Happy Birthday to Rick Dempsey who caught in the big leagues for 24 years and had fun in all of them. He won two rings; One with the Orioles in 1983 and one with L.A. in 1988.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Rick Wise, who threw a no-hitter and also homered twice against the Reds in 1971.
Rick spent 18 years in the big leagues and won 188 games.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Billy Smith, who went 1-1 for the 1981 Astros.
Happy ’80s Birthday to John Harris, who made his debut in 1979 and spent three years with the Angels. He hit .258 in 56 games and later managed multiple teams in independent leagues.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Mike Fischlin, who made his debut with the Astros in 1977 and spent ten years in the major leagues, primarily with Cleveland. He now works for Scott Boras.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Greg Hibbard, who made his debut with the White Sox in 1989 and posted four straight seasons of ten or more wins before blowing out his shoulder. He also spent 20 years as a pitching coach.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Steve Curry, who appeared in three games for the 1988 Red Sox.
9/13/80
The Dodgers trade Dennis Lewallyn and cash to the Texas Rangers for Pepe Frias.
9/13/80
The Rangers trade Sparky Lyle to the Phillies for a PTBNL. Philadelphia sends Kevin Saucier to Texas Rangers to complete the trade. The Phillies had been trying to get Lyle since the winter meetings in 1979.
9/13/85
The Phillies trade Rich Surhoff to the Rangers for Dave Stewart. Fortunately for the Phillies, they release Stewart before he wins 20+ games four years in a row.
9/13/85
The Yankees give a young kid from Puerto Rico a nice 17th birthday gift by signing him to a free agent contract. He’d turn into a five-time All-Star, win four Gold Gloves and help the Yankees win four World Series titles. That worked out.
9/13/81
Brook Jacoby goes 1-for-1 as a pinch-hitter in his big-league debut for the Braves. He is traded to Cleveland in 1983 in the Len Barker deal and spends 11 years in the major leagues.
9/13/82
Gary Pettis makes his big-league debut as a defensive replacement. He spends 11 years in the majors stealing bases and winning Gold Gloves.
9/13/82
Oil Can Boyd allows two runs over 5 1/3 innings against Cleveland in his big-league debut. He wins 78 games over ten major league seasons for Boston, Montreal, and Texas.
9/13/85
Rob Murphy allows two runs in an inning of work against the Dodgers in his big-league debut. He pitches for eleven seasons and leads the N.L. in appearances in 1988 with 76.
9/13/86
Mark McLemore makes his big-league debut as a pinch-runner against the White Sox. He gets his first start two weeks later and plays in the major leagues until 2004.
9/13/88
Pete Harnisch gets roughed up by Boston in his big-league debut, allowing five runs in seven innings. He is traded to Houston in 1991 along with Curt Schilling and wins 111 games over 14 seasons.
9/13/86
Don’t take Jim Rice’s Hat
9/13/80
Jim Gantner’s 3-run inside-the-park homer caps a 5-run 8th as the Brewers beat the Mariners 8-0.
9/13/82
Steve Carlton homers and shuts out the Cardinals on 3 hits to become the first 20-game winner of the season. Lefty would finish the season 23-11 and win his 4th Cy Young award.
9/13/82
Joe and Phil Nieko face each other for the 9th, and final, time. Two knuckleballers won’t go head-to-head until 1992 (Wakefield and Candiotti)
9/13/82
Gene Richards and Joe Lefebvfre, the top two hitters in the San Diego lineup, combine to go 11-for-16 in a 16-inning 4-3 Padres loss to the Dodgers. The rest of the team combines for four hits.
9/13/83
Dan Quisenberry saves his 39th game of the year to set the single-season saves record.
9/13/83
Rickey goes 2-for-4 with three stolen bases against the Rangers. The three bags give Rickey 101 for the year. It’s the 3rd straight full season (strike season of 1981 not included) in which he’s stolen at least 100 bases. Vince Coleman would steal 100+ for three straight seasons from 1985-87 and no one has reached 100 since.
9/13/84
Jim Morrison goes 4-for-5 and drives in six in a 14-4 Pirates win over the Mets.
9/13/85
The Cardinals swipe eight bags in a 9-3 win over the Cubs. Willie McGee and Andy Van Slyke each steal two. The ’85 Cardinals stole 314 bases.
9/13/86
The Rangers bang out 12 extra-base hits, including seven dingers, in a 14-1 win over the Twins. Darrell Porter homers twice and drives in five.
9/13/87
Two enigmatic lefties go head-to-head in an impressive pitching display. Floyd Bannister outduels Mark Langston and the White Sox beat the Mariners 2-0. The two pitchers allow 3 combined hits while striking out 19 and walking 3.
9/13/88
Jim Rice, Hubie Brooks, Jesse Barfield, and Damon Berryhill all hit grand slams. It’s the 10th time in big league history that 4 slams are hit on the same day and it also affords me the opportunity to talk about Damon Berryhill.
9/13/89
Fay Vincent is elected commissioner only to be forced out a few years later by the owners.
9/13/83
The Brewers purchase the contract of a 25-year-old pitcher from Mexico. He’d win 20 games in 1986.
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