August 22

Ned Hanlon (1857)

Howie Camnitz (1881)

Wally Schang (1889)

Carl Yastrzemski (1939)

Bill Burbach (1947)

Doug Bair (1949)

Ray Burris (1950)

Paul Molitor (1956)

Darrin Jackson (1962)

Mike Everitt (1964)

Gary Scott (1968)

Hipolito Pichardo (1969)

Steve Kline (1972)

Jeff Weaver (1976)

Randy Wolf (1976)

Alan Busenitz (1990)

Chris Stratton (1990)

Mike Everitt was a major league umpire from 1996-2019.

Right-hander William David Burbach did not play for the Twins, but was in AAA for them in 1972.  Born and raised in Dickeyville, Wisconsin, he attended Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, one of three players produced by that college (Hall of Famer Red Faber and Frank Quilici).  He also attended the University of Iowa.  He was drafted in the first round by the Yankees in 1965.  He progressed one level per season and was solid at each stop, never outstanding but always pretty good.  He came up to the Yankees at the start of 1969 and spent the entire year with them, going 6-8, 3.65, but with a WHIP of 1.52 due to the fact that he walked 102 batters in 140.2 innings.  Control had been a problem for him early in his minor league career, but he seemed to have overcome it in the high minors.  He started 1970 with the Yankees but pitched poorly in four starts and was back in AAA the rest of the season.  He made two appearances for the Yankees in 1971, but then was traded to Baltimore for Jim Hardin and never made it back to the majors.  The Orioles traded him to Detroit in February of 1972.  B-r.com does not reveal how he made his way to the Twins' organization, but he was in the bullpen for AAA Tacoma that season.  He did not pitch well, going 2-1, 4.50, 1.75 WHIP with 25 walks in 40 innings.  That brought his playing career to an end.  His major league numbers are 6-11, 4.48, 1.60 WHIP in 160.2 innings (37 games, 28 starts).  After baseball, he moved to Johnson City, Tennessee, the place he had started his major league career.  He worked for a local country club for many years before retiring.  Bill Burbach passed away on July 20, 2022 in Elizabethton, Tennessee.

Hall of Famer Paul Leo Molitor played for the Twins from 1996-1998 and was their manager from 2015-2018.  Born and raised in St. Paul, he attended the University of Minnesota and was chosen by Milwaukee with the third pick of the 1977 draft. He spent only one year in the minors, hitting .346 with Class A Burlington, before jumping to the big leagues. He was a fixture in the Brewers lineup for the next fifteen years, playing regularly at second base, center field, third base, and designated hitter, as well as playing a little shortstop. He made the all-star team five times in Milwaukee, received MVP consideration five times, finishing as high as fifth in 1987, and twice won the Silver Slugger award. After the 1992 season, Molitor became a free agent and went to Toronto, where he helped the Blue Jays win a world championship in 1993 and finished second in the MVP balloting to Frank Thomas. He made the all-star team in 1993 and 1994, but his average dropped to .270 in 1995, so the Blue Jays allowed him to again go the free-agent route. This time he came to Minnesota, and showed that his bat had plenty of life left. In his first year with the Twins, a year in which he turned forty, Molitor batted .341, led the league in hits, had 113 RBIs, won his fourth Silver Slugger award, and finished thirteenth in the MVP balloting. He played with the Twins for two more seasons before retiring at age 42. As a Twin, Paul Molitor hit .312/.362/.432 in exactly 1700 at-bats, driving in 271 runs. For his career, he batted .306 and had 3,319 hits. He was elected to the major league baseball Hall of Fame in 2004.  He was the manager for the Minnesota Twins from 2015-2018, making the playoffs twice.  He is currently a special assistant to baseball operations for the Twins and occasionally fills in on radio and television broadcasts.

Outfielder Darrin Jay Jackson played in 49 games for the Twins in 1997.  He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in Culver City, California, and was drafted by the Cubs in the second round in 1981. He was fairly nondescript in the minors, with his best year prior to his major league debut coming in 1984, when he hit .270 with 15 homers at AA Midland. He got a brief cup of coffee with the Cubs in 1985, but then started to pick up the pace a little, and after a solid season with AAA Iowa in 1987 (.274, 23 homers), he spent all of 1988 with Chicago, getting 188 at-bats as a bench player. In August of 1989, he was sent to the Padres in a multi-player deal, and saw his playing time gradually increase, becoming a semi-regular in 1991 and a full-time regular in 1992, the only season in which he got more than 403 at-bats. He was decent that year, but that’s all, .249 with 17 homers and 70 RBIs. Jackson was traded to Toronto at the end of 1993 spring training, and in June the Blue Jays sent him to the Mets for Tony Fernandez. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed with the White Sox, where he had easily his best season in 1994, batting .312 as a semi-regular. Jackson played for the Seibu Lions in 1995-96, but returned to the United States in 1997, when the Twins signed him as a free agent. He played in 49 games for the Twins, batting .254/.272/.354 with 3 homers and 21 RBIs, before the Twins traded him to Milwaukee in August for the immortal Mick Fieldbinder. He stayed with the Brewers in 1998 before rounding out his career back with the White Sox, batting decently (.275) in a reserve role in 1999. His numbers are not particularly impressive, but he spent parts of 12 years in a big-league uniform, and a guy could do a lot worse. Darrin Jackson is currently a broadcaster for the White Sox radio network.

Third baseman Gary Thomas Scott did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for a short time.  He was born in New Rochelle, New York, went to high school in Pelham, New York, and then attended Villanova.  Scott was drafted by the Cubs in the second round in 1989. He had a couple of solid years in A and AA, and after a tremendous spring training in 1991, he was installed with much fanfare as the regular third baseman with the big club. Unfortunately, he was not up to the task, and was sent back to the minors after hitting only .165 in 31 games. He did poorly in the minors that year, too, hitting only .208 at AAA Iowa. He came back some in 1992, but when promoted to the Cubs late in the season he was awful again, batting .156 in 36 games. The Cubs gave up on Scott and traded him to Florida at the end of the season. He never played for Florida, however, as the Marlins traded him to Cincinnati for Hector Carrasco just prior to the 1994 season. The Reds sent him to AAA Indianapolis, and at the end of June traded him to the Twins for Tom Houk and Alan Newman. He hit .291 at AAA Portland, but it did not convince the Twins of anything, and they let him go after the season. Scott then played at AAA for the Giants, Braves, and Padres with mixed results, but never got another chance in the majors. Overall, he played in 67 big league games and had a batting line of .160/.250/.240, with 3 home runs and 16 RBIs.  At last report, Gary Scott was an oil broker for Compagnie Financiere Tradition in Stamford, Connecticut.

