The weeks that Hawk Harrelson traded Bobby Bonilla, Mark Buerhle threw a perfect game and Bryce Harper signed a baseball for a girl

Well, here's a baseball story I didn't know, from the Chicago Sun-Times ...

In 1986, Hawk Harrelson made two moves that solidified his broadcasting career.

Serving as White Sox general manager, Harrelson dumped manager Tony La Russa mid-season. Then on July 23, 1986, with the White Sox eight games under .500 and the trade deadline nearing, Hawkeroo traded 23-year-old Bobby Bonilla to the Pirates for pitcher Jose DeLeon.

Bonilla went on to be a seven-time All Star, played in six postseasons and won a World Series ring.

DeLeon, coming off a major-league leading 19-loss season, was 15-17 in a year and a half on the South Side before being traded to the Cardinals, where he quickly turned it around, going 13-10 and 16-12.

La Russa, meanwhile, went on to win six pennants and three World Series titles and is enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

I've never been a fan of Hawk and find his broadcast style terribly grating. But I'll give him some credit for his memorable call of Mark Buerhle's perfect came, which it turns out, happened 23 years to the day of the infamous trade. ... I still remember missing the game that afternoon but indulging in the glorious highlights.



Then, there's this thing that Bryce Harper did for a teenage girl who held a sign that asked him to her prom. Her reaction is priceless.