September 15

This is a reprint from last year which has not been updated.

Doc Bushong (1856)

Nick Altrock (1876)

Hugh McQuillan (1895)

Crush Holloway (1896)

Harry McCurdy (1899)

Rap Dixon (1902)

Fritz Ostermueller (1907)

Edsall Walker (1910)

Dan Wilson (1915)

Charley Smith (1937)

Gaylord Perry (1938)

Frank Linzy (1940)

Don Carrithers (1949)

John Pacella (1956)

John Christensen (1960)

Doug Simons (1966)

Paul Abbott (1967)

Rich Robertson (1968)

Matt Thornton (1976)

Luke Hochevar (1983)

Right-hander Donald George Carrithers appeared in seven games for the Twins in 1977. Born and raised in Lynwood, California, he was drafted by San Francisco in the third round in 1967. Jumped to AAA Phoenix at age 19, he had a fine year there as a relief pitcher at age 20, going 9-1 with a 2.15 ERA, and made his major-league debut with the Giants in August of that year. He was a swing man for the Giants in 1971 and 1972, but after a poor year in ’72 he was switched to the bullpen in 1973 and traded to Montreal just before the start of the 1974 season. Carrithers pitched pretty well for the Expos in 1974 and 1975, posting ERAs in the low threes and WHIPs around 1.2, but slumped in 1976 and was purchased by the Twins just before the 1977 campaign. He was injured much of the season due to an auto accident, appearing in only seven games, all in relief. He was 0-1 in those seven appearances, with a 6.91 ERA in 14.1 innings. Released by the Twins during 1978 spring training, he went back to the Giants, and pitched in Phoenix for two years. He was decent, but no more, and after failing to get back to the majors in those two seasons, he called it a career. Carrithers was plagued by injuries for most of his career, a problem which was probably not helped by the fact that he was constantly bounced between relieving and starting. Don Carrithers is the third-youngest pitcher ever to start a game for the San Francisco Giants. He worked in sales for some time after leaving baseball. He appears at various Giants’ alumni and charitable events, and at last report was living in Elk Grove, California.

Right-hander John Lewis Pacella made twenty-one appearances for the Twins in 1982. He was born in Brooklyn, went to high school in Oakdale, New York, and was drafted by the Mets in the fourth round in 1974. He was not all that impressive in the minors (although he wasn’t terrible), but got cups of coffee with the Mets in 1977 and 1979 before spending a full season there in 1980. Shuffled between the rotation and the bullpen, Pacella did not pitch well, and was traded twice before the next season started, going to San Diego in the off-season in a trade for Randy Jones and being sent to the Yankees late in spring training in a deal that involved Jerry Mumphrey and Ruppert Jones. He was in AAA Columbus in 1980, but made the Yankees at the start of 1981, appearing in three games for them before being traded to the Twins in May with Pete Filson, Larry Milbourne, and cash for Roger Erickson and Butch Wynegar. The Twins had an awful pitching staff in 1982, and Pacella was part of the awfulness, going 1-2 with a 7.32 ERA and a 1.9 WHIP in 51.2 innings. All but one of his 21 appearances was in relief. Minnesota traded Pacella to Texas in the off-season for Len Whitehouse. He made two more brief appearances in the big leagues, getting into six games for Baltimore in 1984 and five for Detroit in 1986. He pitched in Japan in 1987 and closed out his career in AAA in 1988, when he pitched for the Baltimore, Detroit, and Milwaukee organizations. John Pacella and Dan Briggs are the co-owners of Big League Baseball School, based in Worthington, Ohio, which develops leagues and offers instruction and clinics in both baseball and fast pitch softball.

Outfielder John Lawrence Christensen played in twenty-three games for the Twins in 1988. He was born in Downey, California, went to high school in Fullerton, California, and was drafted out of Cal State Fullerton by the Mets in the second round of the 1981 draft. He hit over .300 in each of his first three years in the minors, including AAA Tidewater in 1984 before getting a September callup that year. The next year, however, he inexplicably slumped to .212 at Tidewater. After the 1985 season, Christensen was traded to the Red Sox in a deal that involved Calvin Schiraldi and Bob Ojeda. He again struggled at AAA in 1986, and was traded to Seattle in a deal involving Dave Henderson and Spike Owen. He regained his hitting stroke in the minors in 1987, and spent a good portion of the year in the majors with the Mariners. Christensen was hitting well at AAA again in 1988, but the Mariners released him in May. Five days later he was signed by the Twins. He spent most of the rest of the year in AAA Portland, but got another September callup with the Twins. He was back in Portland in 1989, but started to decline, and he was released at the end of the season. John Christensen had 38 at-bats as a Twin, hitting .263/.349/.368 with five runs batted in. His brother Jim was a minor league infielder who played in the Twins’ organization.  It appears that John went into law enforcement for a while, but is no longer involved in that occupation. No further information about our John Christensen was readily available.

Left-hander Douglas Eugene Simons did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them. He was born in Bakersfield, California and was drafted by Minnesota in the ninth round in 1988 out of Pepperdine University. He had three good minor-league years for the Twins, but was left unprotected and was chosen by the Mets in the rule 5 draft during the 1990-91 off-season. Simons spent all year of the 1991 season in the Mets bullpen, appearing in 42 games, going 2-3 with a 5.19 ERA, but giving up less than a hit per inning and posting a WHIP of 1.22. He was traded to Montreal just before the 1992 season and pitched well in AAA Indianapolis, earning a brief call-up with the Expos at the end of the season. That would be his major league swan song, however, and after another year at AAA with the Expos, a year at AAA with the Royals, a year of independent ball, and a final year in 1996 split between AA and AAA in the Houston organization, Simons’ career came to a close. Simons was a control pitcher, walking fewer than two batters per nine innings in three of his minor league seasons. Doug Simons is currently the head baseball coach at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia.

Right-hander Paul David Abbott pitched for the Twins from 1990-1992. He was born in Van Nuys, California, went to high school in Fullerton, California, and was drafted in the third round by Minnesota in 1985. He was plagued by wildness in his early minor league career, walking over six men per nine innings through 1990. Despite that, he pitched in parts of three seasons for the Twins from 1990-92, throwing 93 innings in 28 games, ten of them starts. Abbott was 3-6 in those games, with a 5.03 ERA and 6.7 walks per nine innings. The Twins released him after the 1992 season, and he signed with Cleveland. He made five appearances for the Indians in 1993, spending the rest of the season in the minors. He bounced to the Royals, Cubs, Padres, and Mariners organizations, suffering numerous injuries along the way, but never giving up. Abbott’s remarkable perseverance was rewarded, as he battled his way back to the big-leagues with the Mariners in 1998 after a five-year absence. He had some solid years for Seattle, winning 17 games in 2001, but was released after a poor 2002 campaign. Abbott was in the majors with Kansas City in 2003 and with Tampa Bay and Philadelphia in 2004, but did not again have a good season. He pitched for a couple of independent teams in 2005 before ending his career at age 37. He remained in baseball as the pitching coach for Fullerton Junior College and as pitching coach and manager of the Orange County Fliers in the Golden Baseball League.  From 2011-2023 Paul Abbott was a pitching coach in the Boston organization, coaching the Lowell Spinners until 2012, then moving up to the Greenville Drive in 2013-2014, then moving up further to the high-A Salem Red Sox in 2015-2017, moving up another notch to AA Portland from 2018-2019, and moving up once more to AAA Worcester from 2021-2023.  He moved to the Oakland organization after that, and was the pitching coach at AA Midland in 2024.

Left-hander Richard Wayne Robertson played for the Twins from 1995-1997. He was born in Nacogdoches, Texas attended San Jacinto Junior College and Texas A&M, and was drafted out by the Pirates in the ninth round in 1990. He had some solid minor-league years for Pittsburgh, and made brief appearances in the majors in 1993 and 1994, pitching in seventeen games for the Pirates over those two years, all in relief. The Twins selected Robertson off waivers during the 1994-95 off-season, and brought him up to the majors after he went 5-0 with a 2.44 ERA in seven starts at AAA Salt Lake. Pitching mostly out of the bullpen that year, Robertson went 2-0 with a 3.83 ERA, but walked 31 batters in 51.2 innings. Placed in the starting rotation in 1996 and 1997, he continued to struggle with his control, leading the league in walks in 1996 (although he also led in shutouts with three). In three years with the Twins, Robertson was 17-29 with a 5.17 ERA. He became a free agent after the 1997 season and signed with Anaheim, spending most of the season with AAA Vancouver, although he did make five appearances with the big club. He pitched for the Colorado, Pittsburgh, Texas, and Cincinnati organizations in 1999 and in independent ball in 2000, at which point Rich Robertson’s playing career ended.   At last report, he was living in Waller, Texas.  He is a member of the Waller High School Hall of Fame.