Right-hander Alan Paul Busenitz played for the Twins in 2017 and 2018.  He was born in Watkinsville, Georgia, went to high school in Athens, Georgia, attended Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia, and was drafted by the Angels in the twenty-fifth round in 2013.  He pitched quite well in the low minors his first two seasons.  He stumbled when he was promoted to AA in 2015 but did quite well there in 2016.  On August 1 of 2016 he was traded to the Twins with Hector Santiago for Ricky Nolasco, Alex Meyer, and cash.  He finished that season in the minors with Minnesota, making five appearances in Chattanooga and six in Rochester.  He started 2017 in Rochester and did very well there.  He came up to Minnesota for about two weeks in June and did very well there, too, but was sent back anyway because the Twins needed "a fresh arm for the bullpen".  He came back in late July and continued to do well.  2018 did not go as well for him--he pitched very well in Rochester, but not very well in limited chances in Minnesota.  He went to Japan for 2019 and pitched pretty well for Rakuten through 2022.  He signed with Cincinnati in 2023.  He spent most of the year at AAA, but made four major league appearances in May, one in August, and one in October.  He was again in AAA for the Reds in 2024 and did okay, but pitched poorly in three games in the majors.  He was once more in AAA for the Reds in 2025, but did not pitch well and his playing career came to an end.  It was a pretty long career, though, even if not that much of it was spent in the majors.  As a Twin, he was 5-2, 4.58, 1.44 WHIP in 57 innings (51 games, all in relief).  No information about what Alan Busenitz is doing now was readily available, but we wouldn't be surprised if he's involved in baseball somehow, somewhere.

August 21

Frank Isbell (1875)
Ed Stone (1909)
Murray Dickson (1916)
Gerry Staley (1920)
Jim Beauchamp (1939)
Felix Millan (1943)
John Ellis (1948)
John Stearns (1951)
Frank Pastore (1957)
John Wetteland (1966)
Mike Misuraca (1968)
Craig Counsell (1970)
Ismael Valdez (1973)
Akili Smith (1975)
Jason Marquis (1978)
Jesse Chavez (1983)
Melvin Upton (1984)
J. D. Martinez (1987)
Ehire Adrianza (1989)
Tim Collins (1989)
Elliot Soto (1989)
Christian Vazquez (1990)
Brandon Drury (1992)
Luke Weaver (1993)
Eric Orze (1997)

Akili Smith, better known as an NFL quarterback, played for three seasons in the Pittsburgh organization, reaching AA.

Right-hander Frank Enrico Pastore pitched for the Twins in 1986.  He was born in Alhambra, California, went to high school in La Verne, California, and was drafted in the second round by Cincinnati in 1975, Pastore pitched well at every stop along the way in the minors, and made the Reds at the beginning of 1979. He pitched mostly out of the bullpen that year, but became a solid member of the rotation in 1980. That was his best year: he went 13-7 with an ERA of 3.27 in 27 starts. He pitched well in 1981 and 1982, but started to slip after that, and also apparently started to have injury problems. He was primarily a reliever in 1985, became a free agent, and signed with the Twins in April of 1986. The Twins ran through a lot of relief pitchers that year, and Pastore was actually one of the better ones they had: in 33 games, he was 3-1 with a 4.01 ERA and 2 saves, but walked 24 in 49.1 innings and had a WHIP of 1.58. He again became a free agent after the season, and signed with the Texas Rangers, but pitched poorly for AAA Oklahoma City and his career was over. After baseball, Frank Pastore went back to school and obtained degrees in business administration, philosophy of religion and ethics, political philosophy, and American government. He became the host of a radio program, The Frank Pastore Show, which was described by wikipedia as the largest Christian talk show in the United States.  Sadly, Frank Pastore passed away December 17, 2012 as a result of injuries following a motorcycle accident.

Right-hander Michael William Misuraca did not play for the Twins, but he was in their farm system for over seven years.  He was born in Long Beach, California and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1988.  A starter for most of his career, he pitched fairly well in the low minors, but never well enough to attract anyone’s attention.  He reached Class A in 1989, but did not advance past there until 1993, when he finally got to AA Nashville.  He reached AAA in 1994, but did not pitch well in Salt Lake, posting ERAs over five each season there.  He was sent to Milwaukee in a conditional deal in June of 1996 and sent to AAA New Orleans.  He did not pitch any better in AAA for the Brewers, but was brought up to the majors for about three weeks in 1997.  It did not go well:  in five appearances (10.1 innings), he put up an ERA of 11.32 and a WHIP of 2.13, allowing five home runs.  His playing career came to an end after that season.  He may not have been in the big leagues for long, but as an undrafted free agent, he beat the odds to get there at all.  He has stayed in baseball, and at last report was a supervisor of scouting for the Cincinnati Reds.

Right-hander Jason Scott Marquis made seven starts for the Twins at the beginning of 2012.  He was born in Manhasset, New York, went to high school in Staten Island, and was drafted by Atlanta in the first round in 1996.  He advanced slowly, mostly because he really didn’t pitch all that well.  he had a good year in AA in 2000, though, and ended up spending nearly half the season in the majors.  2001 was his first full year in the majors and was one of his best years there.  He started in the bullpen, but made the rotation by mid-June and ended up posting a 3.48 ERA.  He came nowhere near those numbers in 2002 and was back in the minors for about half of 2003.  That off-season he was traded to St. Louis.  He had a fine year for the Cardinals in 2004, going 15-7, 3.71, though with a WHIP of 1.42.  He was still pretty good in 2005 but had a terrible 2006, leading the league in earned runs allowed and home runs allowed.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with the Cubs.  He was adequate for the Cubs for two seasons, then was traded to Colorado before the 2009 season.  Given that he was pitching in Coors Field, he actually had a pretty good year for the Rockies, but became a free agent again and signed with Washington.  He was on the disabled list much of 2010 and was pretty awful when he did pitch, but he bounced back in 2011 and was having a decent season when he was traded to Arizona at the deadline.  He again was injured and was awful in the three starts he did make for the Diamondbacks.  A free agent again, he signed with Minnesota for 2012.  It was hoped he would bring a veteran presence to the rotation, but his time with the Twins was a disaster:  2-4, 8.47, 1.94 WHIP in 34 innings.  He was released in late May and signed with San Diego the next day.  He was actually fairly good with the Padres the rest of the season and was adequate in 2013 as well, although he issued a lot of walks.  A free agent after that season, he did not sign for 2014 until early June, when he signed with Philadelphia and made nine minor league starts.  Once again a free agent, he signed with Cincinnati for 2015 and made the team, but was pretty bad in nine starts and was released in June.  He pitched for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic in 2017 and said that he was still interested in playing professional baseball, but no professional baseball team was interested in having him play.  He expressed an interest in pitching for Israel in the Olympics in 2021, but whether by his choice or the team's he did not do so.  At last report, Jason Marquis had returned to Staten Island to live.  He at one time expressed an interest in coaching, but nothing appears to have come of it.

