Happy ’80s Birthday to former Mets infielder Ron Gardenhire, who hit .232 as a player but enjoyed more success as a manager, winning more than 1,000 games.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Junior Ortiz, who just happened to hit 60% of his career homers against the Phillies.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Omar Moreno, who swiped 96 bags in 1980 without leading his league in stolen bases. He finished his career with 487 stolen bases.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Rawly Eastwick, who was the closer for the 1975 and ’76 Reds and finished his career in 1981 with the Cubs. He also choked on a hot dog during spring training.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Rafael Belliard. According to Bill James’ Win Shares, Belliard is the worst player to play in at least 1,000 games, which makes him easy to make fun of. BUT he got there and you didn’t.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Reggie Walton, who played in 56 games for the Mariners and Pirates from 1980 through 1982.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Ed Jurak, who spent parts of six seasons in the bigs with Boston, Oakland, and San Francisco from 1982 through 1989.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Bill Hayes, who was drafted #13 overall in 1978 and appeared in five games for the Cubs in 1980 and 1981. He was either a minor league manager or coach for most of the next 20 years.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Dave Johnson, who won 22 games for multiple teams between 1987 and 1993. His son also pitched in the big leagues.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Mike Brewer, who appeared in twelve games for the 1986 Royals.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Mark Grant, who pitched in the big leagues for eight years and has been calling Padres games for years. He was also quite adept at imitating umpires.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Danny Clay, who appeared in 17 games for the Phillies in 1986. He also once had the tires stolen off his truck during a game in the minor leagues.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Steve Ziem, who was drafted three times and pitched in two games for the Braves in 1987.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Gene Larkin, who played seven seasons for the Twins and won two rings. He also delivered the game-winning hit in Game Seven of the 1991 World Series.
10/24/88
The Yankees trade Jack Clark and Pat Clements to the Padres for Stan Jefferson, Jimmy Jones, and Lance McCullers. Clark’s one year in the Bronx didn’t really work out.
10/24/88
The Twins traded Eric Bullock, Tom Herr, and Tom Nieto to the Phillies for Shane Rawley and cash.
Rawley goes 5-12 in 1989 and his career is over.
10/24/81
The Yankees blow a 6 – 3 6th inning lead in Game 4 of the World Series and the Dodgers win the game 8 – 7 to tie the World Series, 2-2.
10/24/83
Tony LaRussa is named American League Manager of the Year after leading the White Sox to the postseason since 1959.
10/24/85
Willie Wilson’s two-run triple highlights a three-run 2nd inning and Danny Jackson throws a five-hitter as the Royals beat the Cardinals 6-1 in Game 5 of the 1985 World Series.
10/24/85
Randy Bass becomes just the 2nd American born player to win the Tiple Crown in the Japanese Baseball League. He finishes the season with a .350 batting average, 54 homers, and 134 RBI.
10/24/87
Kent Hrbek’s slam leads the Twins to an 11 – 5 win over the Cardinals at the Homerdome to force the World Series to a seventh game.
10/24/88
The Dodgers parade through the streets of L.A. They were the only team to win multiple World Series titles in the 1980s.
10/24/88
Doyle Alexander, Rich Gedman, and Bob Boone are among 12 players who are declared “new-look” free agents by arbitrator George Nicolau as part of the 1986 collusion case. Owners got together to intentionally make their teams worse in an attempt to save money.
10/24/80
The Yankees release lefty Don Gullett, ending his career. If only he’d been able to stay healthy… From 1973-1977, Gullett went 75-30 with a 1.22 WHIP. Dude could pitch.
10/24/86
Bill Russell, at age 38, announces his retirement. He is the last member of the Dodgers’ Garvey-Lopes-Russell-Cey 1970s infield and is second on the club’s all-time list with 2,183 games played.
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