September 14

Kid Nichols (1869)

Jerry Doggett (1916)

Jerry Coleman (1924)

Jim Fanning (1927)

Stan Williams (1936)

Jerry Don Gleaton (1957)

Tim Wallach (1957)

Mike Durant (1969)

David Bell (1972)

Chad Bradford (1974)

Delmon Young (1985)

Derek Law (1990)

Andrew Vasquez (1993)

Jerry Doggett was a broadcaster for the Dodgers from 1956-1987.

Right-hander Stanley Wilson Williams played for the Twins from 1970-1971. He was born in Enfield, New Hampshire, went to high school in Denver, and was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as a free agent in 1954. He was somewhat up and down in the minors, but after a strong 1957 at AAA St. Paul and a good start there in 1958, Williams was called up to the then Los Angeles Dodgers in May of 1958. He was with the Dodgers through the 1962 season, used mostly as a starter, but was traded in the 1962-63 off-season to the Yankees for Moose Skowron. He had a couple of seemingly solid years for New York, but apparently the Yankees weren’t impressed, because he was sold to Cleveland after the 1964 campaign. He spent most of 1965 and 1967 and all of 1966 in the minors, but made it back in 1968, putting in two good years for the Indians as a swing man. In December of 1969, Williams was traded to the Twins with Luis Tiant for Dean Chance, Bob Miller, Graig Nettles, and Ted Uhlaender. Used exclusively in relief for the Twins, he had a tremendous 1970, going 10-1 with a 1.99 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in 113 innings. He did not repeat that in 1971, but was still decent; the Twins, however, were not, and so traded Williams to St. Louis on September 1 for Fred Rico and Dan Ford. As a Twin, he was 14-6, 2.87, 1.17 WHIP. He appeared in 114 games, pitching 191.1 innings. He pitched well for the Cardinals down the stretch, but was released after the season. He played briefly in the Angels organization and got back to the big leagues with Boston for three games in 1972. Stan Williams remained in baseball after his playing career ended, and was the pitching coach for Boston, the Yankees, Seattle, the White Sox, and Cincinnati. He also was a scout for Tampa Bay and Washington until his retirement in 2010.  Stan Williams is a member of the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.  He passed away on February 20, 2021 at his home in Laughlin, Nevada.

Catcher Michael Joseph Durant played in 40 games for the Twins in 1996. Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, he was drafted by the Twins in the second round of the 1991 draft out of Ohio State. He had a decent but unspectacular minor league career, with his best year coming in 1994, when he batted .297 with 24 doubles for AAA Salt Lake. Durant made the Twins out of spring training in 1996 and played 40 games for them in three stints with the team that totaled a little more than half the season. He was the third catcher, playing behind Greg Myers and Matt Walbeck, and batted .210/.293/.247 with 5 RBIs in 81 at-bats. Sent back to the minors, he played for Salt Lake again in 1997, but batted only .206, and retired after that season. At last report, Mike Durant was the facilities coordinator for D1 Sports Training in Columbus.

Outfielder Delmon Damarcus Young played for the Twins from 2008-2011. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, went to high school in Camarillo, California, and was chosen by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with the first pick of the 2003 draft. He hit extremely well at Class A and AA, not quite as well, but still solidly enough, in AAA. Young was named Baseball America’s 2005 minor league player of the year, and despite being suspended for 50 games in 2006 for throwing a bat which hit the home plate umpire, made his debut in the majors with Tampa Bay in August of that year. Young played in every game for the Devil Rays in 2007, batting .288 with 13 homers and 93 RBIs as a 21-year-old, finishing second to Dustin Pedroia in Rookie of the Year voting. That off-season he was traded to the Twins with Brendan Harris and Jason Pridie for Eduardo Morlan, Jason Bartlett, and Matt Garza. Young hit for a decent average as a Twin and hit double digit home runs in his first three seasons there. In 2010, he set career highs in doubles, home runs, and RBIs, leading some to think he was about to live up to the stardom predicted for him when we was chosen first in the draft.  In 2011, however, he went backward, and was traded to Detroit in mid-August for Cole Nelson and a player to be named later (Lester Oliveros).  He did well for the Tigers the rest of the season.  He was used mostly at DH by the Tigers in 2012, and while he wasn’t awful, he did not do enough offensively for someone who has no defensive value.   A free agent after the season, he signed with Philadelphia.  He was their regular right fielder for about three months, and while he again wasn't awful, he wasn't very good, either.  The Phillies released him in mid-August and he signed with Tampa Bay, getting called up to the majors in September.  A free agent once more after the season, he signed with Baltimore and did fairly well as a reserve in 2014.   One suspects Buck Showalter did a good job of playing him against pitchers he could hit.  That didn't help him in 2015, though; his numbers dropped and he was released in July.  That seemed to bring his playing career to an end, out of baseball at age twenty-nine.  He was charged with battery after an incident at a club in Miami in February of 2016, but the charge was dropped in May when his accuser failed to appear at a hearing.  In 2017, he came back to baseball, playing in the Australian League.  He played in the Mexican League in 2018 and had a good season.  He also played well in the Venezuelan Winter League and had a couple of tremendous seasons in the Australian League, where he played through 2021.  As a Twin, Delmon Young batted .287/.324/.429 in three and a half seasons.  No information about what Delmon Young is doing now was readily available.

Right-handed reliever Derek Robert Law appeared in nine games for the Twins in 2021.  Born and raised in Pittsburgh, he attended Miami Dade College and was drafted by the Giants in the ninth round in 2011.  He pitched very well all through the minors with the exception of 2015, when he struggled in AA.  Still, he made his major league debut with the Giants in mid-April of 2016 and had an excellent season, going 4-2, 2.13, 0.96 WHIP in 55 innings.  Unfortunately for him, that was the only good season he's had so far.  He struggled in 2017 and was sent back to AAA in mid-June.  He did well there and came back as a September call-up.  In 2018, however, he struggled in both the majors and AAA and was traded to Toronto at the start of the 2019 season.  He came up to the majors in early May and struggled for a while, but actually did okay in the second half of the season.  He signed with Texas for 2020 but did not play and was released after the season.  The Twins signed him for 2021.  He spent most of the season in AAA but was in the majors for two stretches that add up to about three weeks.  He was not terrible, but not particularly good, in both places.  As a Twin, he was 0-0, 4.20, 1.60 WHIP in 15 innings (9 games).  He became a free agent again after the season and signed with Detroit for 2022.  He pitched very well for them in AAA, but made just two major league appearances and was released in early August.  He signed with Cincinnati a week later and came to the majors at the end of August, where he remained through the end of the season.  He wasn't anything great for the Reds, but he wasn't awful, either.  He signed with Washington for 2024 and had his best season since his rookie year.  Unfortunately, he was injured in 2025 spring training and has missed the entire season.  If he can get healthy, there's no reason he couldn't be a good pitcher once again.  However, he turns thirty-five today, so that's an open question.

