox release Julio Cruz. He signs with the Dodgers and appears in 30 games in the minor leagues but he’ never plays in the big leagues again.
3/23/87
The Tigers release Brian Harper. He spends the year in Oakland and then signs with the Twins where he wins a World Series in 1991.
3/23/87
The Indians release Kurt Kepshire. He signs with the Expos and pitches in the minor leagues for two years.
3/23/87
The Indians release Dennis Lamp. He signs with the A’s and goes 1-3 in limited action before moving on to Boston and finishing his career in 1992 with Pittsburgh.
3/23/87
The Cubs release Mike Martin and his career is over. He appeared in 8 games for the 1986 Cubs and caught the major league debut of a kid named Greg Maddux.
3/23/88
The Orioles release Jackie Gutierrez. He signs with the Phillies and appears in 33 games where he hits .247.
3/23/89
The Phillies release Ricky Trlicek. He signs with the Braves and makes his big league debut in 1992 for Toronto.
3/23/86
Reds catcher Dave Van Gorder breaks his wrist on a play at the plate. Van Gorder was to be the backup to Bo Diaz but appears in just 9 games at the major league level in 1986.
3/23/89
Dave Winfield has surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back and misses the entire 1989 season. He returns to the Yankees in 1990 and is traded to the Angels in May.
Former player and broadcaster Joe Garagiola passed away OTD in 2016.
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