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Happy ’80s Birthday to the one and only Oil Can Boyd!

Happy ’80s Birthday to Alfredo Griffin, who spent 18 years in the bigs with four teams.

Griffin made his debut with Cleveland in 1976 and they traded him to Toronto prior to the 1979 season. Given a chance to play, Griffin won Rookie of the Year and eventually won three rings.

Happy ’80s Birthday to Ruben Sierra who can undoubtedly still hit.

Sierra spent parts of 20 years in the bigs and racked up 2,152 hits.

Happy ‘80s Birthday to Roger Weaver, who went 3-4 for the Tigers in 1980.

Happy ‘80s Birthday to George Riley, who grew up in South Philly and made his debut with the Cubs in 1979.

He pitched in parts of four seasons and went 1-5 for the Cubs, Giants, and Expos.

Happy ‘80s Birthday to Greg Walker, who was a 20th-round draft pick of the Phillies before being selected by the White Sox in the Rule 5 draft in 1979.

Walker spent nine years in the bigs and later became the White Sox hitting coach.

Happy ‘80s Birthday to Bruce Fields, who won three minor-league batting titles and spent parts of three seasons in the bigs with the Tigers and Mariners. He later became a minor league coach and manager and a major league hitting coach.

Happy ‘80s Birthday to Jay Baller, who made his debut with the Phillies in 1982 and was part of the five-for-one deal that netted the Phillies Von Hayes. 

Baller played in the bigs for parts of six seasons for Philadelphia and the Cubs.

Happy ‘80s Birthday to Jeff Zaske, who appeared in three games for the 1984 Pirates.

Bill Johnson was born OTD in 1960.

He went 1-0 for the Cubs in 1983 and 1984 before retiring and moving back home. Bill Passed away in 2018.

Happy ‘80s Birthday to Rich Yett, who was a 26th-round draft pick but won 22 games over 6 seasons with Cleveland and Minnesota between 1985 and 1990.

10/6/85

Randy Myers makes his MLB debut for the Mets. He throws two scoreless innings against the Expos and strikes out Ned Yost, the first man he faces.

Big Days

10/6/80

Joe Niekro throws a CG while Art Howe’s homer paces the Astros past the Dodgers and into the NLCS. 

It was the culmination of an amazing weekend

10/6/81

Nolan Ryan throws a 2-hitter and Alan Ashby hits a walk off homer off Dave Stewart to give the Astros a 1-0 lead over the Dodgers in the 1981 N.L. West Division Series.

10/6/81

Mike Norris throws a 4-hit shutout to give the A’s a 1-0 lead in the A.L. West Division Series.

10/6/82

Reggie homers and Bruce Kison out duels Pete Vuckovich to give the Angels a 2-0 lead in the 1982 ALCS.

10/6/83

Mike Boddicker cruises, allowing just 5 hits and striking out 14 as the Orioles beat the White Sox 4-0 to even the 1983 ALCS at one game each.

10/6/84

Steve Garvey goes 4-for-5 with a homer and 5 RBI to even the 1984 NLCS with the Cubs at two games each.

10/6/85

On the final day of the 1985 season, Phil Niekro becomes the 18th 300-game winner when he shuts out the Toronto Blue Jays, 8 – 0 at the tender age of 46. He throws a grand total of zero knuckleballs.

10/6/85

Willie McGee finishes the season with a .353 batting average to win the National League batting title.

10/6/85

Wade Boggs finishes the season with a .368 batting average to win the American League batting title.

10/6/85

The Giants lose to the Braves 8-7 and lose 100 games for the first time in franchise history. Roger Craig takes over the team from Jim Davenport in September and guides the Giants to the playoffs in 1988.

10/6/85

Steve Bedrosian goes 5 innings in his final start of the 1985 season. It’s his 37th start and sets a new record as he finished zero of them. In his career to this point, Bedrock has made 46 starts and has zero CGs. The Braves trade him to the Phillies who convert him into a closer. Two years later he wins the Cy Young.

10/6/87

Greg Mathews gets the win and drives in two as the Cardinals beat the Giants in Game 1 of the 1987 NLCS in St. Louis.

10/6/88

Jose Canseco homers for the 2nd straight game and the A’s take a 2-0 lead over the Red Sox in the 1988 ALCS.

10/6/89

Tony Fernandez goes 2-for-4 and his double is a key blow in a four-run fourth inning as the Blue Jays beat the A’s 7-3 in Game Three of the 1989 ALCS.

Transactions

10/6/81

The Reds sign Dave Concepcion to a five-year contract worth $4.5 million, making him the highest-paid shortstop in major league history.

Managerial Changes

10/6/83

The Cubs hire Jim Frey as their new manager. 

Frey replaces Charlie Fox, who stepped down to return to his role as assistant general manager.

Frey takes the Cubs to the playoffs in 1984 and pilots the team until 1986.

10/6/86

The Orioles name Cal Ripken Sr. as their new manager.

Frey takes the Cubs to the playoffs in 1984 and pilots the team until 1986.

10/6/88

The Mariners fire manager Jim Snyder as well as four coaches. Snyder took over for Dick Williams mid-way through the season. He is replaced by Jim Lefebvre

Frey takes the Cubs to the playoffs in 1984 and pilots the team until 1986.

Deaths

We lost Buck O’Neil OTD in 2006

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