Left-hander Andrew Jude Vasquez pitched for the Twins in 2018-2019.  Born and raised in Rancho Cucamonga, California, he attended the University of California at Santa Barbara and also attended Westmont College, also in Santa Barbara.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the thirty-second round in 2015.  He pitched really well in the low minors but remained in low Class A through 2017.  After a fine season in the Arizona Fall League he started 2018 in Fort Myers, went up to Chattanooga, was promoted to Rochester, and earned a September call-up.  He did not do well in the majors, but his 2018 combined minor league numbers were 1-2, 1.30, 1.02 WHIP with 108 strikeouts in 69.1 innings.  He looked ready to take a step forward to the majors, but instead he took a step backward.  He battled injuries in 2019 and did not pitch well when he could pitch.  He did not play in 2020, but pitched in AAA and was doing reasonably well when, for no apparent reason, the Twins traded him to the Dodgers for Stevie Berman.  As a Twin, he was 1-0, 10.80, 1.80 WHIP in five innings. He made two appearances for the Dodgers.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Toronto.  He battled injuries much of the season and made nine appearances in the majors, not doing particularly well.  The Blue Jays waived him in early August and he was claimed by Philadelphia.  He pitched well in nine AAA appearances, but was waived again in mid-August and was claimed by San Francisco, for whom he finished the season in AAA.  He was waived again after the season, was claimed by Philadelphia again, and was having a good season when the Phillies waived him again.  He was claimed by Detroit and was pitching well until he tried to pitch through an injury, leading to a disastrous outing and making his numbers as a Tiger look terrible.  He has pitched in AAA for Detroit in 2024 and has not done well, making one think the injury is still bothering him.  He signed with the Angels for 2025, but pitched poorly in AAA and was released.  He went to the Mexican League and has had an excellent season there.  He turns thirty-two today.  It's certainly possible that someone will give him another shot in 2026.

September 13

Mike McNally (1893)
Dutch Reuther (1893)
Pat Collins (1896)
Eddie Rommel (1897)
Rabbit Warstler (1903)
Thornton Lee (1906)
Ed Sudol (1920)
Rick Wise (1945)
Rick Dempsey (1949)
Jim Obradovich (1949)
Mike Fischlin (1955)
Erik Bennett (1968)
Bernie Williams (1968)
Denny Neagle (1968)
Brent Brede (1971)
Armando Rios (1971)
Daisuke Matsuzaka (1980)
Rickie Weeks (1982)
Marcus Walden (1988)
Andy Wilkins (1988)

Ed Sudol was a minor league first baseman from 1940-1953, never getting higher than AA.  He then became an umpire and was National League ump from 1957-1977.

I think eight is the most Twins we have born on one day.

Catcher John Rikard “Rick” Dempsey played briefly for the Twins from 1969-1972. He was born in Fayetteville, Tennessee, went to high school in Encino, California, and was drafted by the Twins in the 15th round in 1967. He hit well in Class A in 1968 and 1969, but not so well at higher levels. He was considered an excellent receiver, however, and was called up briefly by the Twins each year from 1969-72, getting a total of 66 at-bats in which he hit .227/.320/.273. In the 1972-73 off-season, Dempsey was traded to the Yankees for Danny Walton. He spent most of 1973 at AAA Syracuse, but then stuck with the Yankees as a backup catcher from 1974-June 1976. He was traded to Baltimore in a multi-player deal that included Tippy Martinez, Scott McGregor, Doyle Alexander, Elrod Hendricks, Ken Holtzman, and Grant Jackson. Dempsey was in Baltimore for the next ten years, never a superstar, but always a competent catcher. He appeared in two World Series’ with the Orioles, 1979 and 1983, and was MVP of the 1983 series. Dempsey slumped to a .208 average in 1986, and was allowed to become a free agent. He was with Cleveland in 1987, but appeared to be done, batting only .177 as a reserve. He signed with the Dodgers at the end of spring training of 1988, and found himself on another world series team, to which he contributed by batting .251 as a back-up catcher. Dempsey was with the Dodgers for three years, played for Milwaukee in 1991, and had a last hurrah with the Orioles before calling it a career after the 1992 season. He is probably best remembered for an imitation of Babe Ruth that he once did to entertain the fans during a rain delay. After retiring as a player, Rick Dempsey remained in baseball, first as a minor league manager, then as a major league coach, and most recently as a broadcaster for the Orioles.  He does motivational speaking and according to his website, "is also an accomplished singer and entertainer, performing with the Deanna Bogart Band."

First baseman James Thomas Obradovich did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them. He was born in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, went to high school in Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was drafted by the Twins in the 24th round of the 1967 amateur draft. He was in the Twins minor league system through 1976, with the exception of 1971-72, when he was in the military, and with the exception of a brief time in 1974 when he was in the Braves’ system. He gradually developed some power in the minors, hitting over 20 homers in both 1975 and 1976 for AA Orlando. Released by the Twins shortly before the 1977 season, he signed with the Houston organization on the same day. He had his best minor league season with AAA Charleston in 1978, when he batted .306 with 21 homers. He got a September call-up with the Astros that year. He was back in Charleston in 1979, then spent a several years in the Mexican League before his playing career came to an end. In his big-league career, Jim Obradovich batted .176 (3-for-17) with a triple and 2 RBIs. Jim Obradovich passed away on March 3, 2012 in Lancaster, Kentucky, at the age of 62.

Right-hander Erik Hans Bennett appeared in twenty-four games for the Twins in 1996. He was born in Yreka, California, went to high school in Eureka, California, and was drafted in the fourth round by the California Angels in 1989 out of Cal State-Sacramento. He did well in the minors through 1982, but hit a bump in 1983, when he had an ERA over 6.00 and a WHIP of more than 1.5 in a season split between AA Midland and AAA Vancouver. A starter to that point, he was converted to relief in 1984 and had a strong season at Vancouver. Bennett made one appearance for the Angels in 1995, pitching one-third of an inning and retiring the only batter he faced. Playing the first part of the 1995 season in Vancouver, he was placed on waivers and selected by Houston, who sent him to AAA Tucson for the rest of the year. Bennett became a free agent after that year, and was signed by the Twins. He played for Minnesota early in 1996, appearing in 24 games. He was 2-0 with one save, but also had an ERA of 7.90 and a WHIP of 1.79 in 27.1 innings. Returned to AAA Salt Lake in early June, Bennett did not pitch particularly well there and was let go after the season. He hung around in the minors for several more years, pitching in the Cleveland and Houston organizations as well as for a variety of independent teams, but did not make it back to the major leagues. After his playing career ended Erik Bennett went into coaching, working as a pitching coach for the Angels for many years. His LinkedIn page states that he is "looking for new opportunities" and is living in Medford, Oregon.

Left-hander Dennis Edward Neagle appeared in seven games for the Twins in 1991. Born and raised in Gambrills, Maryland, he was drafted out of the University of Minnesota by the Twins in the third round in 1989. He pitched very well in the minors and advanced rapidly, reaching the Twins for seven games in 1991, three of them starts. Coming off their World Series victory, however, the Twins were trying to win now, and so traded Neagle along with Midre Cummings to Pittsburgh for John Smiley. He spent two years in the Pirates bullpen and then most of the next three as a starter before being traded to Atlanta in late August of 1996 in a trade that included Jason Schmidt. He had two fine years in Atlanta, finishing third in the Cy Young balloting in 1997, but was traded to Cincinnati in November of 1998 in a trade that included Bret Boone and Mike Remlinger. After a solid year and a half for the Reds, he was traded to the Yankees in July of 2000. Becoming a free agent at the end of the year, he signed with Colorado, but his time there was mainly marked by poor pitching and injuries. He signed with Tampa Bay for 2005, but could not play due to injury, and his career was over. Sadly, life after baseball was not easy for Neagle; he was convicted for a couple of DUIs as well as for patronizing a prostitute. Denny Neagle was also named in the Mitchell Report. In January of 2012, he filed a lawsuit against his former financial adviser.  No result of that lawsuit could be found.  As a Twin, he was 0-1 with a 4.05 ERA in 20 innings.  He is currently on the board of directors of the Connor Cares Foundation, whose mission is to further the education and training of lifesaving personnel at all public and private pools.  The foundation is named after Neagle's nephew, who drowned at age five in a country club pool.

Outfielder Brent David Brede played for the Twins in 1996-1997. He was born in Belleville, Illinois, went to high school in Trenton, Illinois, and was drafted by the Twins in the fifth round in 1990. He struggled some in the minors, but had a breakout year in AAA Salt Lake in 1996, batting .348 with 38 doubles and 11 home runs. That earned him a September call-up with the Twins in which he hit .300 in 20 at-bats. He again hit well in 1997 in a year split between Salt Lake and Minnesota, but he was left unprotected in the expansion draft, and was chosen by Arizona. Brede again hit well in AAA Tucson in 1998, but batted only .226 with the Diamondbacks, and was released after the season. He went to Japan in 1999, and then came back to the United States to play for AAA Nashville in the Pirates organization in 2000. He batted only .249, however, and his career was over. He hit .324/.417/.480 in 1176 AAA at-bats, but could never get anyone to just put him in the lineup and see what he could do in the majors. As a Twin, he hit .276/.346/.390 in 210 at-bats.  At last report, Brent Brede was a high school basketball coach and government teacher at Wesclin High School in Trenton, Illinois, where as a high school student he played on a state champion basketball team. He also operates a baseball instructional school in Trenton and coaches youth baseball there.