Infielder Ehire Enrique Adrianza was with the Twins from 2017-2020.  He was born in Guarenas, Venezuela and was signed by the Giants as a free agent in 2006.  He spent two years in the Dominican Summer League and was apparently injured for much of 2008, as he played in only eighteen games.  He reached class A in 2009, AA in 2012, and AAA in 2013.  He had a strong year in AAA in 2013, batting .310 with an OPS of .851, and got a September call-up that season.  He spent about half of each season with the Giants from 2014-16, playing mostly second base and shortstop.  He was a reserve most of that time and batted like one, batting .220/.292/.313 for the Giants.  They waived him at the end of January of 2017 and he was claimed by Milwaukee.  A week later Milwaukee waived him and he was claimed by Minnesota.  He started 2017 in AAA but came up in early May.  He was fairly decent as a reserve in 2017, batting .265 with an OPS of .707.  He began 2018 again in a reserve role, but the Twins ran into a shortage of infielders for a variety of reasons, and he became a mostly regular for a couple of months.  He did okay in that role, too.  2019 was his best year so far--he played less than in 2018 but took advantage of the time he got, batting .272 with an OPS of .765.  He was again a reserve in 2020 but had a poor season and became a free agent.   He signed with Atlanta for 2021 and did fairly well in a super utility role.  A free agent again, he signed with Washington, had a poor season, and was traded to Atlanta on August 1, for whom he continued to struggle in a limited role.  He remains with the Braves in 2023 but was injured most of the season, appearing in just five games.  He signed with the Angels for 2024, but appeared in just eight games for them and was released in mid-June.  That brought his playing career to an end.  At last report, Ehire Adrianza was an assistant for player development for the Minnesota Twins.

Left-hander Timothy Michael Collins did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 2019.  Born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, he was signed by Toronto as a free agent in 2007.  A reliever all the way, he reached AAA in 2010, but by then he was no longer a Blue Jay.  He was traded to Atlanta in the middle of July and then was traded to Kansas City a few weeks later.  He started 2011 with the Royals and was in their bullpen for the next three and a half seasons.  He was a reliable set-up man for them--not great, but certainly not bad, either.  He was injured in mid-June of 2014, coming back in September.  He then had Tommy John surgery and missed all of the next two seasons.  He signed with Washington for 2017, but was able to pitch in just eighteen minor league games.  He split 2018 between AAA and the majors, where he wasn't horrible but was a step down from what he'd been before his injury.  He signed with Minnesota for 2019, but was released in late March.  He signed with the Cubs the next day and was back-and-forth between AAA and the majors until being granted free agency at the end of July.  He signed with Cincinnati, for whom he made five minor league appearances.  He signed with Colorado for 2020 but opted out of the 2020 season.  That appears to have led to him opting out of his playing career, as he never played again.  He became a pitching coach in the Philadelphia organization in 2024 and was the pitching coach for the high-A Jersey Shore BlueClaws in 2025, but does not appear to be with them in 2026.  At last report, Tim Collins was offering private pitching instruction at timcollinsbaseball.com.

Infielder Elliot Sebastian Soto did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 2022 and 2023.  He was born in Elgin, Illinois, went to high school in Carpentersville, Illinois, attended Creighton, and was drafted by the Cubs in the fifteenth round in 2010.  He had actually been drafted by the Twins in the thirteenth round in 2007, but did not sign.  He was never been much with the bat:  he has an OPS of .651 in low A, .605 in medium A, .645 in high-A, .624 in AA , and .684 in AAA.  He primarily played shortstop, although he saw substantial time and second and third and played a few games in the outfield.  It's tough to judge minor league defensive statistics, but teams clearly thought he was a superior defender or he wouldn't have played fourteen seasons in the minors.  He was in the Cubs organization through 2015, went to Miami, was back with the Cubs in 2017, was with Colorado in 2018-2019, was with the Angels in 2020, the Dodgers in 2021, and was with the Twins in 2022 and 2023.  He played in three major league games with the Angels at the end of the 2020 season, going 2-for-6 with a double, a walk, and two runs.  He spent his time in the Twins' organization in St. Paul, batting .223 in 2022 and .213 in 2023 with little power.  A free agent, he returned to the Angels in 2024 and batted .224 in AAA.  He did not sign anywhere for 2025, so his playing career is presumably over.  At last report, Elliot Soto had returned to Carpentersville, Illinois and was an instructor with Athletes HQ.

Catcher Christian Rafale Vazquez has played for the Twins since 2023.  He was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, attended the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, and was drafted by Boston in the ninth round in 2008.  He did not hit much his first couple of years, but broke through in 2011, batting .283 with 18 homers for Class A Greenville.  He struggled in AA the next season but batted .290 there in 2013.  He split 2014 between AAA and the majors, missed 2015 due to injury, and split 2016 between AAA and the majors.  He finally reached the majors to stay in 2017 and batted .290 as he shared catching duties with Sandy Leon.  Again sharing catching duties in 2018 he fell to just .207.  He became the full-time catcher in 2019, however, and rewarded the Red Sox with three and a half solid seasons before being traded to Houston on August 1 on 2022.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Minnesota and again shared catching duties, this time with Ryan Jeffers, in an odd every other game arrangement.  He did not bat as well as might have been hoped, batting .215/.267/.311 in 811 at-bats as a Twin.  He signed with Houston for 2026 and has batted slightly better, but not a lot.  He turns thirty-six today.  He has never hit other than when he was with the Red Sox, but he's repuated to be a good defensive catcher.  We assume he'll go to spring training with someone in 2027.

Right-handed reliever Eric Paul Orze came to the Twins in 2026.  He was born in Elk Grove, Illinois, went to high school in Carol Stream, Illinois, attended the University of New Orleans, and was drafted by the Mets in the fifth round in 2020.  He pitched in only thirteen games in college, partly due to testicular cancer and melanoma and partly due to the COVID shutdown in 2020.  There's nothing impressive about those thirteen games, but he rose quickly through the Mets' system, reaching AAA by 2021.  Perhaps too quickly, as he struggled in AAA in 2022 and 2023.  He had a fine season there in 2024, however, and appeared in two games with the Mets in July of that year.  He was traded to Tampa Bay that off-season.  From all appearances he was pitching quite well for the Rays in 2025, but he was still sent to AAA in July and didn't come back until September.  He was traded to Minnesota after the season for Jacob Kisting.  With the Twins he pitched well at times, but not enough times, going 2-2, 5.56, 1 save, 1.52 WHIP before being sent back to AAA in early July.  He has pitched well there, so perhaps we'll see him in Minnesota again, or perhaps not.  He has a great story, and you have to root for him, but unfortunately, you don't win ball games with stories.

