November 6

This is a reprint from last year.

Walter Johnson (1887)

Mack Jones (1938)

Jim Gosger (1942)

John Candelaria (1953)

Stine Poole (1958)

Chad Curtis (1968)

Don Wengert (1969)

Bubba Trammell (1971)

Deivi Cruz (1972)

Justin Speier (1973)

Adam LaRoche (1979)

James Paxton (1988)

Gus Varland (1996)

Walter Johnson, of course, was a star for the franchise when it was in Washington, pitching from 1907 to 1927.

Justin Speier is the son of ex-Twin Chris Speier.

Stine Poole was traded by Detroit to the Twins for Sal Butera and played in the Twins minor league system for two seasons.

Gus Varland is the brother of ex-Twins pitcher Louie Varland.

Left-hander John Robert Candelaria pitched for the Twins for four months in 1990, near the end of a fairly distinguished career. Known, naturally enough, as The Candy Man, Candelaria was born in New York and was drafted by Pittsburgh in the second round in 1972. A tall man, he had been better known as a basketball player than a baseball player, and many were skeptical of his ability to make it in baseball. He pitched well all through the minors, however, and after a hot start at AAA Charleston in 1975, when he went 7-1 with a 1.77 ERA in ten outings, Candelaria was promoted to the big leagues. He was never a superstar--he only made one all-star team, in 1977, when he won 20 games and led the league in ERA--but he was a solid rotation starter for nearly ten years for Pittsburgh. He was hurt most of 1981, but every other year he pitched over 170 innings and made more than 27 starts. In his time with the Pirates, he made 271 starts, won 124 games, and posted an ERA of 3.17. He was traded to the Angels in August of 1985, which started him bouncing around quite a bit. Candelaria was with the Angels through September of 1987, was traded to the Mets, signed with the Yankees as a free agent in 1988, was traded to Montreal in August of 1989, and was released by the Expos in January of 1990. He had been moved to the bullpen in 1989 due to back problems, and had a down year, but there was no real reason to think he could no longer pitch. Signed by the Twins, he showed he still could, going 7-3 with a 3.39 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 34 appearances, all but one in relief. At the end of July, the Twins traded Candelaria to Toronto for Nelson Liriano and Pedro Munoz. A free agent after the 1990 season, he went on to have two good years in the Dodgers bullpen. He tried to go back to Pittsburgh for a last hurrah in 1993, but had a poor year, was released in July, and retired. Again, he was never a star, but he pitched for 19 seasons, won 177 games, and had a lifetime ERA of 3.33, which is none too shabby. At last report, John Candelaria was living in Davidson, North Carolina, but was described on wikipedia as an avid world traveler.

November 5

Ice Box Chamberlain (1867)

Roxy Walters (1892)

Pete Donohue (1900)

Jake Dunn (1909)

Harry Gumbert (1909)

Lloyd Moseby (1959)

Fred Manrique (1961)

Brian Raabe (1967)

Javy Lopez (1970)

Johnny Damon (1973)

Juan Morillo (1983)

Jon Gray (1991)

Infielder Fred Eloy (Reyes) Manrique played for the Twins for a few uneventful months in 1990. He was born in Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela, and signed with the Blue Jays as a free agent in 1978. His minor-league numbers are decent, but are more impressive when one realizes he reached AAA at age 20. He actually got to the majors at age 19; Manrique spent a month with Toronto in 1981, then got a brief trial in 1984, when he was still only 22. Manrique was sold to the Expos in April of 1985, and he was at AAA another year, getting 13 at-bats with Montreal. He was traded to St. Louis in March of 1986 for Tom Nieto and was sent to AAA again, getting 17 at-bats with the Cardinals. After the season, he was traded to the White Sox, and this time stuck in the big leagues. He was the mostly regular second baseman for the White Sox for the next two seasons, posting a fairly pedestrian average with few walks and little power. At mid-season of 1989, Manrique was traded to the Rangers. 1989 was his best year: he hit .294, although still with few walks and little power. In April of 1990, he was traded to the Twins for Jeff Saltzinger and cash. He spent about four months with the Twins as part of a revolving door at second base that included Al Newman, Nelson Liriano, Chip Hale and Doug Baker. Manrique may not have been the problem, but he wasn't the solution, either: he hit .237. During that time, Manrique was asked what the Twins needed to improve: his response was "a second baseman". Released in August, he moved on to the Angels and the Athletics, getting 21 at-bats with Oakland in 1991. After that season, however, he was again released, and his career was over. No information about what has become of Fred Manrique was readily available.