Outfielder Armando Rios did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 2005. He was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, went to high school in Villa Fontana, Puerto Rico, attended North Carolina—Charlotte and LSU, and signed with San Francisco as a free agent in 1994. He hit well throughout the minor leagues, never posting a batting average lower than .280, and gradually developed power as well, hitting double-digit home runs each year after 1996. His best minor league season was 1998, when he hit .301 with 26 homers for AAA Fresno. Rios got a September call-up that season. He started 1999 in San Francisco as a reserve outfielder, but despite the fact that he was hitting .306 he was sent back to the minors in late June. In 2000 he was finally in the majors to stay, but was still a reserve, hitting in the .260s in consecutive seasons in a part-time role. At the July deadline in 2001 he was traded to Pittsburgh in a trade involve Jason Schmidt. He again hit in the .260s in 2002, but got even less chance to play in Pittsburgh than he had in San Francisco and was released after the season. He signed with the White Sox for 2003 and again hit well in AAA, but again did not get much of a chance to play in the majors. A free agent after the season, he signed with Florida, was released in spring training after only thirteen at-bats, went to the Mexican League, was in AAA with the Orioles for about three weeks in July, was sent to St. Louis, was with them for about a month in AAA, and was released in late August despite the fact that he was hitting .333. The Twins took him to Spring training in 2005, but he did not make the team. He played for the independent Long Island Ducks in 2005 and then his playing career was over. Rios hit .301/.379/.494 in 830 AAA at-bats and .269/.341/.445 in 1021 major league at-bats, but he never got a chance as more than a reserve at the major league level. He was one of the players named in the Mitchell Report, admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs to help recover from injuries to his knee, elbow, and shoulder. At last report, Armando Rios was living in Puerto Rico and was the president of Fundacion Armando Rios there.  He is also a senior certified agent for Octagon, a marketing company.

Right-hander Marcus Walter Walden did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 2016.  Born and raised in Fresno, he attended Fresno City College and was drafted by Toronto in the ninth round in 2007.  It appears that he had injury problems, as he appeared in just thirty games from 2007-2009 and missed the entire 2010 season.  He came back to pitch quite well in 2011 and 2012, but he was still in A ball.  He had a poor year in AA in 2013 and was waived in April of 2014, claimed by Oakland.  He again did not pitch well in AA and became a free agent, signing with Cincinnati.  The Reds released him in April of 2015 and he spent the summer pitching for Lancaster in the Atlantic League.  The Twins signed him for 2016 and he had a surprisingly good year in the Rochester bullpen, going 1-1, 5 saves, 2.54, 1.17 WHIP.  He was twenty-seven that season, however.  He signed with Boston for 2017 and has stayed in their organization since that time.  He had a decent season in AAA that year and started the 2018 season in the majors, but was sent back to AAA after just eight appearances.  He again appears to have battled injuries.  He started 2019 in AAA but was brought up to the majors after one game and has stayed there all season.  He pitched very well for the Red Sox, going 9-2, 2 saves, 3.81, 1.19 WHIP.  His numbers in 2020 look awful, but other than one game in which he allowed six runs without retiring a batter he's actually done fairly well again.  It's interesting--he really hadn't done much of anything in the minors for his first nine seasons there, but he kept finding a team to give him a chance, and he eventually was able to figure it out.  He couldn't sustain it, though--he had a poor year in AAA for the Red Sox in 2021, was released in early August, signed with the Cubs a couple of weeks later, and did worse in AAA for them.  He went to the Atlantic League in 2022, did very well, and signed with Milwaukee in mid-June.  They sent him to AAA and he had a mediocre rest of the season there.  He began 2003 in the Atlantic League, but after four starts he signed with Seattle, for whom he did not pitch very well in AAA.  That appears to have brought his playing career to an end.  At last report, he was part-owner of the DIB Baseball Academy in Fresno, California.

First baseman Andrew Robert Wilkins did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 2017.  He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, went to high school in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, attended the University of Arkansas, and was drafted by the White Sox in the fifth round in 2010.  He hit 23 home runs in Class A in 2011 and 17 in AA in 2012.  He batted just .239 in the latter season, but had an OBP of .335.  He did well when he repeated AA for the first half of 2013 and was okay in AAA in 2013 as well, but for some reason (or for no reason) his walks went down significantly.  He had an outstanding year in AAA in 2014, batting .293 with 30 home runs, but the White Sox had Jose Abreu at first base, so Wilkins did not get promoted until September and played only sporadically then.  He was waived in March of 2015 and selected by Toronto, then was sold to the Dodgers in early May.  He was not as outstanding in AAA as in 2014, but still had a solid season. He had an interesting off-season after 2015:  he was waived by the Dodgers and selected by Baltimore in early September, waived by Baltimore and selected by Seattle in early December, waived by Seattle and selected by Texas two weeks later, and waived by Texas and selected by Milwaukee a week and a half after that.  He did not have a particularly good year in AAA for the Brewers in 2016, although he got about a month and a half in the majors as a pinch-hitter.  A free agent after the 2016 season, he started the 2017 season with SugarLand in the Atlantic League before signing with the Twins in mid-June.  He went to AA Chattanooga and had a fine year.  He remained in the Twins organization in 2018 and split the season between Chattanooga and Rochester.  He showed some power in Chattanooga but did not hit for average in either place.  He moved on to the Atlanta organization and played most of the year for AA Mississippi when he wasn't battling injuries.  In his two brief major league trials, he has played in 43 games but has started only 12 of them, getting just 67 at-bats.  It must be admitted that he didn't do much with them, batting just .134/.194/.224.  He became a free agent after the 2019 season and his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Andy Wilkins was an account executive for Splunk, "the cybersecurity and observability leader" in Rolesville, North Carolina.

September 12

Nick Young (1840)

Bob Groom (1884)

Fred Luderus (1885)

Spud Chandler (1907)

Charlie Keller (1916)

Andy Seminick (1920)

Stan Lopata (1925)

Albie Pearson (1934)

Mickey Lolich (1940)

John Montague (1947)

Scotti Madison (1959)

Thom Brennaman (1963)

Keith Hughes (1963)

Luis Castillo (1975)

Sean Burroughs (1980)

Macier Izturis (1980)

Carmen Pignatiello (1982)

Clayton Richard (1983)

Freddie Freeman (1989)

Jose Urena (1991)

Matt Wisler (1992)

Nick Young was the secretary of the National Association, was the first secretary of the National League and was National League president from 1881-1903.

The son of broadcaster Marty Brennaman, Thom Brennaman broadcast games for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, and Arizona Diamondbacks, as well as the Fox Network.

Catcher Charles Scott “Scotti” Madison did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them. Born and raised in Pensacola, Florida, he was drafted by the Twins in the third round of the 1980 draft out of Vanderbilt. Madison was started at AA Orlando and did not do well, batting only .230. Dropped down to Class A Visalia in 1981, he hit much better, and was traded to the Dodgers that offseason with Paul Voight in a trade that brought Bobby Castillo and Bobby Mitchell to the Twins. Madison slumped again when promoted to AA and AAA in 1982, but did better after that, batting over .300 in a 1983 split between AA San Antonio and AAA Albuquerque. He was purchased by the Tigers organization during 1984 spring training, and after a solid season at AA Birmingham and a good 1985 split between Birmingham and AAA Nashville, Madison was given a brief callup by the Tigers. He got another brief chance with the Tigers in 1986, but then became a free agent and signed with the Royals. He was named the most popular player on the Omaha Royals in 1987, and got to Kansas City briefly in both 1987 and 1988, and became a free agent again, signing with Cincinnati. In 1989, he played in 40 games with the Reds, his longest stint in the big leagues, getting 108 at-bats. He played third base for Cincinnati, despite not having played there much in the minors. Madison’s career ended after that year: he had a career batting average of .163 in 166 at-bats. Now living in Nashville, Scotti Madison was the founder of RAPHA Products Group, whose flagship product is the Triggerlite flashlight.  He has written two books, "Just a Phone Call Away", about his experiences in the minor leagues, and "The Other Side of the Earth", about dealing with a son who battled addiction.  He is currently a motivational speaker and podcast host, as well as being a consultant for TRC Worldwide Engineering and Horace Mann.