August 20

Pepper Daniels (1902)

Al Lopez (1908)

Jim Reeves (1923)

Fred Norman (1942)

Graig Nettles (1944)

Bobby Cuellar (1952)

Tom Brunansky (1960)

Mark Langston (1960)

Andy Benes (1967)

Todd Helton (1973)

Matt Hague (1985)

Country singer Jim Reeves was a right-handed pitcher in the low minors from 1945-1949,

Third baseman Graig Nettles played for the Twins in parts of seasons from 1967-1969.  Born and raised in San Diego, he was drafted by the Twins out of San Diego State in the fourth round in 1965. He showed instant power, hitting 69 home runs in three minor league seasons. He made his debut with Minnesota as a September callup in 1967 and reached the big leagues for good in 1969, his first full season, when he was a part-time player with the Twins. Nettles played more outfield than third base as a Twin, which seems surprising until one remembers that Harmon Killebrew was the Twins’ third baseman at the time. Nettles did not do a lot in 1969, and the Twins were trying to win now, so they traded him, along with Dean Chance, Bob Miller, and Ted Uhlaender, to Cleveland for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams. Tiant and Williams helped the Twins win the division in 1970, but after that the trade does not look so good for Minnesota. On the other hand, how does it look for Cleveland? After Nettles put up three solid seasons for the Indians, hitting a total of 71 homers and getting a tenth-place vote for MVP in 1971, Cleveland traded him to the Yankees with Jerry Moses for John Ellis, Jerry Kenney, Charlie Spikes, and Rusty Torres. New York, of course, is where Nettles became a star. He hit over 20 homers in each of his first seven seasons for the Yankees, twice hitting over 30; drove in over 90 runs four times, made the all-star team five times, and won a pair of Gold Gloves. At the end of 1984, the Yankees traded Nettles to San Diego, a trade many said was prompted by the release of a book Nettles wrote in which he was critical of George Steinbrenner. In San Diego, he became the starting third baseman for the Padres’ World Series team. He made the all-star team the next year, at age 40, but it was his last productive season. After the 1986 season, the Padres let Nettles go, and he spent 1987 with Atlanta and 1988 with Montreal, mostly as a pinch-hitter. As a Twin, Graig Nettles hit .224/.314/.401 with 12 homers and 34 RBIs in 304 at-bats. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2007, but had surgery and at last report was cancer-free.  He is a member of the San Diego State Hall of Fame.  At last report, he was a spring training instructor for the Yankees and was living in Lenoir City, Tennessee, just outside Knoxville.

Robert Cuellar never pitched for the Twins, but has been a minor league pitching coach and manager for them for several years.  He was born in Alice, Texas, and was drafted out of the University of Texas by the Rangers in the 29th round in 1974.  Cuellar pitched well in relief for eight years in the minors, five of them at AAA. He posted a minor-league ERA of 3.06 during this time, with a AAA ERA of 3.20, but never really got a chance in the majors. Cuellar’s only time in the big leagues was as a September call-up in 1977; he gave up only one run and four hits in 6.2 innings spread over four games, for an ERA of 1.35. He left the Rangers organization after the 1978 season, playing three years for the Cleveland organization and one year in the Mexican League. After his playing career ended in 1982, he turned to coaching. He has been a minor league coach, minor league manager, and major league coach, including serving as the pitching coach for Seattle and Montreal and as the bullpen coach for Pittsburgh. For the Twins, Cuellar was the pitching coach for the Rochester Red Wings from 2003-2005, managed the New Britain Rock Cats in 2008, and returned to the Red Wings as their pitching coach in 2009-2012. Among the minor leaguers Cuellar has coached are Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana, both of whom credit Cuellar for teaching them the changeup.  Bobby Cuellar was the bullpen coach of the Minnesota Twins from 2013-2014.  He was been a minor league pitching coach in the Dodgers organization after that.  He received the Mike Coolbaugh award, for outstanding skill in mentoring young players, in 2023.  Bobby Cuellar passed away from a heart attach in Houston on January 20, 2025.

The brother-in-law of Dave Engle, outfielder Thomas Andrew Brunansky played for the Twins from 1982 through the first part of 1988.  He was born in Covina, California, went to high school in West Covina, California, attended Cal Poly–Pomona, and was drafted by the California Angels with the 14th pick of the 1978 draft. He hit well in his four minor league seasons, average more than 20 homers and hitting over .300. He made the Angels out of spring training in 1981, but hit .152 over 41 at-bats and was returned to the minors. He started 1982 in the minors, but in May was traded with Mike Walters to the Twins for Doug Corbett and Rob Wilfong. The Twins immediately installed him in their outfield, and Brunansky had what was arguably his best season, batting .272 with 20 homers. He never hit for as high an average again, but his power numbers increased, as he hit over 20 homers each year through 1989. After winning the World Series in 1987, the Twins got off to a slow start in 1988, and Brunansky was traded to St. Louis for Tom Herr in what even Andy McPhail would later admit was a panic move. Brunansky continued to be a solid player, but his low-average slugging did not really fit with the Cardinals running style, and after a poor start in 1990 he was traded to Boston for Lee Smith. He was a productive player for the Red Sox through 1992, went to Milwaukee as a free agent in 1993, and returned to the Red Sox in June of 1994 to finish his career. As a Twin, Tom Brunansky batted .250/.330/.452 with 163 homers and 469 RBIs in what works out to be about six full seasons, and holds the distinction of being the only Twin to hit an inside-the-park grand slam. Brunansky is coached high school baseball in Poway, California.  He became the batting coach for the GCL Twins in late June of 2010, was the batting coach for the New Britain Rock Cats in 2011, was the batting coach for the Rochester Red Wings in 2012, and was the batting coach for the Minnesota Twins from 2013-16.  He was let go after the 2016 season and was the batting coach of the University of Saint Katherine in San Marcos, California from 2017-2022.  At last report, Tom Brunansky was living in Poway, California and was available for speaking engagements.

First baseman Matthew Donald Hague did not play for the Twins, but was in AAA Rochester in 2017.  He was born in Bellevue, Washington, went to high school in Covington, Washington, and attended both the University of Washington and Oklahoma State University.  He was drafted by Pittsburgh in the ninth round in 2008.  He hit well in the minors, posting high doubles totals and hitting some but not a lot of home runs.  He reached AA in 2010, AAA in 2011, and made it to the majors in 2012.  He was with the Pirates most of the first half of the season as a reserve first baseman but got only seventy at-bats, being frequently used as a pinch-hitter.  He didn't do particularly well, batting .229 with an OPS of .527.  He went back to AAA and continued to hit well, but did not get to the majors at all in 2013 and got only two big-league at-bats in 2014.  He was waived in mid-August of 2014 and was chosen by Toronto.  He had an outstanding year with AAA Buffalo and got a September call-up, but got only twelve at-bats.  He went to Japan in 2016 and came back to the United States in 2017, signing with Minnesota.  He had a fine season in Rochester, but did not get a call-up to the majors.  He became a free agent and signed with Seattle for 2018, but he was sent to AAA and then was released in late April.  He then signed with Washington and again went to AAA, but was released in mid-June.  That appears to have ended his playing career.  His major league stats are .226/.286/.262 in 84 at-bats.  Being a first baseman without home run power has undoubtedly hurt him, but in nearly three thousand AAA at-bats he hit .298/.376/.423.  It seems like he could've helped someone if he'd been given the chance, but it never happened.  Matt Hague was a scout for the Toronto Blue Jays, became the team's assistant batting coach in 2024, and has been the batting coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates since 2025.

