At Arlington Stadium’s season opener, Jon Matlack and Yankee southpaw Ron Guidry match zeroes for nine innings. In the 12th, with his 1978 Opening Day nemesis, Richie Zisk, at the plate, Goose Gossage allows Mickey Rivers to score the game’s only run from third base when his first and only pitch is wild, giving the Rangers a 1-0 victory.
Two days prior to the start of the season, the Durham Bulls uniforms are stolen. Atlanta Braves minor league director Hank Aaronsends the affiliate team a set of used Braves uniforms to wear on the road as the Bulls decide to wear its road uniforms at home.
1980 – The Montreal Expos trade 1B/OF Rusty Staub to the Texas Rangers in exchange for infielders Chris Smith and LaRue Washington.
March 24, 1980, A young Tigers outfielder Kirk Gibson, graces the cover of Sports Illustrated. Gibson will hit 263 in limited playing time with 9 homeruns and 16 RBI. @ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@ Sponsor this Page Listen to Voices From The Past on Our Podcast The Daily Rewind on Apples Podcast | Spotify | Google | Stitcher…
An under-the-radar transaction would have a big impact on the NL East race. On March 15th, Montreal traded a player to be named later and cash to the San Francisco Giants for catcher John Tamargo. On September 29th, Tamargo’s pinch-hit 3-run homer in the bottom of the 9th would win the game…
On March 12, 1980, slugging outfielder Chuck Klein and former Boston Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. Klein won the NL MVP Award in 1932, won the Triple Crown in 1933, appeared in the first two ALL-Star Games, listen to him in 1934 All-Star Game…
1980 – Chris Burke is born in Louisville, KY. The outfielder/infielder bats .249 during four seasons in Houston (2004-2007) but makes his mark with a home run that wins the 2005 N.L.D.S. over Atlanta in the 18th inning, the longest game in postseason history.
On March 6, 1980, Milwaukee Brewers manager George Bamberger suffers a heart attack at the team’s spring training camp in Sun City, Arizona. Bamberger will undergo quintuple bypass surgery, and is replaced on an interim basis by one of the team’s coaches, Buck Rodgers. @ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@ Sponsor this Page Listen to Voices From The…
March 5 1980 – All-star shortstop Garry Templeton, who signed a $4 million St. Louis Cardinals contract last week, said Wednesday he will use some of his earnings to help underprivileged and handicapped youngsters attend games. The 1,950 box seat tickets purchased by Templeton for $12,675 will be distributed to the youths during 39 games…
1980 – The Oakland Athletics sign Billy Martin to a two-year contract as manager. Martin, who was fired by the Yankees only four months earlier, will popularize the notion of “Billy Ball” with the A’s and lead the team to a split-season crown in 1981.
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