Outfielder Keith Wills Hughes did not play for the Twins, but was in AAA for them in 1992. He was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in 1981. He hit .329 with 15 homers in Class A in 1983, and in mid-1984 was traded to the Yankees in a deal that involved Shane Rawley. He hit .307 for the Yankees in AA in 1986. Hughes was with the Yankees briefly in 1987 but was traded back to Philadelphia in early June in a deal involving Mike Easler. He was with the Phillies for about two months that season, then was traded to Baltimore. He was with the Orioles the majority of the 1988 season, used mostly as a reserve right fielder. He was back in the minors in 1989, and after that season he was traded once again, this time to the Mets. He hit .309 in AAA and earned a September call-up, but was released after the season. He signed back with the Yankees for 1991, spent the season in AAA, and signed with Minnesota for 1992. He was in AAA Portland all year, hitting .271/.344/.416 in 221 at-bats. A free agent again after that season, he signed with Cincinnati, again spending most of the year in AAA but getting four at-bats in the majors. He was out of baseball in 1994, came back in 1995 to spend the season in AAA with the Royals, and then his playing career was over for good. As a major league player, he hit .204/.286/.284 in 201 at-bats. Keith Hughes now lives in Philadelphia and at last report was a sales manager for Millicare/EBC, a company which provides customized carpet maintenance programs for commercial businesses.

Second baseman Luis Antonio (Donato) Castillo played for the Twins in 2006-2007. He was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, went to high school in Humacao, Dominican Republic, and was signed by the Florida Marlins as a free agent in 1992 at age 16. He had a high batting average, although with almost no power, throughout the minor leagues, posting a career minor-league average of .303. He came up to the Marlins in 1996 as a part-time player, and did not get a full-time major league job until 1999, He made the most of it, hitting .302 and stealing 50 bases. Castillo remained the starting second baseman for the Marlins through 2005, hitting over .300 five times, making three all-star appearances, winning three gold gloves, and playing on two world championship teams. In the 2005-06 off-season, he was traded to the Twins for Scott Tyler and Travis Bowyer. Castillo was the starting second baseman for the Twins in 2006 and the first four months of 2007, and continued to hit as he had, batting .299/.357/.363 as a Twin. At the end of July, 2007, he was traded to the Mets for Drew Butera and Dustin Martin. Castillo hit poorly during an injury-plagued 2008, bounced back to hit .302 in 2009, but again hit poorly in an injury-plagued 2010.  The Mets released him in spring training; he signed with Philadelphia, but was released again nine days later, bringing his major league career to an end. He was investigated in August of 2019 in regard to a money laundering operation, but was later cleared.  At last report, Luis Castillo was living in Caldwell, New Jersey.

The son of big leaguer Jeff Burroughs, third baseman Sean Patrick Burroughs appeared in ten games for the Twins in 2012.  He was born in Atlanta and attended high school in Long Beach.  Along the way, he became a hero for a Long Beach team that twice won the Little League World Series.  He was drafted by San Diego in the first round in 1998 and played for the U. S. Olympic gold medal team in 2000.  He did not hit for much power in the minors but posted high batting averages.  He reached AAA in 2001 and was the starting third baseman for the Padres in 2002 at the age of only 21.  He started well, but slumped badly in May and was sent back to AAA, returning as a September call-up.  He was back as the starter in 2003-2004 and posted solid batting averages, but had no speed and no power.  He lost the starting job again in 2005, this time for good, and was traded to Tampa Bay at the end of the season.  He did little for the Devil Rays and was released in August.  He moved on to Seattle for 2007 but was released again in mid-June.  He was then out of baseball for four years, which he attributes to a drinking problem.  In 2011, he attempted a comeback with Arizona.  Still only thirty, he tore up the Pacific Coast League and was called up to the Diamondbacks in mid-May, where he did fairly well as a bench player.  He signed with Minnesota for 2012 and started the season in the majors, but got only seventeen at-bats in April, going 2-for-17, and was sent to Rochester, where he was decent but nothing more.  A free agent after the season, he signed with the Dodgers, but hit only .220 in 52 games of AA ball.  Since then he's been playing in the Atlantic League and did extremely well through 2017.  He hit .328 in 2017, so he probably could've continued playing, but it appears that he retired after that season.  Sadly, Sean Burroughs passed away from a fentanyl overdose in Long Beach, California on May 9, 2024, at the young age of forty-three.

Left-hander Carmen Peter Pignatiello did not play for the Twins, but was in AAA with them for about a month in 2009. He was born in Hammond, Indiana, went to high school in Lenox, Illinois, and was drafted by the Cubs in the twentieth round in 2000. He was a starter for much of his minor league career, but began switching to relief in 2005. He did pretty well in that role in 2006 and 2007, spending about three weeks in the majors with the Cubs in 2007, pitching two innings in four games. He began 2008 in the majors, appearing in two more games and pitching two-thirds of an inning before being sent back to AAA. He had a bad year in AAA that season and became a free agent after the season was over. The Twins signed him and sent him to AAA Rochester, where he pitched seven innings in four games, posted an ERA of 14.14, and was released on May 1. He finished the year with Schaumberg of the independent Northern League; then his playing career came to and end.  In his major league career, he appeared in six games, pitched 2.2 innings, and posted an ERA of 6.75.  Carmen Pignatiello was the pitching coach for the Joliet Slammers of the Frontier League from 2011-2012.  He currently owned a Nationwide Insurance agency in the Chicago area for several years.  At last report, he was a Property & Casualty Practice Leader for USI Insurance Services, also in the Chicago area.

Right-hander Matthew Robert Wisler pitched for the Twins in 2020.  Born and raised in Bryan, Ohio, he was drafted by San Diego in the seventh round in 2011.  He pitched well in the Padres organization through 2014, although he struggled when promoted to AAA at age 21.  He was traded to Atlanta in April of 2015 and made his major league debut for them in June of that year.  He went back-and-forth between AAA and the majors through 2018.  For the most part he wasn't really terrible in the majors, but he wasn't really good, either.  He was traded to Cincinnati at the July deadline in 2018 and pitched quite well for the Reds the rest of the way.  He could not continue that success in 2019, however.  He was traded to San Diego at the start of that season and was sold to Seattle on the fourth of July, not pitching well for either club.  The Mariners waived him after the season and he was claimed by Minnesota.  He pitched extremely well for the Twins, with numbers totally out of line with anything he'd done in his career.  His career numbers are 25-36, 4.59, 1.32 WHIP.  As a Twin, he was 0-1, 1.07, 1.15 WHIP.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with the Giants for 2021.  He lost whatever he had found, posting an ERA over six.  The Giants traded him to Tampa Bay and he found it again, going 2-3, 2.15, 0.92 WHIP.  He was having another solid season for the Rays in 2022, going 2-3, 2.25, 1.00 WHIP, when the Rays suddenly released him in early September.  Maybe they knew something.  Wisler signed with Detroit for 2023, was mediocre in AAA, was released in early August, signed with Toronto, and continued to be mediocre in AAA.   He became a free agent after the season and went unsigned, retiring on March 17, 2024. His career had lots of ups and downs--when he was up, he was really up, but when he was down, he was really down.  He is the co-founder of Elite Performance Medical, "empowering former athletes to transition to successful careers", in the Toledo area.