August 19

Bobby Richardson (1935)

Fred Lasher (1941)

Mike Phillips (1950)

Luis Gomez (1951)

Tim Blackwell (1952)

Ned Yost (1955)

Ron Roenicke (1956)

Gary Gaetti (1958)

Ron Darling (1960)

Woody Williams (1966)

Rob Augustine (1970)

Chris Capuano (1978)

J. J. Hardy (1982)

Austin Adams (1986)

Rob Augustine played for a couple of years in the Cleveland organization, never rising above Class A.  He was (and maybe still is) an assistant baseball coach at Dakota Valley High School in my former home of North Sioux City.  Happy birthday, Rob.

Right-handed reliever Frederick Walter Lasher appeared in eleven games for the Twins in 1963.  He was born in Poughkeepsie, New York and was signed by Washington as a free agent in 1960. A submariner, he had problems with wildness in his first couple of years in the minors, but gradually improved, although he never had what you would call pinpoint control. Lasher made the Twins out of spring training in 1963, jumping all the way from Bismarck-Mandan in the Class C Northern League. He was used as a relief pitcher, which had been his primary role in the minors as well, but his wildness returned–Lasher walked 11 in 11.1 innings with the Twins. Sent back to the minors, he did well in 1965 and 1966, but as a 23-24-year-old in Class A. After the 1966 season, he was selected by Detroit in the minor-league draft. The Tigers must have helped Lasher figure something out, because his control improved and he became an effective reliever for the Tigers from 1967-69. His control vanished again in 1970, however, and this time it was gone for good. The Tigers traded him to Cleveland midway through the 1970 season, and California selected him in the Rule 5 draft, but by 1971 he was finished. As a Twin, he had no record and a 4.76 ERA, but for his career he was 11-13 with 22 saves and an ERA of 3.88. After leaving baseball, Lasher operated a drywall company and served as a recreation therapist for youth with drug and alcohol problems in Merrillan, Wisconsin.  Fred Lasher passed away on February 27, 2022.

Shortstop Luis (Sanchez) Gomez played for the Twins periodically from 1974-1977.  He was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and was drafted by the Twins in the seventh round in 1973 out of UCLA, where he had played freshman basketball on the same team as Bill Walton.  He was the first Mexican native selected in the major league baseball amateur draft.  He hit very little in the minors, but made his major league debut with Minnesota in April of 1974, where he continued to not hit. He spent part of 1974, all of 1975, and parts of 1976 and 1977 with the Twins, playing for AAA Tacoma the rest of the time.  In 1975, he set a record with 89 games played without an extra-base hit, a record which still stands.  Gomez’ best year was 1977, when he hit .285 for Tacoma and .246 for the Twins in 65 at-bats. The Twins let him go after that year, and he signed with Toronto and was their regular shortstop in 1978, his only year as a starter. Gomez continued not hitting, became a part-time player in 1979, and was traded that off-season along with Chris Chambliss to Atlanta, where he became a member of the LDS church due to the influence of Dale Murphy. He was a semi-regular for the Braves in 1980 and played sparingly in 1981. He was released at the end of spring training in 1982, and did not return to organized baseball. Gomez’ career OPS was .500, the lowest of any non-pitcher with as many plate appearances since Bill Bergen retired in 1911. As a Twin, Gomez had 362 at-bats, and hit .199/.246/.211 with no homers and 22 RBIs.  He did not hit a home run in either the majors or the minors (1,781 at-bats).  No information about Luis Gomez’ current life is readily available.

Third baseman Gary Joseph Gaetti played for the Twins from 1981-1990.  Born and raised in Centralia, Illinois, he was drafted by the Twins out of Northwest Missouri State University with the 11th pick in the 1979 June Secondary draft. He did not hit for a high average in the minors, but showed good power, which was basically true for much of his major league career as well. After a September callup in 1981, Gaetti became the Twins’ regular third baseman in 1982, a position he held through 1990. He averaged 27 homers a season from 1982-1988, a figure which would be higher if you threw out the 1984 season, when for some reason he only hit 5. Gaetti’s best season as a Twin was 1988, when he hit .301 with 28 homers and 88 RBIs. He started to decline after that, and became a free agent after the 1990 season. He signed with California, played two-plus years for the Angels, and was released in June of 1993. Signed by Kansas City, Gaetti resurrected his career in his mid-30s, hitting 35 home runs for the Royals in 1995. He became a free agent again after that season, and signed with the Cardinals, where he was a productive player for two and a half years. Released by the St. Louis in August of 1998, Gaetti signed with the Cubs and helped them with their playoff push, hitting .320 in 37 games. That was his last hurrah, however, as he batted only .204 for the Cubs in 1999, and went 0-for-10 for Boston in 2000, at which point he retired. Gaetti hit 360 home runs in a 20 year career. As a Twin, he batted .256 with 201 homers and 758 RBIs and won four Gold Gloves. Gaetti was placed in the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2007. He is also a member of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame. After retiring, he served as the hitting coach for the Houston Astros and the Durham Bulls.  He was the manager of the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League from 2012-2017.   At last report he was operating the Gaetti Sports Academy in Centralia, Illinois.

Shortstop James Jerry “J. J.” Hardy played for the Twins in 2010.  Born and raised in Tucson, he was drafted by Milwaukee in the second round in 2001.  His early minor league numbers are not that strong, probably due to his age.  He began to develop in 2003, hitting .279 with twelve homers in AA Huntsville.  Hardy was apparently injured much of 2004, as he got only 101 at-bats in AAA.  Healthy in 2005, he made the Brewers out of spring training and was their starting shortstop that season.  He was again injured in 2006, he came back strong in 2007 and had back-to-back solid seasons, averaging .280 with 25 home runs in those two years.  He slumped in 2009, hitting just .229 with 11 homers and spending some time in AAA.  After that season, he was traded to Minnesota for Carlos Gomez.  He battled injuries again in 2010, but was solid defensively and not bad offensively when healthy.  Hardy’s numbers as a Twin were .269/.320/.394 in 340 at-bats.  Still, the Twins didn't seem to like him, and so after the season Hardy was traded with Brendan Harris and cash to Baltimore for Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey.  Hardy responded with one of the best seasons of his career, batting .269 with a career high 30 home runs.  He had a down year in 2012, hitting only .238 (although he did hit 22 homers and won a Gold Glove).  He did substantially better in 2013, batting .263 with 25 homers at this writing and making his second all-star team, winning his second Gold Glove, and winning his first Silver Slugger.  His homers were down in 2014 and everything was down in 2015, as he had easily his worst year in the majors.  His batting average bounced back in 2016, but it went back down in 2017, and the power appears to be gone for good.  He remained the Orioles' regular shortstop through the middle of June, then went on the disabled list, not returning until September.  His playing career came to an end after that season.  He was a spring training instructor for the Orioles in 2020, and at last report, J. J. Hardy was living on a ranch in Montana and also had a home in Chandler, Arizona.  He was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 2021.  He is also a member of the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame and the Pima County (Arizona) Sports Hall of Fame.  He is one of only seven players to have played over ten thousand major league innings at shortstop without ever appearing at another position.