Infielder Brian Charles Raabe played briefly for the Twins in 1995 and 1996. Born in New Ulm, Minnesota, he attended the University of Minnesota and was drafted by the Twins in the 41st round in 1990. It took him a while to get above Class A, but he got people's attention when he hit .321 at AAA Salt Lake in 1994. He followed that up with .305 in 1995, which got him a September call-up. A .351 average at AAA in 1996 did not get him a September call-up; in fact, although he spent about a week with the Twins in June, all it got him was his release at the end of the season. Seattle signed him, and he spent 1997 with AAA Tacoma, where he hit .352. He played in two games for the Mariners in August, and was traded in September to Colorado, where he arrived in time to play two more games. After the season, Colorado sold him to the Seibu Lions, where he spent 1998. Raabe came back to the United States in 1999, signed with the Yankees, and hit .327 for AAA Columbus, but when it did him no good he retired. Raabe hit .332/.392/.479 at AAA in nearly 2,500 at-bats, but got only 29 at-bats in the big leagues. There was probably a reason he didn't get more of an opportunity, but someone who hits .332 in five seasons of AAA deserves a chance someplace. Brian Raabe had a successful run as the head coach of the high school baseball team in Forest Lake, Minnesota, and is now the baseball coach at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Right-hander Juan Bautista Morillo made three appearances for the Twins in 2009.  He was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, and was signed by Colorado as a free agent in 2001. Originally a starting pitcher, Morillo was converted to the bullpen in 2007. That was his best year in the minors so far: he posted 2.55 in a season spent mostly with AA Tulsa. He was promoted to AAA the next year, but was not successful: his control, which had always been suspect, became a major problem at that level, as he averaged 8.4 walks per nine innings. He got brief call-ups with the Rockies from 2006-2008, totalling six appearances and 8.2 innings. Colorado placed Morillo on waivers in April of 2009, and the Twins' organization selected him. He made three appearances in Minnesota in April, and spent the rest of the year in Rochester. Control continued to be a problem for him, as he walked 6.9 per nine innings in 2009, and the Twins released him after the season. No American team signed him, so he went to Japan for 2010, but was injured almost all season.  He left Japan after the earthquake and tsunami in 2011 and does not appear to have played anywhere in 2011.  In 2012, however, he was back in baseball in the Philadelphia organization.  He pitched poorly in AA, but did well in eight appearances in AAA.  He went to Mexico for 2013 and pitched poorly in nine appearances, then went to Taiwan, where he played for the EDA Rhinos and was reputed to be the hardest thrower in the league.  He came back to the United States in 2014, making 22 AA appearances for the Baltimore organization, but it did not go well, as he continued to strike out lots of batters but also walk lots of batters.  He was released in mid-July.  It appears that he played for the Dominican Republic baseball team in 2015 in the WBSC Premier 12 championship.  No information about what Juan Morillo may have done since then was readily available.