Right-hander Jose Miguel Urena appeared in four games for the Twins in 2025.  He was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and signed with the Florida Marlins as a free agent in 2008 at age sixteen.  He pitched well in the minors, but probably because of his age he advanced slowly, reaching AA in 2014.  He then was jumped to the majors in 2015, but was sent back to AAA after only two appearances.  He pitched well in AAA but not so well in the majors, posting an ERA of 5.40.  2016 was similar, but then he had two full and good years in the majors with the Marlins.  In 2019, however, he had injury problems, and did not pitch well when he could pitch.  He made five starts for Miami in 2020, then became a free agent.  He signed with Detroit for 2021, and that started a succession of years in which he got lots of practice in moving.  He played for Milwaukee and Colorado in 2022, for Colorado, Washington, and the White Sox in 2023, for Texas in 2024, and for the Mets, Toronto, the Dodgers, Minnesota, and the Angels in 2025.  He did have one good year in there, with the Rangers in 2024.  If you want to be positive, you can say there must be something teams like about him, because he keeps getting chances.  As a Twin he was 0-1, 4.58, 1.42 WHIP in 17.2 innings (four games, three starts).  His career numbers at this writing are 44-78, 4.75, 1.40 WHIP in just under a thousand innings.  He turns thirty-four today.  We assume he'll continue to get some more chances before he's done.

September 11

Con Daily (1864)

James Dunn (1866)

Steve Brodie (1868)

Frank Kitson (1869)

Ellis Clary (1916)

Eddie Miksis (1926)

Luis Garcia (1929)

Larry Bearnarth (1940)

Jackie Hernandez (1940)

Dave Roberts (1944)

Larry Cox (1947)

Jeff Newman (1948)

Brad Lesley (1958)

Scott Patterson (1958)

Don Slaught (1958)

Ellis Burks (1964)

Quinn Mack (1965)

Eduardo Perez (1969)

Frank Francisco (1979)

Toby Gardenhire (1982)

Jacoby Ellsbury (1983)

Andrew Cashner (1986)

Mike Moustakas (1988)

Nik Turley (1989)

Shawn Armstrong (1990)

James Dunn was the owner of the Cleveland Indians from 1916-1922.

Infielder Ellis Clary was a scout for the Twins for over two decades.

Luis Garcia is a member of both the Venezuelan Hall of Fame and the Caribbean Hall of Fame.

Actor Scott Patterson, best known for his role on The Gilmore Girls, was a minor league pitcher for seven seasons, pitching 373 AAA innings but not reaching the majors. He was in the Yankees and Braves systems.

Brad "the Animal" Lesley was drafted by the Twins in the seventh round of the 1977 January draft, but did not sign.

Quinn Mack is Shane Mack’s brother and got 21 at-bats with Seattle in 1994.

Toby Gardenhire, of course, is the son of the former Twins’ manager.  He was a player in the Twins’ minor league system, reaching AAA, and is the manager of the St. Paul Saints.

Additionally, it seems appropriate on this day to mention former minor league players Marty Boryczewski, Ralph Scorca, Mike Weinberg, and Brent Woodall, all of whom were killed in the terrorist attacks of 2001.

Shortstop Jacinto (Zulueta) “Jackie” Hernandez played for the Twins from 1967-1968. He was born in Central Tinguaro, Cuba, and was signed by the Cleveland Indians as a free agent in 1961. Originally signed as a catcher, he was quickly converted to shortstop. Hernandez had a reputation as an excellent fielder, which he needed, because he did not hit much as he came up through the ranks–his highest average was .260 at AA Charleston in 1964, his second year in AA. In May of 1965 the Indians released him, and he was signed by the California Angels the same day. Hernandez batted only .229 in AAA that year, but still was given a September callup with the Angels. He was with California all of 1966, but was strictly a pinch-runner/defensive replacement–he played in 58 games, but had only 26 plate appearances, scoring 19 runs while getting only one hit and one walk. At the start of the 1967 campaign, Hernandez was selected as the player to be named later in the trade which sent Dean Chance to the Twins for Pete Cimino, Jimmie Hall, and Don Mincher. He was with AAA Denver for most of 1967, and when he was with the Twins, he was used in pretty much the same role he’d had with California, playing in 29 games, but making only 30 plate appearances. In 1968, Hernandez became a part-time player, batting .176 in 199 at-bats as a sometimes shortstop. He was then left unprotected in the expansion draft, and was chosen by Kansas City. 1969 was his only year as a regular, and he hit about like he always did, batting .222 with 4 homers and 40 RBIs in over 500 at-bats. Reduced to part-time status in 1970, Hernandez was traded to Pittsburgh after the season in a multi-player deal that brought Fred Patek to the Royals. He played three seasons with the Pirates as a part-time player, including the World Championship year of 1971. He was back in the minors in 1974, calling it quits after batting .199 at AAA Charleston. As a Twin, Jackie Hernandez batted .172 in 227 at-bats spread over 112 games, with 2 home runs and 20 RBIs. Hernandez did a lot of managing and coaching in independent leauges, including coaching for the St. Paul Saints in 2003-2006 and managing the Charlotte County Redfish in the South Coast League in 2007.  From 1997-2013 he was an instructor at a hitting school in Miami.  He continued to be a spring training instructor for the Pittsburgh Pirates for several years after that.  Jackie Hernandez passed away from lung cancer on October 12, 2019.

Catcher Larry Eugene Cox did not play for the Twins, but he was in their minor league organization in 1976. He was born in Bluffton, Ohio, went to high school in Ottawa, Ohio, and signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in 1966, making his professional debut with Huron, SD in the Northern League that season. He hit .219 that season, the highest average he would have until 1971. He was converted into a pitcher in 1968 and did fairly well in Class A, but returned to catching the following season. He was loaned to the San Diego organization in 1972, but was back with the Phillies in 1973. Cox made his major league debut that year, catching one inning of a game in April without getting a chance to bat before being returned to AAA. He was with the Phillies for about half of 1974 and half of 1975, backing up Bob Boone. After the 1975 season, Cox was traded to Minnesota for Sergio Ferrer. He spent the 1976 campaign in AAA Tacoma and had his best minor league season, hitting .265 with 12 home runs for a .748 OPS, but was unable to beat out Glenn Borgmann for the backup catcher role on the big club. He was sold to Seattle after the season and spent the full year with the Mariners, the first of four full seasons Cox spent in the big leagues. He was traded to the Cubs after the 1977 season, but was traded back to Seattle in the spring of 1979. He is listed as the regular catcher for the Mariners in 1979 and 1980, and was the most used, but shared the position with Bob Stinson, Jerry Narron, and Marc Hill. He was traded to Texas after the 1980 season in a multi-player deal that included such notables as Rick Honeycutt, Willie Horton, and Richie Zisk. Cox was a seldom-used reserve in the first half of 1981, then was released in August as soon as the player strike ended. He signed with the Cubs for 1982, spending most of the season in the minors, and then his playing career came to an end. In parts of nine major league seasons, Larry Cox batted .221/.280/.314 in 825 at-bats. After his playing career ended, he became a minor league manager and coach in the Cubs’ organization. Larry Cox passed away on February 17, 1990 in Bellefontaine, Ohio, of a heart attack suffered while playing racquetball.

Left-hander Nikolas Carlyle Turley appeared in ten games for the Twins in 2017.  He was born in La Cañada, California, went to high school in Los Angeles, and was drafted by the Yankees in the fiftieth round in 2008.  He advanced slowly, spending two-plus seasons in the Gulf Coast League, reaching AA in 2013, and getting to AAA in 2014.  He did not do well there and became a free agent after the season, signing with San Francisco for 2015.  He stayed in AAA and continued to not do well, becoming a free agent again after the season.  He kept getting chances, though, signing with the White Sox for 2016, being released in late March, and signing with Boston in early April.  They sent him back to AA and he didn't do particularly well there, either.  He was released in July and finished the season with Somerset in the Atlantic League.  He found another team who'd give him a chance, though, signing with Minnesota for 2017.  Now twenty-seven, he pitched very well in five games at AA Chattanooga and continued to pitch well in AAA Rochester.  He was promoted to the Twins for three starts and was, unfortunately, awful.  He was sent back to AAA but promoted again in mid-August, making seven appearances out of the bullpen.  He did better, but still not very well.  As a Twin, Nik Turley was 0-2, 11.21, 2.15 WHIP in 17.2 innings (10 games, 3 starts).  He was waived in November and selected by Pittsburgh.  He then got an eighty-game suspension for using a PED and then was put on the disabled list with a sprained elbow, so he did not pitch in 2018.  He did not pitch in 2019 either.  After that season, we wrote, "He certainly faces long odds in coming back, but we wish him well."  He beat those odds, appearing in twenty-five games in Pittsburgh in 2020.  He was sold to Oakland after that season, claimed by the White Sox on waivers in late March, and pitched in AAA for them in 2021.  He moved to Japan in 2022 and has pitched pretty well there ever since.  He turns thirty-six today.  As long as you're still playing, there's still a chance, so it's possible Nik Turley will be able to beat the odds again.

