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Happy ’80s Birthday to Vince Coleman, who only stole 326 bases in his first three seasons. No big whoop.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Wally Backman, who spent 14 years in the bigs and won a ring with the Mets in 1986.
Bob Lemon was born on this day in 1920. Lem fought in WWII, won a World Series as the Yankees skipper in 1978, and managed the Royals and White Sox
Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda was born OTD in 1927. He went 0-4 as a pitcher in the big leagues but won nearly 1,600 games as a manager, including two World Series titles. Tommy passed away in 2021.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Jeffrey “Hac Man” Leonard, who made his debut with the Dodgers in 1977 and spent 14 seasons in the bigs. He enjoyed his best season in 1984 when he hit .304 with 21 homers for the Giants.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Bob Geren, who was a first-round pick in 1979 and played in the big leagues for five seasons, primarily with the Yankees. He also attended Clairemont High School, which is the school Fast Times at Ridgemont High was based on.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Dell Alston, who made his debut with the Yankees in 1977 and wrapped up his career with Cleveland in 1980.
Hal Dues was born OTD in 1954. He won 37 games for the Expos from 1977 through 1980 but was constantly battling injuries. He passed away in 2020.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Dave Sax, who spent five years in the bigs with the Dodgers, where he played alongside his brother Steve, and the Red Sox.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Lee Graham, who appeared in five games for the 1983 Red Sox.
Happy ’80s Birthday to John Stefero, who made his debut with the 1983 Orioles and hit a robust .455 in nine games. He played parts of three seasons in the bigs with Baltimore and Montreal.
9/22/89
Kent Mercker allows three runs in two innings of work against the Reds in his big-league debut. The lefty spends 18 seasons in the bigs and wins a ring with Atlanta in 1995.
9/22/82
The Reds players file a grievance through the MLBPA challenging the team policy of no facial hair and requiring black shoes. Among the claims is that players have lost endorsement money by not being able to sign shoe contracts. The shoe rule wasn’t officially changed until 1986.
Big Days
9/22/80
Tom Brookens goes 2-for-4 with a tripe, homer, and 5 RBI in a 6-5 loss to Toronto.
9/22/81
Tony Perez goes 2-for-3 with a homer and 5 RBI but the Brewers still beat the Red Sox 10-8
9/22/82
Chris Speier goes 3-for-5 with 8 RBI in an 11-4 win over the Phillies. He hits a bases-loaded triple, a three-run homer, and a two-run single.
9/22/84
Dan Petry shuts out the Yankees 6-0 to earn his 18th win and put the Tigers 13.5 games up in the AL East.
9/22/85
Ron Guidry beats Baltimore for his 20th win of the season. He finishes the year at 22-6 and finishes 2nd in the Cy Young balloting.
9/22/86
Fernando Valenzuela becomes the first Mexican-born pitcher to win 20 games in the major leagues. He holds the honor alone for all of four days before he is joined by Teddy Higuera.
9/22/87
Robin Yount drives in five but the Yankees still beat the Brewers 10-8.
9/22/87
Wade Boggs reaches the 200-hit mark for the 5th straight season. He does it again in 1988 and 1989.
9/22/88
The Mets clinch their second division title in three years.
Fights
9/22/85
Billy Martin and Ed Whitson go toe-to-toe in the team hotel in Baltimore with Martin getting the worst of it. Whitson suffers a cut lip while Martin breaks his arm.
“I think it happened when he kicked me,” said Martin. “He kicked me once in the groin and once in the arm.”
Deaths
We lost Yogi OTD in 2015
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