November 4

Bobby Wallace (1873)

Tommy Leach (1877)

Skeeter Webb (1909)

Carl Sawatski (1927)

Dick Groat (1930)

Tito Francona (1933)

Dick Selma (1943)

Doug Corbett (1952)

Jon Shave (1967)

Eric Karros (1967)

Carlos Baerga (1968)

Kevin Frederick (1976)

Carmen Cali (1978)

Chih-Wei Hu (1993)

Right-handed reliever Douglas Mitchell Corbett played for the Twins from 1980-1982. Born and raised in Sarasota, Florida, he attended the University of Florida. Kansas City signed him as a free agent in 1974. He did fairly well in 11 outings in rookie ball, but the Royals released him in April of 1975. The Reds signed him and he spent five years in their farm system as a reliever, posting an ERA well under 3.00 every year, with two of those years coming in AAA. Cincinnati was not impressed, however, and left Corbett unprotected in the Rule 5 draft. The Twins signed him, and almost immediately made him their closer. He saved 23 games that year, but was not used as closers are used today: Corbett pitched 136 innings in 73 games. He finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1980, and made the all-star team in 1981, when he led the league in appearances. After a slow start in 1982, Corbett was traded to the Angels along with Rob Wilfong for Tom Brunansky, Mike Walters, and $400,000. He was used mostly as a setup man for the Angels through 1986. He had some up years and some down ones, and spent some time with AAA Edmonton in 1982-83. He began 1987 with Edmonton, and despite the fact that he was pitching well there, he was released in June. Baltimore signed him, but he did nothing for the Orioles and was released in August, bringing his playing career to a close. As a Twin, he was 10-14 with 43 saves. He pitched 246 innings in 137 games, posting an ERA of 2.49, a WHIP of 1.20, and an ERA+ of 169. He is a member of the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame and was an assistant baseball coach there for a few years.  He also was a coach at the University of Jacksonville.  At last report, Doug Corbett was coaching high school baseball in Jacksonville, Florida, but that report is a several years old now, and it seems likely that he has retired.

Infielder Jonathan Taylor Shave played in nineteen games for the Twins in 1998. He was born in Waycross, Georgia, went to high school in Fernandina Beach, Florida, attended Mississippi State, and was drafted by Texas in the 5th round in 1990. He advanced fairly quickly through the Rangers' system, reaching AAA by 1993. He spent about a month with Texas in 1993 and did well, hitting .319 in 52 at-bats. He never hit like that in AAA, however; in four seasons at Oklahoma City, his highest average was .266. Shave became a free agent after the 1996 season and signed with the Twins. He hit over .330 in two years with AAA Salt Lake, spending about two months with the big club in 1998. The Twins put Shave on waivers in November of 1998, and he was taken by the Rangers again. He was with Texas all of 1999, his only full year in the majors, appearing in 43 games and batting .288. In 2000, however, he was back in AAA, and was let go after the season. Shave went to the Red Sox in 2001, but never got back to the majors and called it quits after the season. As a Twin, he hit .250 with 1 home run in 40 at-bats. He owned a business called Hotspot Internet Center in Yulee, Florida, when he was arrested in March of 2013 on several counts of racketeering and money laundering.  No information was readily available on how the case came out, and in fact my quick google search does not even turn up any mention of it any more.  He must have come out of it all right, though, because at last report he was a high school baseball coach, first in Jacksonville, then back in Fernandina Beach.

Right-hander Kevin Albert Francis Frederick made eight appearances for the Twins in 2002. He was born in Evanston, Illinois, attended high school in Lincolnshire, Illinois, and then attended Creighton University, where he was a two-time Missouri Valley Conference all-star. He was drafted in the 34th round by the Twins in 1998. Frederick was a reliever throughout his minor league career. He was apparently injured much of 1999, but other than that progressed at a pace of roughly a level a year, reaching AAA in 2002. He spent roughly a month with the Twins in 2002, posting a 10.03 ERA in 11.2 innings. The Twins put Frederick on waivers near the end of 2003 spring training, and he was chosen by Toronto. He had a tremendous year in the Blue Jays' minor league system in 2004, posting an ERA of 1.11 in 38 appearances. He earned a couple more months in the big leagues that year, but was not particularly effective, with an ERA of 6.59 in 22 appearances. He was out of baseball in 2005, but tried to make a comeback in the Boston organization in 2006. Kevin Frederick last pitched for the Reno Silver Sox in the Golden Baseball League in 2008. At last report, he had returned to Illinois and was coaching youth baseball in Lake County.