September 10

Barney Pelty (1880)

High Pockets Kelly (1895)

Sammy Hale (1896)

Poindexter Williams (1897)

Hoss Walker (1904)

Ted Kluszewski (1924)

Roger Maris (1934)

Len Whitehouse (1957)

Randy Johnson (1963)

Riccardo Ingram (1966)

Danys Baez (1977)

Joey Votto (1983)

Anthony Swarzak (1985)

Neil Walker (1985)

Paul Goldschmidt (1987)

Mike Baumann (1995)

Pierson Ohl (1999)

Mike Baumann was drafted by the Twins in the thirty-fourth round in 2014, but did not sign.

Left-hander Leonard Joseph Whitehouse played for the Twins from 1983-1985. He was born in Burlington, Vermont and was signed by the Texas Rangers as a free agent in 1976. He did not pitch very well in the minors, having only one season (1981 in AA Wichita) in which his ERA was under 4.00. He was left-handed, however, and so he got a September call-up with the Rangers in 1981, and after spending 1982 in AAA Denver he was traded to the Twins for John Pacella. Whitehouse was with the Twins for a little over two seasons, appearing in 60 games in 1983, 30 in 1984, and five in 1985. He actually seemed to pitch better in the big-leagues than he did in the minors: in his two full seasons with the Twins he was 9-3 with 3 saves and a 3.86 ERA. Whitehouse pitched poorly in 1985, however, both in his short stint with the Twins and in AAA Toledo, and was released. He pitched for AA Glens Falls in the Tigers organization in 1986 before calling it a career. At last report, Len Whitehouse was coaching high school and American Legion baseball in his home town of Burlington, Vermont.  He was an assistant coach and did furniture upholstery for Saint Michael's College for some time.  At last report he was a pitching coach for the Louisville Slugger Warriors Amputee Baseball Team, a team that "consists of U.S. Military Veterans, Active Duty personnel, wounded warriors and current and former amputee college baseball players. All of these highly skilled athletes come from all walks of life. They have either suffered a loss of limb, partial limb, digits, eye, and serious limb deformities, plus have other prostheses all due to congenital, disease, or trauma-related reasons."  I had no idea such a team existed, but I think it's a really cool thing, and it's really cool of Len Whitehouse to work with them.

Outfielder Riccardo Benay Ingram got eight at-bats with the Twins in 1985. He was born in Douglas, Georgia, went to Georgia Tech, and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the fourth round in 1987. Ingram spent two years in Class A and two more in AA. In this third year at AAA Toledo, 1994, he got a brief trial with the Tigers, going 5- for-23 (.217) with 2 RBIs. Ingram became a minor-league free agent and signed with the Twins organization for 1995. Ingram had his best season that year at AAA Salt Lake, batting .348 with 43 doubles and 12 home runs. He earned another short stint in the majors, going 1-for-8 in four games with the Twins. He again became a free agent after the season, and signed with the Padres organization, spending 1996 in AAA Las Vegas. After retiring as a player, Riccardo Ingram was a coach and manager in the Twins’ organization. Riccardo Ingram is a member of the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame, starring in both baseball and football while at the school.  He passed away from cancer on March 31, 2015 in Lilburn, Georgia.

Right-hander Anthony Ray Swarzak pitched for the Twins in 2009 and from 2011-14. He was born in Ft. Lauderdale, went to high school in Davie, Florida, and was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 2004. He pitched pretty well at every minor league stop with the exception of his stint in New Britain in 2008, where he went 3-8 with a 5.67 ERA; however, he redeemed himself by going 5-0 with a 1.80 ERA in seven starts in Rochester. Swarzak was suspended for fifty games in 2007 for violating baseball’s drug policy–reportedly, he had used marijuana. To avoid this and get medical marijuana, people can see here for the best deals. Swarzak again pitched well in Rochester in 2009, and earned a trial in Minnesota. He did not do well there, going 3-7 with a 6.25 ERA in 59 innings. He had an awful season in Rochester in 2010, going 5-12, 6.21, 1.62 WHIP in 111.2 innings.  He bounced back in 2011, doing reasonably well in Rochester and also reasonably well in Minnesota after being called up to the Twins in mid-May.  2012 was his first full season in the majors.  He had a fine year as a long reliever for the Twins in 2013.  He had a poor year in 2014, however, and was allowed to become a free agent after the season.  As a Twin he was 16-24, 4.48, although his numbers are substantially better as a reliever than as a starter.  He signed with Cleveland and made ten appearances with them, but was released on June 15 and went to Korea, where he did not pitch very well.  He came back to the United States in 2016, signed with the Yankees, started the season in AAA, came up to the big club in early June, and stayed there until going on the disabled list in late August with rotator cuff tendinitis.  A free agent after the season, he signed with the White Sox for 2017 and pitched very well, well enough that Milwaukee traded for him to help in their playoff drive.  He signed with the Mets for 2018 but that did not go well.  He missed time with injuries and did not do well when he was able to pitch.  He was traded to Seattle during the off-season as part of the deal that brought Robinson Cano to the Mets, and was traded again in mid-May to Atlanta.  A free agent again, he signed with Philadelphia for 2020, was released in late June, signed with the Phillies again two weeks later, and was released again just before the 2020 season.  He did not play in that year, but signed with Arizona for 2021.  He pitched poorly in six games, was released in late April, and signed with Kansas City in mid-May.  He pitched poorly for them, too, and was released in mid-July, bringing his playing career to an end.  At last report, Anthony Swarzak was coaching little league baseball in the Fort Lauderdale area.

Right-hander Pierson Blaine Ohl has appeared in seven games for the Twins in 2025 at this writing.  He was born in Moorpark, California, attended Grand Canyon University, and was drafted by the Twins in the fourteenth round in 2021.  He was very effective in college, but did not have impressive strikeout totals until his last year there.  He had a fine half-season in AA in 2023, but struggled when he pitched a full season there in 2024.  He did much better there in 2025 and pitched well in 27.1 AAA innings as well.  He has struggled in the majors so far, going 0-3, 5.66 with a WHIP of 1.60 in 20.2 innings.  He appears to have excellent control, walking only 1.3 men per nine innings in the minors.  He turns twenty-six today.  That's not old, but it's not really young, either.  He still may have a good career, but he's going to have to make his move pretty soon.

September 9

Abner Dalrymple (1857)

Frank Chance (1876)

Dots Miller (1886)

Doc Johnston (1887)

Frankie Frisch (1898)

Waite Hoyt (1899)

Hugh Mulcahy (1913)

Jay Ward (1938)

Paul Roof (1942)

Jerry Mumphrey (1952)

Tom Foley (1959)

Alvin Davis (1960)

Jim Corsi (1961)

Todd Zeile (1965)

Joey Hamilton (1970)

Dan Miceli (1970)

Mike Hampton (1972)

Felix Rodriguez (1972)

Edwin Jackson (1983)

Kyle Davies (1983)

Alex Romero (1983)

Michael Bowden (1986)

Billy Hamilton (1990)

Dots Miller’s given name was John.  He got the nickname “Dots” because when he first came up, a sportswriter asked teammate Honus Wagner who the new guy was.  Wagner, in his thick German accent, said, “Dot’s Miller.”

Hugh Mulcahy has one of the worst nicknames in the history of baseball.  In four seasons as a starting pitcher for the Phillies, he twice led the league in losses.  He went 45-89 for his career, leading to the nickname “Losing Pitcher Mulcahy”.

The brother of Phil Roof, Paul Roof was a pitcher for four seasons in the Braves’ system, never going higher than Class A.  He was actually on the Braves' major league roster as a September call-up in 1961, but did not appear in a game.