Right-hander Austin David Adams appeared in two games for the Twins in 2019.  He was born in Montgomery, Alabama, went to high school in Millbrook, Alabama, attended Faulkner University in Montgomery (one of three major leaguers to attend that school, the others being Shane Reynolds and Steve Sparks), and was drafted by Cleveland in the fifth round in 2009.  He did well in the low minors, struggled when promoted to AA in 2011, and missed all of 2012, presumably due to injury.  He had been a starter up to that point, but when he returned in 2013 he was a reliever.  He had a fine year in AA in 2013 and did well in 2014 when promoted to AAA.  He made his major league debut with the Indians in 2014 as well, appearing in six games.  In 2015 he made sporadic appearances in the majors until the end of May, when he was called up through the end of the season.  In 33.1 innings (28 games) he was 2-0, 3.78, but with a WHIP of 1.50.  He split 2016 between AAA and the majors.  He gave up just two runs in his first seven appearances but twenty in his last twelve.  The Indians gave up on him after that and traded him to the Angels for a player to be named later or cash.  B-r.com does not reveal which, if either, Cleveland actually got, but it appears that he may have been injured again, as he appeared in only five minor league games for the Angels in 2017.  He started 2018 with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League and pitched very well, which resulted in him signing with the Twins for the last few weeks of the minor league season.  He made five appearances at AA Chattanooga and did well, so he started 2019 in AAA Rochester.  He did not do so well, but still came up to the Twins in mid-May as a fresh arm for the bullpen.  He appeared in two games, doing well in the first one but not well at all in the second.  The Twins waived him in late May and he was selected by Detroit.  He was with the Tigers for a little over a month and did not do very well there, either.  They sent him down to AAA Toledo in early July, and he continued to not pitch very well.  He re-signed with the Twins in late January of 2020, but he did not play and was released after the season.  He pitched for Lexington in the Atlantic League, pitching very well in 2021 but not so well in 2022.  That brought his playing career to an end.  As a Twin, Austin Adams was 0-0, 16.88, 2.63 WHIP in 2.2 innings.  In his major league career, he was 2-0, 6.45, 1.66 WHIP.  At last report, Austin Adams was the head baseball coach and facilities and maintenance director for Prattville Christian Academy in Prattville, Alabama.  He is a member of the Faulkner University Hall of Fame.

August 18

Sam Wise (1857)

Wally Gerber (1891)

Burleigh Grimes (1893)

Bernie Friberg (1899)

Max Lanier (1915)

Bob Kennedy (1920)

Roberto Clemente (1934)

Billy Consolo (1934)

Joe Azcue (1939)

Paul Popovich (1940)

Bucky Guth (1947)

Bruce Benedict (1955)

Mike LaValliere (1960)

Jack Howell (1961)

Marcus Lawton (1965)

Bobby Higginson (1970)

Albie Lopez (1971)

Justin Wilson (1987)

Yimi Garcia (1990)

Austin Hedges (1992)

Mick Abel (2001)

Marcus Lawton is the brother of Matt Lawton.  He played in ten games for the Yankees in 1989.

I am annually saddened that there has never been a major league player named Ham Fast.  There was Darcy Fast, who appeared in eight games for the Cubs in 1968 and later became a pastor.  There have been six players with the first name of Ham, most notably Ham Hyatt, who was a reserve for seven seasons from 1909-1918, mostly with Pittsburgh.

Infielder William Angelo Consolo was one of the original Minnesota Twins, playing in eleven games for them in 1961.  He was born in Cleveland, went to high school in Los Angeles, and was drafted by Boston as a bonus baby in 1953, meaning he was required by rule to be on the big league club for all of 1953 and 1954. The amount of cash he received was actually under the limit, but part of the deal was that the Red Sox purchased the barber shop at the Los Angeles Hilton for his father, a professional barber. Consolo was first used primarily as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement, but later saw more playing time, getting 242 at-bats (his career high) in 1954. He spent nearly all of 1955 at AAA, but was back with the Red Sox in 1956 and achieved one of the odder lines you’ll find: 48 games, 11 at-bats, 2 hits, 13 runs. Consolo worked his way up to part-time status in 1957, but was back to being a pinch-runner/defensive replacement in 1958 and the first part of 1959 before being traded in June to the then Washington Senators for Herb Plews. He saw part-time duty for the Senators the rest of 1959 and in 1960, but was back to pinch-runner/defensive replacement at the start of 1961 before being traded to Milwaukee on June 1 for Billy Martin. As a member of the Washington/Minnesota franchise, Consolo played in 190 games, batted 381 times, and hit .207/.318/.281 with 3 homers and 25 RBIs. Strictly as a Minnesota Twin, he played in 11 games and was 0-for-5. Consolo was in the minors the rest of that year, then was taken by Philadelphia in the Rule 5 draft. In May of 1962 he was purchased by the Angels, and then was selected off waivers by Kansas City in June. The Athletics released him at the end of the season, and his playing career ended.  Given how seldom he played while on a major league roster, it’s odd that he was never given extended time in the minors to see if he could develop. Consolo left baseball for a while, becoming a barber in Los Angeles. He came back to baseball in 1979, serving as a coach for the Tigers from 1979-1992 and again in 1995. Billy Consolo passed away on March 27, 2008 in Westlake Village, California, at the age of 73.

Infielder Charles Henry “Bucky” Guth had three at-bats for the Twins in 1972.  He is the second "Charles Guth" to play in the majors--pitcher Charlie Guth appeared in one game for the Cubs in 1880.  Bucky Guth was born in Baltimore, Maryland, attended the University of West Virginia, and was drafted by the Braves in the twentieth round in 1969.  Baseball-reference.com says that in June of 1970 he was “sent from the Atlanta Braves to the Minnesota Twins in an unknown transaction.”  Sadly, despite his awesome name, Bucky Guth was not particularly good. He was never much of a batter, either for average or power–his “best” year in the minors was 1971, when he batted .272/.336/.373 with 8 homers and 53 RBIs for AA Charlotte. The next year he batted .218 for AAA Tacoma, but was still given a September call-up, wearing number 27.  Bucky Guth appeared in three games, twice being used as a pinch-runner and once starting at shortstop. He went 0-for-3, but reached on an error, scored a run, and fielded all four chances flawlessly. He spent 1973 in Tacoma, but was out of baseball after that.  It's a shame that someone with such a great baseball name didn't make more of an impact on the game. No information about Bucky Guth’s post-baseball life is readily available.

