Happy ’80s Birthday to Frank White. MVP of the 1980 ALCS, 5-time all-star, and dude could pick it.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Paul Householder. The Reds had high hopes for him, but he never could translate his minor league success to the big leagues. He did spend eight seasons in the bigs and his first two career dingers came off future Hall of Famers Steve Carlton and Phil Niekro.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Doyle Alexander, who won 194 games over 19 seasons, including three 17-win seasons. He started Game 1 of the 1976 World Series for the Yankees. He also punched a wall in 1982 and broke his hand. He was also traded once for a guy who turned out to be pretty good. Not his fault, though.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Kelly Heath, who appeared in one game for the 1982 Royals. He went 0-for-1. He later became a coach and a scout.
Happy ’80s Birthday to Rod Booker, who spent parts of five seasons in the bigs with the Phillies and Cardinals.
9/4/80
Hubie Brooks goes 0-for-3 against the Padres in his big-league debut. He would collect his first hit two days later and finish 3rd in the 1981 Rookie of the Year balloting.
9/4/81
Alan Wiggins makes his big-league debut as a pinch-runner. He gets his first hit, a single off Larry McWilliams, on September 13th.
9/4/81
David Green goes 0-for-2 in his big-league debut for the Cardinals. Green was a centerpiece of the Cardinals/Brewers traded that sent Rollie Fingers and Pete Vuckovich to Milwaukee but he never quite put it together on the major league level.
9/4/83
Randy Ready goes 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter in his big-league debut. He hits .405 in 12 games and spends 13 years in the major leagues.
9/4/83
Darnell Coles goes 0-for-1 in his big-league debut against the Yankees but follows that up with a 3-for-6 day against the Royals. Coles spends 14 years in the major leagues and wins a ring with the 1993 Blue Jays.
9/4/84
Kevin Mitchell goes 0-for-1 in his big-league debut. He spends all of 1985 in the minor leagues, returns to New York in 1986, wins a ring, and wins an MVP in 1989.
9/4/84
Rob Deer goes 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter in his big-league debut. He spends 11 years in the big and slugs 230 dingers.
9/4/84
Milt Thompson goes 2-for-4 against Houston in his big-league debut. He gets two hits in each of his next two games and hits .303 in 25 games down the stretch. Milt spends 13 years in the big leagues and plays in the World Series in 1993 with the Phillies. Dude could hit.
9/4/87
Melido Perez goes seven innings and gets the win against the White Sox in his big-league debut. The Royals trade him to Chicago in December and he pitches in the major leagues for nine seasons.
9/4/87
Jeff Treadway goes 2-for-4 against the Cubs in his big-league debut. The Reds had trouble deciding between Treadway and one other kid as their shortstop of the future. They made their decision and sold Treadway to Atlanta in March of 1989, thus handing the starting shortstop job to Barry Larkin.
9/4/89
Chuck McElroy allows one run against the Pirates in his big-league debut. He spends 13 seasons in the major leagues and pitches for nine teams.
9/4/80
George Brett goes 1-for-3 to “lower” his batting average to .401. He also drives in his 100th run of the season in his 99th game played.
9/4/81
Joe Simpson’s RBI triple in the top of the 20th gives the Mariners an 8-7 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
9/4/82
Jim Palmer throws a 1-hitter against the Twins. It’s his 11th consecutive victory. He finishes the season with a 15-5 record and a league-leading 1.14 WHIP.
9/4/83
Dale Murphy goes 3-for-4 with two homers, three runs scored, and four RBI in a 6-5 Braves win over the Pirates. In his last five games, Murph is batting .619.
9/4/84
Greg Walker goes 3-for-4 with 2 homers and 6 RBI in a 12-2 White Sox win over the A’s.
9/4/85
Gary Carter hits two homers against the Padres, giving him 5 in his last two games. In the first 7 games of September, Carter hits .500 with 7 homers and 13 RBI. He slugs 1.200
9/4/85
Jerry Mumphrey enters the game as a pinch-hitter in the 6th inning and goes 2-for-2 with a homer and 5 RBI in an 11-6 win over the Cubs.
9/4/86
Cory Snyder homers twice and drives in six in a 15-4 Cleveland win over Milwaukee. Snyder hit 24 homers and finished 4th in the Rookie of the Year balloting.
9/4/88
The Reds score 17 runs on 18 hits and hammer the Cubs 17-0. Danny Jackson becomes the first 20-game winner in the National League and also goes 4-for-5 at the plate.
9/4/89
Jack Clark goes 2-for-5 with two homers and 7 RBI in a 10-9 Padres win over the Braves.
9/4/89
Fred Lynn hits his 300th career home run to help the Tigers to a 5 – 1 win over Kansas City. He would finish his career with 306.
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