Amazingly enough, there is only one ’80s birthday today and it belongs to Jack Lazorko. You may not know Lazorko unless you own a moving company. He was drafted five times by three organizations and spent parts of five seasons in the big leagues with four teams. He also moved around quite a bit. He pitched professionally for nine different MLB organizations and then toured the world, pitching in at least 8 countries, including Sweden and Italy.
Jack was a former goalie and he put those skills on display on the mound.
3/30/80
The Red Sox trade a PTBNL and cash to the Red Sox for Dave Rader. Boston sends fan-favorite Stan Papi to the Phillies to complete the deal.
3/30/81
The Dodgers trade Mickey Hatcher and two minor leaguers to the Minnesota Twins for Ken Landreaux. That allows this to happen.
3/30/82
The Yankees trade Andy McGaffigan and Ted Wilborn to the Giants for Doyle Alexander.
Alexander later breaks his hand after punching the dugout wall and offers to give back his salary but the Players Association steps in to keep him from doing it.
3/30/82
The Royals trade Craig Chamberlain, Atlee Hammaker, Renie Martin, and Brad Wellman to the Giants for Vida Blue and Bob Tufts.
Vida wins 13 games for KC and Hammaker starts the All-Star Game the following season.
3/30/82
The White Sox trade Cecil Espy and a minor leaguer to the Dodgers for Rudy Law. Law has a productive run in Chicago, batting .275 with 171 stolen bases over four seasons
3/30/84
The Yankees trade Graig Nettles to the Padres for Dennis Rasmussen and a player to be named later. Nettles hits just .228 in his first year in San Diego, but he hits 20 homers and helps the Padres reach the World Series.
3/30/86
The Brewers trade Moose Haas to Oakland for Charlie O’Brien, Steve Kiefer, Mike Fulmer (minors), and Pete Kendrick (minors).
Haas spends the final two years of his career in Oakland and retires.
3/30/87
The Royals trade Jim Sundberg to the Cubs for Thad Bosley and Dave Gumpert. Sundberg appears in 85 games for the Cubs in 1987 and part of 1988 before going back to Texas to finish his career.
3/30/88
The Dodgers sign Rick Dempsey as a free agent. Nice move for Dempsey as he helps L.A. win the World Series.
3/30/89
The Brewers sign Terry Francona, who was in camp as a non-roster invitee. He hits .232 in 89 games and wraps up his career in 1990 with Milwaukee before becoming a manager.
3/30/89
The Reds sign Ken Griffey who was in camp as a non-roster invitee. He hits .262 in 106 games and finishes his career in 1990 with his son in Seattle.
3/30/89
The Reds sign Kent Tekulve who was in camp. The Cincinnati native spends his final big league season with the Reds and throws 52 innings.
3/30/88
Peter Ueberroth suspends Reds outfielder Eddie Milner for the season for testing positive for cocaine. Milner will return later in the year, appearing in 23 games for the Reds. It’s his final season.
3/30/89
Bull Durham is released in West Germany and the wall comes down just eight months later. Coincidence? I think not.
3/30/81
The White Sox purchase Greg Luzinski from the Phillies for just $150,000. Bull would hit .265 with 21 homers on the South Side and help the Sox win the AL West in 1983.
3/30/83
The Cubs purchase Thad Bosley from the A’s. He hits .302 over three years in Chicago and helps the Cubs win the N.L. West in 1984.
Former pitcher Greg Booker passed away OTD in 2019.
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