Right-handed starter McLean Stine Abel has been with the Twins since 2025.  He was born in Portland, Oregon, went to high school in Beaverton, Oregon, and was drafted by Philadelphia in the first round in 2020.  He advanced through the minors at roughly a level a year.  He struck out a lot of batters, but also walked a lot of batters, meaning that his overall numbers are not particularly impressive.  He had a poor year in AAA in 2024, but did much better when repeating that level in 2025.  He made six starts for Philadelphia in 2025, during which his walk rate fell, but so did his strikeout rate, resulting in a 2-2, 5.04 record.  He was traded to the Twins at the 2025 trade deadline along with Eduardo Tait for Jhoan Duran.  He made two good starts in St. Paul, then four appearances with the Twins.  He began the 2026 season in the majors, but was injured after four games and missed the rest of the season.  As a Twin, he is 2-4, 5.77, 1.66 WHIP in 34.1 innings, clearly not good numbers but also a very small sample size.  He turns twenty-five today.  It he can get healthy, keep the walks down, and keep his strikeout rate high, he could have a solid major league career.  On the other hand, there are many, many pitchers of whom that could have been said.

August 17

Johnny Rawlings (1892)

Rudy York (1913)

Donald Honig (1931)

Jim Davenport (1933)

John Buzhardt (1936)

Diego Segui (1937)

Boog Powell (1941)

Ron Boyer (1944)

Skip Lockwood (1946)

Butch Hobson (1951)

Alex Cole (1965)

Jorge Posada (1971)

Mike Maroth (1977)

Chad Qualls (1978)

Brett Myers (1980)

Dustin Pedroia (1983)

Kyle Farmer (1990)

Victor Caratini (1993)

Author Donald Honig has written nearly forty books about baseball.

Ron Boyer is the brother of Clete Boyer and Ken Boyer. He played in the Yankees’ farm system for eight years, reaching AAA.

Outfielder Alexander Cole played for the Twins in 1994-1995.  He was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, attended Manatee Community College of Bradenton, Florida, and was taken by St. Louis in the second round of the 1985 January draft. A speedy singles hitter with no power at all, he didn’t hit enough singles to really establish himself after getting to AAA in 1986. Cole moved around a few times in AAA–he did not hit enough to make the team he was with want to keep him, but he was so fast that there was always someone who wanted him. Traded from St. Louis to San Diego to Cleveland, Cole made his debut with the Indians in July of 1990. He posted good batting averages as a part-time player in 1990 and 1991, but after a poor start in 1992 he was traded to Pittsburgh. After the 1992 season, the Colorado Rockies selected Cole in the expansion draft. He played for the Rockies in 1993, but hit only .256 as a semi-regular center fielder and became a free agent.  He was signed by the Twins at the start of spring training in 1994 and stayed in Minnesota for two years. Cole did well as a part-time player for the Twins in 1994, hitting .296 with an OBP of .375.  Unfortunately, he was injured much of 1995 and became a free agent after that season.  He hit , batting .304 with a .381 OBP in 424 at-bats. He again became a free agent after the 1995 season and signed with Boston for 1996, his last year in the big-leagues. Cole was in the Marlins organization for part of 1997 and then spent a few years playing independent ball before calling it a career after the 2001 season. Sadly, life after baseball does not seem to have gone well for him: in 2002, Cole was sentenced to 18 months in prison possession of heroin with the intent to distribute, and in 2006, a $30,000 judgment was entered against him for running up credit card bills under someone else’s name.  He does appear to have straightened out his life after that, and split his time between Florida and North Carolina.  Alex Cole passed away on August 19, 2023, at the young age of fifty-eight.

Left-hander Michael Warren Maroth did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 2010.  Born and raised in Orlando, Florida, he attended the University of Central Florida and was drafted by Boston in the third round in 1998.  He showed some promise in the Red Sox’ system, but was traded to Detroit at the July, 1999 deadline for Bryce Florie.  He struggled in the Tigers’ system until 2002, when he went 8-1, 2.82 in eleven starts for AAA Toledo.  He made his big league debut that season, making 21 starts for the Tigers and not pitching too badly.  The next year, 2003, Detroit made a serious run at having the worst record in the history of baseball, and Maroth became a symbol of their futility, losing 21 games.  He was not that horrible, but he wasn’t all that good, either, posting an ERA of 5.73 and a WHIP of 1.45.  He was in the rotation for two more seasons and was fairly average.  He was off to a good start in 2006 but was injured, missing most of the year.  He was back in the rotation in 2007 but did not pitch well and was traded to St. Louis in June.  He did worse there and was allowed to become a free agent after the season.  He signed with Kansas City for 2008, but was released in late April and was out of baseball the rest of the year.  He signed with Toronto for 2009 but was released in late March and was out of baseball again.  The Twins signed him for 2010 and sent him to Rochester.  He got off to a decent start, but was injured after only three starts.  He made a rehab appearance in late July, but that was it for him as a Twin.  He became a free agent after the season and pitched in winter ball, but did not sign with anyone for 2011 and officially retired on January 25, 2011.  He has since spent some time as a minor league pitching coach, most recently as the pitching coach of Gwinnett in the Braves organization.  Mike Maroth was the pitching coach for the University of Central Florida in 2023, but was not retained for 2024.  At last report, he was offering private pitching instruction under the name of "Mike Maroth Baseball" in Winter Garden, Florida.

Infielder James Kyle Farmer played for the Twins from 2023-2024.  Born and raised in Atlanta, he attended the University of Georgia and was drafted by the Dodgers in the eighth round in 2013.  He was a steady batter throughout the minors, never producing eye-popping stats but always posting solid numbers.  He reached AA in 2015, AAA in 2017, and the majors in late 2017.  He started 2018 in the majors as a part-time third baseman, but did not hit much and was sent down in mid-May, coming back as a September call-up.  He was traded to Cincinnati after the 2018 season.  He was a utility player for them in 2019-2020, was their starting shortstop in 2021, and was their mostly regular shortstop in 2022, although he saw significant time at third base.  He had decent batting averages, but mediocre on-base percentages and little power.  After the 2022 season he was traded to Minnesota for Casey Legumina.  He went back to the utility role for the Twins, seeing substantial time at third, second, and short.  His offensive numbers were about at his career numbers in 2023, but were down in 2024.  He became a free agent and signed with Colorado for 2025, but his offensive numbers did not improve.  He signed with Atlanta for 2026 and has been injured much of the season, playing in just twelve games for the Braves.  Atlanta has released him twice, but has signed him back both times.  He turns thirty-six today.  He's had a decent career, and we wish him well, but it appears that Kyle Farmer's playing career may be nearing an end.

