On this weeks podcast – August 5, 1979, Willie Mays is inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Mays slugged 660 homers, batted .302, and collected 3,283 hits in his 22-year career. Known for his all-around play, Mays won 12 Gold Glove Awards for his defense in center field. Former…
Welcome to this day in baseball Daily rewind my name is Tom Hannon and I am your host. Thank you so much for joining me today as we back step our way through July 29 – August 4. Our format has been changing a bit and just to give you a quick recap, we are…
1988 – Former player Art Howe is named as manager of the Astros. He’s the third Astro skipper in a row to make Houston their first big league managerial spot. Howe indicates he’ll be able to lead in spite of players on the roster who were his teammates in days gone by.
Major League Season Recap 1988 World Series – Los Angeles Dodgers NL over Oakland A’s AL 4 games to 1 World Series MVP – Orel HershiserBabe Ruth Award – Orel Hershiser ALCS Oakland Athletics over Boston Red Sox 4 games to 0 ALCS MVP – Dennis EckersleyNLCS Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Mets 4 games to 3 NLCS MVP…
1988 – Toronto pitcher Jim Clancy is signed to a free agent contract. Unfairly, he is viewed as the replacement for Nolan Ryan in the Astros rotation. The 32-year-old righthander is coming off an 11-13 season for the Blue Jays.
1988 – The Red Sox trade 1B-OF Todd Benzinger, P Jeff Sellers, and a player to be named later to the Reds for 1B Nick Esasky and P Rob Murphy.
1988 – Free-agent Willie Randolph signs with the Dodgers. He will replace Steve Sax in the lineup, who earlier this month signed with Randolph’s former club, the Yankees.
1988 – The Yankees sign a twelve-year television contract with the Madison Square Garden Network.
1988 – Pitcher Bruce Hurst, considered the cream of this year’s free agent crop, signs a three-year contract with the Padres. The Yankees sign free-agent pitcher Andy Hawkins, and the Expos trade P John Dopson and SS Luis Rivera to Boston for SS Spike Owen, and OF Tracy Jones to San Francisco for OF-1B Mike Aldrete.
1988 – The Texas Rangers sign pitcher Nolan Ryan as a free agent, creating a huge fan backlash in Houston. San Francisco and California also had offered more than the Astros did. Owner John McMullen defends his bid saying he wouldn’t pay Ryan more than he was paying Mike Scott.