Johnny Podres was born OTD in 1932. He spent 15 years in the bigs and won four rings with the Dodgers before serving as a pitching coach for the Twins and Phillies.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Dave Magadan, who just quietly raked every damn year. He’s been a hitting coach since he retired.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Rusty Torres, who spent nine years in the big leagues with five teams. He was involved in three forfeits in eight years.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Dan Gonzales, who appeared in nine games for the Tigers in 1979 and 1980.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Carlos Lezcano, who appeared in 49 games for the Cubs in 1980 and 1981. He was the Cubs Opening Day center Fielder in 1980 and spent more than 20 years managing after he retired.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Doug Jennings, who spent five years in the big leagues with Oakland and the Cubs.
9/30/86
Kevin Brown allows two runs in five innings against Oakland in his big-league debut. He doesn’t return to the big until 1988 and wins 211 games over the course of his career, including a no-hitter in 1997.
9/30/88
Sandy Alomar Jr. goes 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter in his big-league debut. He plays in seven games in 1989 and wins Rookie of the Year in 1990.
9/30/80
Rickey Henderson steals his 97th base, breaking Ty Cobb’s American League record of 96 set in 1915. He’ll finish the year with 100.
9/30/80
Fernando Valenzuela picks up his first big league win. He’d get a few more in 1981.
9/30/81
It’s the last major league game at Minnesota’s Metropolitan Stadium and the Royals clinch at least a tie for the American League West second-half title with a 5 – 2 win over the Twins. The Twins would move into the Metrodome in 1982.
9/30/82
Willie Aikens homers twice and drives in seven in an 11-4 win over Oakland.
9/30/83
LaMarr Hoyt records his 13th win in a row, a 9-4 win over the Mariners, to raise his record to 24-10. He would win the Cy Young Award.
9/30/83
Greg Luzinski sets a single-season record with his 32nd home run as a designated hitter. The White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 9-4.
9/30/83
The Dodgers beat the Giants, 4 – 3, and the Padres beat the Braves, 3 – 2, to give L. A. the N. L. West title. They would fall to the Phillies in the N.L.C.S.
9/30/84
Mike Witt throws a perfect game on the final day of the season. Witt needs just 94 pitches.
9/30/84
Donnie Baseball goes 4-for-5 to edge out Yankees teammate Dave Winfield for the batting title.
9/30/85
Bret Saberhagen pitches a complete game win over the Angels to win his 20th game of the year. The win gives the Royals a tie for 1st place in the AL West.
9/30/85
Mario Soto strikes out 14 in seven innings of work but the Reds fall to the Giants 4-3.
9/30/86
Von Hayes homers twice and drives in five in a 9-2 Phillies win over the Cubs. He enjoyed his best year in 1986, batting .305 with 19 homers and 98 RBI
9/30/87
Darnell Coles homers thrice and drives in six in a 10-8 Pirates loss to the Cubs.
9/30/87
Roger Clemens throws a CG shutout and strikes out 13 Yankees. He would finish the season with 20 wins and collect his second Cy Young Award.
9/30/87
Dave Stewart becomes the major leagues’ first 20-game winner this season as the A’s beat the Indians, 4 – 3.
9/30/88
David Cone beats St. Louis, 4 – 2, to reach the 20-win mark for the first time in his career. He would reach it again ten years later.
9/30/88
Dave Stieb is one out away from a no-hitter for the 2nd consecutive game, but falls short again when Jim Traber bloops a single over the head of 1B Fred McGriff. Stieb finishes with his 2nd straight one-hitter, 4 – 0 over the Orioles.
9/30/89
Nolan reaches the 300 strikeout mark for the 6th time in his career.
9/30/89
The Blue Jays score three runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to beat the Orioles and win the A.L. East.
9/30/84
Phillies manager Paul Owens resigns after the last game of the season to return to the Phillies front office. He will be succeeded by coach John Felske for the 1985 season.
We lost Quiz OTD in 1998.
Powered by BlueHost
Monetize your website with Monumetric!
An excerpt from Patrick Montgomery's new book, Baseball's Great Expectations: Candid Stories of Ballplayers Who…
An excerpt from Eric Vickrey's new book about the 1982 St. Louis Cardinals
An open letter to MLB Network and YOUTUBE TV about their stubbornness.
Nearly half of the players in MLB history to reach 3,000 hits played in the…
A breakdown of the men who managed the Cincinnati Reds in the 1980s