Happy ’80s Birthday to Glenn Hubbard, who took one of the greatest baseball card photos in history. Hubbard’s father was in the Air Force, so Glenn was actually born in Germany. He went to high school in the U.S. and was drafted by the Braves in 1975. He spent 12 seasons in the big leagues with the Braves and the A’s.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Dick Davis who was an undrafted free-agent who spent six years in the big leagues with the Brewers, Phillies, Blue Jays and Pirates.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Mike Stanton, who made his debut with the Astros in 1975 and spent seven years in the bigs with four teams.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Sal Butera, who spent nine seasons in the bigs and won a ring with the Twins in 1987. He later served as a minor league manager and a scout. Hs son, Drew, also played in the big leagues.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Ron Mathis, who appeared in 31 games for the Astros in 1985 and 1987.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Geno Petralli, who spent 12 years in the big and, unfortunately, holds the modern record for most passed balls in a season with 35. Catching Charlie Hough will do that. He later became a minor league coach.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Eric Hetzel, who was drafted four times and appeared in 21 games for the Red Sox in 1989 and 1990.
9/25/88
The White Sox sign lefty Jim Morris as a free agent. He’d pitch just 2 2/3 innings in 1989 before arm troubles sidelined him. He’d resurface 10 years later and sign with the Rays. Cool story. Someone should make a movie about it.
9/25/83
Darren Daulton makes his big-league debut as a defensive replacement in the 10th inning of a Phillies game against the Cardinals. He’d make his first start a few days later but wouldn’t make it back to the bigs until 1985.
9/25/80
Nolan Ryan faces Phil Niekro in a duel of contrasting styles and the scoreboard at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium shows all. Ryan and the Astros beat Niekro and the Braves 4-2.
9/25/80
The White Sox beat the A’s 6-4. Brian Kingman loses his 20th game of the season. Mike Maroth (2003) is the only pitcher to lose 20 games in a season since then.
9/25/80
The Padres become the 1st National League team to have 3 players with 50 SBs in the same season, Jerry Mumphrey joins Ozzie Smith and Gene Richards.
9/25/80
Ted Simmons homers twice and drives in six in a 10-2 Cardinals win over the Pirates.
9/25/83
The Orioles clinch the A.L. East on their way to a World Series title.
9/25/84
Rusty Staub becomes the 2nd player in history to homer in his teens and his ’40s. My favorite trivia question. Sheffield and A-Rod have since joined the club.
9/24/84
Mike Easler homers and drives in five in a 14-6 Red Sox win over Toronto. The Hit Man goes .313/27/91 in his first season in Boston.
9/25/84
Pat Tabler goes 4-for-5 with 6 RBI as Cleveland beats Seattle 13-5. Two of Tabler’s hits came with the bases loaded because Pat Tabler.
9/24/85
Rickey Henderson steals his 75th base of the season as the Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 10-2. He breaks the team record of 74 SB set by Fritz Maisel in 1914
9/25/85
Davey Lopes steals two bags in a 5-4 Cubs win over the Mets. The SBs give Lopes 47 on the season, setting a record for the most stolen bases for a player over the age of 40.
9/25/86
Mike Scott’s no-hitter against the Giants gives the Astros the N.L. West title. It’s the first time a team has clinched with a no-hitter. Houston would meet the Mets in an all-time classic NLCS.
9/25/86
Teddy Higuera becomes the 3rd 20-game winner of the 1986 season, joining Fernando Valenzuela and Roger Clemens.
9/25/87
Donnie Baseball homers and drives in five in an 8-4 win over Baltimore. All the man did was hit.
9/25/88
Steve Bedrosian earns his 26th save of the year. It’s also his 95th save with the Phillies, breaking Tug McGraw’s team record.
He has since been passed by Jose Mesa and Jonathan Papelbon.
9/25/89
More history for Wade Boggs, as he becomes the first player in MLB history to attain both 200 hits and 100 walks in 4 straight seasons. It is also Boggs’ 7th straight 200-hit season, extending his own modern MLB record.
9/25/81
The California Angels released Doug Rau and his career is over. He wins 81 games over nine seasons and provided one memorable NSFW moment in the 1977 World Series.
9/25/84
Ralph Houk announces he will retire at the end of the season. John McNamara takes over in 1985. Houk finishes his managerial career with 944 wins and 806 losses and two World Series titles with the Yankees.
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