Catcher/first baseman Victor Manuel Caratini came to the Twins in 2026.  He was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, attended high school in Gurabo, Puerto Rico, and was drafted by Atlanta in the second round in 2013.  He was still in the low minors when he was traded to the Cubs at the July deadline of 2014.  He had an outstanding season in AAA in 2017 and reached the majors at the end of June that year.  He was in the majors most of 2018 but was mostly used as a backup catcher and didn't hit.  He was given a larger role in 2019 and hit eleven homers in 244 at-bats.  He fell off in the COVID season of 2020 and was traded to San Diego after the season.  He played in the most games of his career that season, 116, but didn't hit a lot and was on the move again, traded to Milwaukee at the start of the 2022 season.  He played part-time for two seasons, then became a free agent and signed with Houston.  He had the best seasons of his career with the Astros, batting .263/.329/.406 with twenty homers over two seasons (589 at-bats).  A free agent again, he signed with Minnesota.  He was signed to back up Ryan Jeffers, but took over the starting role for about six weeks when Jeffers was injured.  At this writing he has batted .228/.317/.338 in 272 at-bats, numbers which are just a little bit below his career numbers.  He turns thirty-three today.  At this point, he is what he is--a part-time catcher who can play a little first base.  He won't hit a lot, but he can put a ball over the fence every once in a while.  He's reputed to be a good defensive catcher.  Jeffers will be a free agent after the season, which means Victor Caratini may be a regular catcher for the first time in his career.  We hope he can handle that, but there's not a lot of evidence to support that hope.

August 16

Hick Carpenter (1855)

Baby Doll Jacobsen (1890)

Fats Fothergill (1897)

George Scales (1900)

Tiny Bonham (1913)

Gene Woodling (1922)

Puddin’ Head Jones (1925)

Buck Rodgers (1938)

Gene Brabender (1941)

Mike Jorgensen (1948)

Al Holland (1952)

Nick Leyva (1953)

Rick Reed (1964)

Xavier Hernandez (1965)

Terry Shumpert (1966)

Quinton McCracken (1970)

Damian Jackson (1973)

Roger Cedeno (1974)

Ryan Hanigan (1980)

Yu Darvish (1986)

Martin Maldonado (1986)

Akil Baddoo (1998)

Nick Leyva was a long-time minor league coach and manager and major league coach.  He managed the Philadelphia Phillies from 1989-1991.

Right-hander Richard Allen Reed pitched for the Twins from 2001-2003.  He was born in Huntington, West Virginia, attended Marshall University, and was drafted in the 26th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986. He made his major league debut with Pittsburgh in 1988.   He spent the next eight years bouncing back and forth between AAA and the majors, first with the Pirates, then with Kansas City, Texas, and Cincinnati.  He always pitched well in the minors, but never could stick in the majors.  His major league ERAs tell the reason why, but he never got much of a chance and his WHIPs were pretty decent many of those years, suggesting bad luck may also have been a factor.  He was a replacement player in 1995, knowing that he would pay a price for it but believing he had no choice due to the medical bills incurred by his ill mother. After playing at AAA for all of 1996 with the Mets, Reed finally made the big-leagues to stay in 1997 at the age of 32. He was a rotation starter for the Mets, and a good one, from 1997 through July of 2001, when he was traded at the deadline to Minnesota for Matt Lawton.  He was apparently unhappy about leaving New York, but did not complain publicly about it at the time. Reed did not pitch well for the Twins that year, but had a solid year in 2002, helping the team to the playoffs. After a poor 2003, when he was 38, the Twins released him. He signed with Pittsburgh that off-season, but did not make the team and called it a career.  As a Twin, he was 25-25, 4.47, 1.30 WHIP in 390.2 innings.  He appeared in 72 games, 65 of them starts.  He became the pitching coach at Marshall University in 2005 and stayed there several years, but then decided to step away from baseball for good.  At last report, Rick Reed was living in retirement in Huntington, West Virginia.

Outfielder Quinton Antoine McCracken played in 24 games for the Twins in 2001.  He was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, went to high school in South Brunswick, North Carolina (where he started on the football and basketball teams and ran track in addition to playing baseball), and attended Duke.  He was drafted by Colorado in the twenty-fifth round in 1992.  He was a high average hitter, hitting .359 in a 1995 season split between AA and AAA.  He was also fast, stealing 60 bases at Class A Central Valley in 1993.  He came up to the Rockies at the end of 1995 and stayed through 1997 as a part-time centerfielder.  He hit .291 over that time, but was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was chosen by Tampa Bay.  He hit .292 in 1998, but he got off to a bad start in 1999 and then was injured in late May, missing the rest of the season.  He split 2000 between AAA and the Devil Rays, then was released.  He signed with St. Louis for 2001, but failed to make the team.  The Twins signed McCracken on April 13 and sent him to AAA Edmonton, where he hit .338.  They brought him to the majors for about six weeks; he got 64 at-bats, making six starts in the outfield and eight at designated hitter (a foreshadowing of Jason Tyner’s use in that role).  His batting ability stayed in AAA, however; he hit .219/.275/.313.  He became a free agent after the season, signing with Arizona.  He made a surprising comeback there, hitting .309 as a half-time outfielder in 2002.  He went back down in 2003, however, and was traded to Seattle after the season for Greg Colbrunn and cash.  He played poorly with the Mariners, was released in June, and signed back with the Diamondbacks, where he again made a comeback, hitting .288 as a reserve the rest of the way.  He again could not sustain it the following year, and became a free agent after the 2005 season.  McCracken signed with Cincinnati for 2006, but played sparingly and was released in early July.  The Twins re-signed him a couple of weeks later and sent him to Rochester; he hit .284 there, but was not promoted and again became a free agent after the season.  He played for independent Bridgeport in 2007, then his playing career came to an end.  For a twenty-fifth round draft choice, though, he had a pretty good career.  Quinton McCracken was assistant director for player development for the Arizona Diamondbacks through 2012, and worked for the Houston Astros from 2013-2018, serving as their director of player personnel the last two seasons.  He was the third base coach for the Durham Bulls in the Tampa Bay organization in 2019.  There was no minor league season in 2020, and in 2021 he became a special assistant for baseball operations and player development for the Milwaukee Brewers.  In 2024 he became manager of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in the MLB Draft League.  He moved on to the Giants' organization in 2026, becoming the Complex Operations and Training Coordinator for the ACL Giants.

Outfielder Akil Neomon Baddoo did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system from 2016-2020.  He was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, went to high school in Conyers, Georgia, and was drafted by Minnesota in the second round in 2016.  He struggled in the Gulf Coast League that season, but had an outstanding year with Elizabethton in 2017.  He was okay, but nothing special in Low-A in 2018 and struggled in High-A in 2019.  However, he was only twenty years old that season.  For his minor league Twins career, he batted .249/.357/.467 with 21 homers in 862 at-bats.  There was, of course, no minor league season in 2020, and the Twins left him unprotected after that year.  Detroit claimed him in the rule 5 draft and gave him a chance.  He got off to a hot start, leading people to think the Twins had given up on a star.  He cooled off, however, and had a poor 2022, going back to the minors for a while.  He was in the majors for most of 2023 and was the Tigers' semi-regular left-fielder, but did not hit.  He split 2024 between AAA and the majors but did not hit.  He hit better in AAA in 2025, but did nothing in seventeen major league at-bats.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Milwaukee and has done okay, but nothing more, in AAA.  So far in his major league career he is batting .224/.305/.369 in 1016 at-bats.  He turns twenty-eight today.  He might be able to catch someone's eye and be a reserve in the majors, but that's probably the best he can hope for at this point.