In 1979, he led the AL in passed balls with 21 and also led the league with 17 in 1980. The Tigers hired former catcher Bill Freehan to work with Parrish and immediately Lance became a All-Star catcher.

In the All-Star game of 1982, Parrish threw out three NL base runners attempting to steal. In 1982, Parrish hit 32 home runs, batted .284 with 87 RBI's.

He won Gold Gloves in 1983 thru 1985 and in the World Series of 1984 powered a homer in the final game to help the Tigers win the World Title. As a free agent in 1987, Lance signed with the Phillies and was traded to the Angels in October of 1988. Lance Parrish's career stats: .253 batting average, 291 D, 317 HR's, 1032 RBI's in 1878 games, slugging pct .445.

In his first full season with the Twins, the big, lumbering 6'4" outfielder, hit 20 homers in 127 games and batted .272. In 1984, Brunansky hit 32 homers, the most for the Twins since Harmon Killebrew hit 41 in 1970. In August alone, he wacked 11 homers, hit .333 and his slugging pct was a lofty .658.

In 1987, Brunansky again hit 32 HR's, batted .295 and helped the Minnesota Twins win the World Championship. In the AL's Championship Series, Brunansky killed the Detroit Tigers' pitching staff. He hit a pair of homers and led all hitters in total bases, doubles, RBI's and in batting, with a meaty .412.

Playing for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1989, he hit again hit 20 home runs, 85 RBI's along with 29 doubles, but his batting average slipped to .239. Brunansky played for Boston for two years. In 1991 he hit 16 HR's for the Red Sox, 70 RBI's, .229 BA, in 1992, he hit 31 D's, 15 HR's, batted .266. Tom Brunansky career stats: .246 BA, 6084 AB, 1495 hits, 294 D's, 32 T's, 261 HR's, 780 runs, 885 RBI's, 1130 K's, 746 W's, .331 on base pct, .433 slg/pct baseballhistorian.com

A total of seven homers were hit by both clubs, including four off Dole Alexander (4-1), the winning pitcher. "That's what happens when you get the ball up and over the plate on a hot day in Atlanta," said Alexander while smiling. "This park turns into a launching pad for hitters."

Bruce Benedict hit his 1st homer of the year for the winning Braves, and teammate Ken Griffey his 10th. The losing Reds slugged four homers - Kal Daniels hit his 16th, Ron Oester his 2nd, Tracy Jones his 8th and Kurt Stillwell his 3rd.

Youngblood was traded to the Mets in 1978 and became of one the Mets' fans favorites. In 1979 he hit .275, had a .349 on-base-percentage, slugged a career-best 37 doubles, lined 5 triples and 16 homers, scored a career-best 90 runs and stole a career-best 18 bases in 158 games.

He was selected to the National League All-Star team in 1981 and after being nagged by injures in late-'81 and '82 he was traded to the San Francisco Giants. In '83 with the Giants, Youngblood hit a career-best .292, hit 20 doubles, belted a career-best 17 home runs, scored 59 runs, and collected 53 RBIs in 124 games.

Joel Youngblood career stats: .265 BA, 969 hits in 1408 Games, 180Ds, 23Ts, 80Hr, 453 Runs, 422 RBIs, 332 Walks, 589Ks in 3,659 at-bats and stole 60 bases.

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In 1982 he was traded to the Phillies and his toughness behind home plate and his ability to frame pitches for the team's pitching staff vaulted Philadelphia to a second place finish in the NL East, and his hitting also played a big role in the Phillies success during this time-frame.

In 1982, Bo Diaz hit a solid .288, rapped 29 doubles into the outfield gaps, 18 homers into the stands, and had 85 clutch RBIs. In 1983, the year the Phillies went to the World Series, Diaz played in 136 games, struck out just 57 times in 471 at bats, lined 17 doubles and 15 homers, with 64 RBIs. However, he injured his knees and played with taped-up, heavily scarred and swollen knees for the rest of his career.

Due to his knee injuries he played just 25 games in 1985 and was traded to Cincinnati the next season and took over the starting backstop duties once more.

Swollen knees and all, the well-liked Bo Diaz was one of the leading National League catchers in his years with the Reds, who finished in second place in the NL West for three straight seasons - 1986-1988. In 134 games in 1986, he hit .272 and pounded 31 extra base hits... in 1987, he enjoyed one of his best batting seasons - .277 batting average, 28 doubles, 15 home runs, and was selected for the second time for the All-Star team. His last full-time season came in 1988, when he played in 92 games.

In November of 1990, just 37-years old, Diaz died tragically when he was struck by lightning while installing a satellite dish on his home in Venezuela.

Bo Diaz career record: .255 BA, 834 hits in 3,274 at-bats, 162 Ds, 87Hr, 327 Runs, 452 RBIs and a solid .300 on-base-pct... baseballhistorian.com - Archives - Latino Baseball Star

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Mahler assumed a starting role in the Braves staff in 1982 and pitched over 200 innings in six different seasons, including every year from 1984-1989 except 1987 when he toiled 197 innings. And, he pitched opening day shutouts three times for Atlanta - 1982, 1987-1988.

Regarded as one of the league's top fielders, Mahler also had excellent control, he allowed just 62 walks in 205.3 innings in 1982 to help the Braves win the NL West - going 9-10, with 5 complete games.

In 1984 Mahler posted a 13-10 record in 222 innings, a 3.12 ERA, allowing only 209 hits. In 1985 he went 17-15, 3.48 ERA started 39 games, with 6 GC. He became a free agent in 1989, inked a contract with the Reds and helped Cincinnati win the NL pennant.

Rock Mahler career: 96-111, 3.99 ERA, 392G, 271GS, 43GC, 9 Shutouts, 6 Saves, allowed 2,069 hits in 1,951.3 IP, 952Ks, 606Ws.

In his long brilliant career, including 5-seasons with Philadelphia, 1974-78, and 11 in Atlanta, 1978-87, Garber collected 218 saves, worked 1,510 innings, had a solid 3.34 career ERA and finished with a 96-113 career-record. Well-known for his outstanding change-up and great control, he used a pitching style with a lot-of-movement to baffle batters with a pitch they dropped over home plate like a water slide. Career: 940 Strikeouts, 445 Walks