Six Baseball Legends Will Be in Town August 7 – 8 For Ninth Annual Hot Springs Baseball Weekend
DATE: FEBRUARY 10, 2026
HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, Arkansas — Six baseball legends, including three Hall of Famers, will be in town August 7 – 8 as the Ninth Annual Hot Springs Baseball Weekend celebrates the Spa City’s history as The Birthplace of Major League Baseball Spring Training.
“We’re bringing in some favorite guests from previous Baseball Weekends and a couple of Hall of Famers who’ll be making their first visit,” said Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs and originator of the annual salute to Hot Springs’ rich baseball heritage.
This year’s lineup includes Hall of Fame members Goose Gossage, Fred McGriff and Jack Morris. They’ll be joined by Dale Murphy, Bill "Spaceman" Lee and Al Hrabosky, Arrison said. McGriff and Morris will be first-timers at the annual celebration, which includes talks by the legends, interaction with fans, a huge baseball card show and other activities. It’s all free and open to the public.
McGriff and Morris will be visiting Hot Springs Baseball Weekend for the first time.
“Bill Lee and Goose Gossage were brought back by popular demand,” Arrison said. “Attendees of Baseball Weekend love Goose. He was missed last year.
“And then there’s ‘Spaceman,’ who rocked the house last year with his colorful views on baseball and everything else.
“We’ll have a panel this year entitled ‘If I Were Major League Baseball Commissioner For a Day.’ It’ll feature Goose and Spaceman, two of the most talented and outspoken personalities in baseball history.”
• Fred McGriff was cut from his high school baseball team as a sophomore – and became so determined to improve he rode his bike 20 miles to the gym to train.
All that hard work paid off with a plaque in Cooperstown.
McGriff, who played 19 major league seasons with the Blue Jays, Padres, Braves, Devil Rays, Cubs and Dodgers, was drafted in the ninth round of the 1981 amateur draft by the New York Yankees. The following year he was traded to the Blue Jays – in a deal that sent Tom Dodd and Dale Murray to the Yankees – and began playing full-time at the major league level in 1987.
In his second full season, he hit 34 homers, the first of seven consecutive seasons with 30 or more, a feat he accomplished 10 times total. The following season he finished sixth in MVP voting and took home his first of three Silver Slugger Awards at first base. His 36 home runs led the league.
“When he comes up, we hold our breath,” said then-Rangers manager Bobby Valentine.
In 1990, McGriff finished 10th in MVP voting – and after the season was traded to the San Diego Padres with Tony Fernández in exchange for Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar in a blockbuster deal. In his two full seasons with the Padres, he finished in the top 10 in MVP voting twice, earned another Silver Slugger Award and made his first All-Star Game appearance. In 1992, he led the league in homers with 35, making him the first player since the dead-ball era to lead both leagues in home runs.
“He has outstanding bat speed,” said former Padres manager Greg Riddoch. “When that ball jumps off his bat to left-center field, it’s like a shot out of a cannon.”
In 1993, McGriff was traded to the Braves. He went on an offensive tear over the second half of the season to rally the Braves to the division title. He finished fourth in MVP voting that season and won his third Silver Slugger Award.
In 1994, McGriff was named MVP of the All-Star Game and finished second in the Home Run Derby to Ken Griffey Jr. He was hitting .318 with 34 home runs before the strike ended the season. The next year, McGriff had another outstanding season hitting cleanup for the Braves and hit two home runs to help Atlanta win the World Series title.
A quiet leader in the clubhouse, McGriff was known for his positive attitude and love of the game.
“McGriff’s smile lights up a room,” said Riddoch.
In 1997, McGriff was picked up by the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays, where he stayed productive for most of four seasons before ending his career with stops with the Cubs, Dodgers and eventually back with the Devil Rays.
McGriff finished his career just seven homers short of the 500 home run club, tied with Lou Gehrig on the all-time list. He had a career .284 batting average, 2,490 hits, 441 doubles and 1,550 RBI. He and Gary Sheffield are the only players to hit 30 home runs for five different major league teams.
In 10 postseason series, he batted .303 with 10 home runs, 37 RBI and 100 total bases. He was named to five All-Star Games and finished in the top 10 in MVP voting six times.
• Jack Morris was a four-time World Series winner, a five-time All-Star and the author of what is possibly the greatest Game 7 World Series pitching performance of all-time.
But not even 254 big league victories and 14 straight Opening Day starts do justice to the legacy of Jack Morris, whose career can be summed up in one word: Competitor.
“He never wanted to come out (of a game),” said Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson, who skippered Morris and the Tigers to a win in the 1984 World Series. “So any time you went near the mound, you’d have problems
.
“He was the last of a breed: Somebody who actually comes to the park with anger to beat you.”
Morris began his baseball odyssey under the wing of his father, Arvid, who instilled an unquenchable work ethic in his son. After attending Brigham Young University, Morris was a fifth-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers in 1976.
One year later, he was in the majors, and by 1979 Morris earned a regular rotation spot with Detroit.
Anderson joined Morris in Detroit that year, and by 1981 Morris and the Tigers were on the verge of greatness. That year, Morris led the American League with 14 wins, finishing third in the AL Cy Young voting.
Morris won 20 games in 1983 and again finished third in the Cy Young vote, setting the stage for the Tigers’ championship season in 1984. Morris pitched a no-hitter on April 7 of that year, and the Tigers bolted to a 35-5 start – the best in baseball history. Morris finished the season with a record of 19-11, and the Tigers lost only one game in the Postseason – Morris won three – to roll to the World Series title.