Utility player John Francis Ward played briefly for the Twins in 1963 and 1964. He was born in Brookfield, Missouri and was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in 1956. He hit very well in the low minors, hitting exactly .300 in three years in Class D and C. He spent most of 1958 in the Washington organization, then was selected off waivers by the Kansas City Athletics. Ward was pretty average in AA and AAA, and was traded to the Dodgers after the 1961 season in a multi-player deal. He came to the Twins organization in July of 1962 in a trade for Bert Cueto. Ward was in the Twins’ organization through mid-1964, went to the Giants, came back to the Twins’ organization in 1965, went to Japan in 1966, went to Cleveland in 1967, came back to the Twins’ organization in 1968, went back to Cleveland for 1969, was with the Reds’ organization in 1970, and went to the Kansas City Royals’ organization in 1971. He got brief trials with the Twins in 1963 and 1964, batting .174/.283/.239 in 46 at-bats. Ward was also in the big leagues briefly in 1971 with Cincinnati, going 0-for-3. He showed some power in the minors, hitting 241 minor-league home runs, but never hit for a high average, and never got enough of a chance to see if he could have been a low-average slugger in the big leagues. After retiring as an active player, Jay Ward had a lengthy career as a minor league coach and manager. He then was the co-owner of a hitting school (with Wade Boggs) in Tampa, Florida, before retiring, first to Springfield, Missouri, then to Troy, Montana, where he enjoyed hunting and fishing.  Jay Ward passed away in Troy on February 24, 2012.

Right-hander Hiram Kyle Davies did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 2013.  He was born in Decatur, Georgia, went to high school in Stockbridge, Georgia, and was drafted by Atlanta in the fourth round in 2001.  He pitched quite well in the minors and reached the majors in 2005 at the age of twenty-one.  He struggled there, though, and continued to struggle through 2007, when he was traded to Kansas City at the July deadline for Octavio Dotel.  He stayed with the Royals through 2011, although his first and only full year in the majors was 2010.  From 2005 through 2011, Kyle Davies appeared in 151 games, making 144 starts.  He went 43-65, 5.59, with a 1.62 WHIP.  In his "best" season, 2008, he went 9-7, 4.06, but with a WHIP of 1.45.  The Royals finally gave up on him after the 2011 season.  He stayed out of baseball for 2012, but Minnesota signed him for 2013.  He was hurt most of the year, however, making only twelve minor league starts, one in the GCL, five for Fort Myers, and six for New Britain.  A free agent again after the season, he signed with Cleveland and spent most of the year in AAA Columbus, where he was okay but nothing special.  He signed with the Yankees for 2015 and surprisingly made the team, making one very good appearance in April before being sent to AAA, where he remained the rest of the season.  He went to Japan for 2016 and had a fairly solid year.  He does not appear to have pitched anywhere in 2017, but he came back in 2018, pitching for Somerset in the Atlantic League and moving on to Lancaster for 2019.  That brought his playing career to an end.  His major league numbers are 43-65, 5.57, 1.62 WHIP.  It says something about how some organizations operate that a pitcher with his record was given one hundred forty-four major league starts.  At last report, Kyle Davies lived in McDonough, Georgia and was a vice president/project manager for the family construction company, Davies General Contracting.

Outfielder Alexander Rafael (Galban) Romero did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for five seasons. He was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 2002. He worked his way up the ladder one level at a time, playing rookie ball in 2002, low Class A in 2003, high Class A in 2004, and Class AA in 2005, hitting at or very near .300 at every stop. He slumped a little in 2006, batting .263 in a year split between AA and AAA, and the Twins placed him on waivers after the season. Romero was selected by the Diamondbacks. He hit very well in AAA Tucson in 2007, and split 2008 and 2009 between AA and Arizona. Romero hit well over .300 each year in AAA, but in the majors hit .239/.279/.339 in 280 major league at-bats, with 2 homers and 30 RBIs in sporadic playing time.  He was a free agent after the 2009 season and signed with Atlanta, but was released in late June and was not picked up by anyone.  After the season, however, he signed with Florida, and hit very well in a season split between AA and AAA.  He became a free agent and was not signed, so he went to the Mexican League for 2012 and hit extremely well.  In 2013 he moved on to Italy and had an awesome year there.  He played in winter ball that year and every year since, and played in the Mexican League again in 2016 and 2017, batting quite well.  He went back to Italy for 2018-2019.  He has continued to play winter ball in Venezuela and hit very well there through the 2023-2024 season.  He hit very well everywhere he played, really, so he might have been able to help somebody in the majors if he'd been given the chance.  He never was, though, and that's how it goes sometimes.  One website indicated that he had gone into coaching, but gave no indication of where.

Right-hander Michael Matthew Bowden did not pitch for the Twins, but was in their minor league system at the end of 2015.  He was born in Winfield, Illinois, went to high school in Aurora, Illinois, and was drafted by Boston in the first round of the 2005 draft with the forty-seventh pick.  He pitched well in the low minors, struggled when promoted to AA in 2007, but did very well when he repeated AA in 2008, getting moved up to AAA for six starts and even making his major league debut in late August.  He had a solid year in AAA in 2009 and got to the majors at the end of August.  His numbers look awful, but two really bad outings skew them to an extent.  He continued to bounce back and forth between AAA and the Red Sox through 2011, pitching well in AAA but never doing a lot in the majors.  He was traded to the Cubs in 2012 and was with them for about half the season.  That's been his best season in the majors, as he went 0-0, 2.95, 1.26 WHIP with 29 strikeouts in 36.2 innings (30 games).  He stayed with the Cubs in 2013 and again got half a season in the majors, not doing quite as well but not doing too badly, either.  He went to Japan for 2014 but came back to the United States in 2015, signing with Cincinnati.  They sold him to Baltimore in April.  The Orioles sent him to AAA and he didn't pitch badly there, but they released him in mid-July.  He signed with Minnesota and was sent to Rochester, where he finished the season.  He then went to Korea to play ball in 2016-17 and had a couple of decent seasons.  He decided not to return to Korea for 2018 and did not play anywhere, but the Dodgers signed him for the 2019 season.  He made five minor league starts and was released in early June.  He finished the year with High Point in the Atlantic League.  He did not play in 2020 but pitched very well for Chicago in the American Association in 2021, which brought closure to his playing career.  His major league numbers are 3-5, 4.51, 1.40 WHIP.   He appeared in 103 games, all but two in relief, and pitched 133.2 innings.  At last report, Michael Bowden was living in the Chicago area.

Outfielder Billy R. Hamilton played in seventeen games for the Twins in 2022.  Born and raised in Taylorsville, Mississippi, he was drafted by Cincinnati in the second round in 2009.  He stole a ton of bases in the minors, stealing 103 in Class A in 2011 and 155 in a 2012 split between high-A and AA.  He reached the majors in 2013 and for the most part stayed there through 2021.  He was the regular or mostly-regular center fielder for the Reds from 2014-2018 and stole over fifty bases for four of those five seasons.  Unfortunately, his best batting average over that span was .260, and because he doesn't walk much or hit for much power, his best OPS was .664.  The Reds allowed him to become a free agent after the 2018 season and he bounced after that.  He signed with Kansas City for 2019, was waived in mid-August and claimed by Atlanta, signed with the Giants for 2020, was traded to the Mets in early August, was waived and claimed by the Cubs in early September, signed with Cleveland, was released in spring training, signed with the White Sox, became a free agent after the season, signed with Seattle for 2022, was released in early June, signed with Miami a few weeks later, was released in mid-August, and signed with Minnesota a couple of weeks later.  As a Twin, he was in seventeen games but came to bat only eight times, going 0-for-7 with a walk, stealing three bases and scoring four runs.  He was a free agent again after the season and signed with the White Sox for 2023.  He spent most of the season at AAA but appeared in three major league games, going 0-for-2.  He went to Mexico and has played there in 2024 and 2025.  Throughout his career he has remained who he is:  someone who's fast and plays good defense, but can't hit.  He turns thirty-five today.  If he could've learned to steal first, he'd have been a star.  As it is, he can probably play in Mexico a couple more years if he wants to.  As far as the majors are concerned, his best hope is to find a team that can carry him as a pinch-runner/defensive replacement.  Unfortunately for him, with thirteen-man pitching staffs, there aren't many of those teams around anymore.