“He’s the best closer I’ve ever seen,” said Kirk Gibson, who was a teammate of Morris’ on the 1984 Tigers. “If you have a lead in the seventh inning and Morris was on the mound, it was a win. His intensity was incredible.”
Morris remained with the Tigers for six more seasons, winning 21 games in 1986 and leading Detroit to the AL East title in 1987. Following the 1990 season, he signed a free agent deal with the Minnesota Twins – who had finished in last place in the AL West in 1990.
In 1991, Morris went 18-12 with an AL-best 35 starts to help the Twins win the division title. In the playoffs, he won two games against Toronto in the ALCS, then took the ball in Games 1 and 4 of the World Series against the Braves, earning a win and a no-decision.
When Kirby Puckett’s 11th-inning home run in Game 6 forced Game 7, Morris was in line for his third start of the Fall Classic.
“When Kirby hit that home run, a calm came over me that I never had felt before,” Morris said. “I had mentally prepared for this game my whole life.”
Morris and Braves starter John Smoltz each allowed no runs to score through seven innings. Smoltz, then 24, was relieved during the eighth inning. But Morris, 36, refused to come out of the game – even when the Braves put runners on second and third with no outs in the eighth.
Morris pitched out of that jam, then faced the minimum six batters in the ninth and 10th before Gene Larkin’s single scored Dan Gladden to win the game. In an announcement that virtually made itself, Morris was named the World Series Most Valuable Player.
“(Twins manager Tom Kelly) wanted to take Jack out after the ninth, but I sided with Jack and thought he should stay in,” said Dick Such, the Twins pitching coach in 1991. “I told TK: He’s got all winter to rest up.”
Morris’ final line for Game 7: 10 innings pitched, seven hits, two walks and eight strikeouts.
“I was in trouble many times,” Morris said. “But I didn’t realize it because I never had a negative thought.”
Morris left the Twins after the World Series, signing a free agent contract with the Blue Jays. The next season, 1992, saw Morris post a career-best record of 21-6 while helping the Blue Jays win their first World Series
.
Arm troubles slowed him down in 1993 (a year the Blue Jays won the World Series again) and 1994, and he retired in 1995 with the Cincinnati Reds before throwing a pitch that season. Morris returned to organized baseball the following year with the independent St. Paul Saints of the Northern League, but never again pitched in the majors.
His final numbers: a 254-186 record, including a big league best 162 wins in the 1980s and 515 consecutive starts – an AL record at the time of his retirement. He completed 175 of his 527 career starts.
Morris was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2018.
• Bill Lee’s personality earned him popularity as well as the nickname "Spaceman," given to him by former Red Sox infielder John Kennedy. His outspoken manner and unfiltered comments were frequently recorded in the press. Lee spoke in defense of China, population control, Greenpeace, and school busing in Boston, among other things. He berated an umpire for a controversial call in the 1975 World Series, threatening to bite off his ear and encouraging the American people to write letters demanding the game be replayed. When asked about his views on mandatory drug testing, Lee quipped: "I've tried just about all of them, but I wouldn't want to make it mandatory." In his 1984 book, The Wrong Stuff, he claimed his marijuana use made him impervious to bus fumes while jogging to work at Fenway Park. Much of the material in this book is, however, tongue-in-cheek.
• Al Hrabosky is now known as Mister Baseball Weekend after attending every one of the annual celebrations except last year’s, when he was absent due to family obligations. He was inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame last year.
He is one of the Cardinals’ most beloved players — the Mad Hungarian relief pitcher.
“Al has been a featured guest at every one of our Baseball Weekends except one,” Arrison said. “The hundreds of fans who have attended his presentations have loved his tales of Major League Baseball.” Hrabosky is part of the Cardinals television team and began working as a commentator on telecasts for the team in 1985.
• Bob Watson, both an opponent and teammate of Rich “Goose” Gossage, once said of the fireballing pitcher: “He’s all arms and legs and he’s not looking at you. That doesn’t make you feel good when he’s throwing 100 miles an hour. I don’t mind a guy throwing 100 miles an hour if he’s looking at you. I’ll tell you it’s a lot better playing behind him.”
Gossage could be an intimidating presence on the mound, standing 6-foot-3 inches with a penetrating scowl. But of all his attributes, it was his overpowering fastball, which could reach 100 miles per hour, which made him one of the top relief pitchers throughout the 1970s and ‘80s.
• Dale Murphy, described as one of the most beloved players ever to wear an Atlanta Braves uniform, was one of five Braves players to have his number retired by the Braves. He joins the immortal Hank Aaron, Eddie Matthews, Warren Spahn and Phil Niekro as those whose retired numbers hang in Turner Field.”
Murphy was chosen by the Atlanta Braves in the first round of the 1974 Major League Draft. Over the next few years, he worked his way through the Braves minor league system and made his Major League debut in 1976
.
Although he began his career as a catcher, he spent a short time at first base and finally ended up in the outfield, where he became the youngest player in history to win back-to-back MVP awards (1982 and 1983), was named to the National League All-Star team seven times, earned four Silver Slugger awards and five Gold Gloves.
During his 1983 MVP season, he became the only player in history to compile a .300+ batting average, 30+ home runs, 120+ runs batted in, 130+ runs scored, 90+ bases on balls, and 30+ stolen bases in one season.
During the decade spanning 1981-1990, he led the major leagues in home runs and RBIs. He also led the National League in games, at bats, runs, hits, extra base hits, runs created, total bases, and plate appearances during that same period.
With 7,960 at-bats, he retired in 1993 after a long and successful career with the Atlanta Braves (1974-1991), the Philadelphia Phillies (1991-1993), and the Colorado Rockies (1993.)
For more information call Steve Arrison at 501-321-2027.