Left-hander Carmen Salvatore Cali appeared in twenty-four games for the Twins in 2007. He was born in Cleveland, attended Florida Atlantic University and then was drafted by St. Louis in the tenth round in 2000. He was a starter in rookie ball that year, but was converted to the bullpen in 2001. Cali's minor league record was a pretty mixed bag, but he waCs left-handed, which got him brief shots in the majors with the Cardinals in 2004 and 2005. After the 2006 season, Cali was released by St. Louis, and signed with Minnesota. He had a fine year with Rochester in 2007, reaching the Twins in late May. He got off to a strong start, going unscored upon in his first seven outings (5.1 innings), but gave up four runs in his next appearance and was sent back to Rochester in early July, returning in early August. He made 24 appearances as a Twin, pitching 21 innings with a 4.71 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. He was in Rochester again in 2008, but was released after the season. Cali spent 2009 in the Dodgers' organization, but was released in late June, ending his playing career.  At last report, Carmen Cali was a project manager for Frontier Custom Homes in Naples, Florida.

Right-hander Chih-Wei Hu did not play for the Twins but was originally signed by them.  He was born in Taichung, Taiwan and signed with the Twins in August of 2012 as a free agent at the age of eighteen.  He did extremely well in the low minors, reaching high-A Fort Myers in 2015 and making one emergency start in Rochester that year, where he also did well.  At the July trade deadline, however, he was traded to Tampa Bay along with Alexis Tapia for Kevin Jepsen.  He had an excellent year in AA in 2016.  In 2017, the Rays switched him from starting to the bullpen and he continued to pitch well for AAA Durham.  He was briefly up with the Rays several times, pitching a total of ten innings over six appearances.  In 2018, however, he went back to starting and did not have a good year in AAA.  He was again up briefly with the Rays three times, appearing in five games.  After the season he was traded to Cleveland.  He again both started and relieved in AAA, but did poorly and was released in late July.  The Cubs signed him about a week later and he pitched poorly in eleven innings of AA.  He appeared in just twenty-three games combined, so one wonders if he was injured.  He signed with San Diego for 2020, but did not play for them.  He returned to Taiwan in 2021 and has been mediocre at best, but there must be something they like about him because he's played there for five seasons now.  His major league numbers are 1-1, 3.52, 0.83 WHIP with 21 strikeouts in 23 innings (11 games).  He turns thirty-two today.  It seems very unlikely that we will ever see him in the majors again, but he can probably pitch in Taiwan for a while yet.

November 3

Jim McCormick (1856)

Larry Kopf (1890)

Homer Summa (1898)

Johnny Keane (1911)

Bob Feller (1918)

Ken Holtzman (1945)

Dwight Evans (1951)

Larry Herndon (1953)

Bob Welch (1956)

Paul Quantrill (1968)

Armando Benitez (1972)

Kyle Seager (1987)

Johnny Keane managed the St. Louis Cardinals from 1961-1964 and the New York Yankees from 1965-1966.

There do not appear to be any players with connections to the Twins born on this day. It should be noted that, while Homer Summa is a great name for a ballplayer, he didn't homer very much.  He had only 18 career home runs in ten major league seasons.  He did, however, have a lifetime batting average of .302.  Maybe he should've been named Single Summa.

November 2

Dutch Zwilling (1888)

Chief Hogsett (1903)

Travis Jackson (1903)

Johnny Vander Meer (1914)

Al Campanis (1916)

Ron Reed (1942)

Tom Paciorek (1946)

Scott Boras (1952)

Paul Hartzell (1953)

Greg Harris (1955)

Willie McGee (1958)

Sam Horn (1963)

Orlando Merced (1966)

Travis Miller (1972)

Orlando Cabrera (1974)

Sir Sidney Ponson (1976)

Wilson Betamit (1981)

Yunel Escobar (1982)

Daryl Thompson (1985)

Dutch Zwilling held the record for last major leaguer in alphabetical order until Tony Zych came along.

Al Campanis was the general manager of the Dodgers from 1969-1987.

Scott Boras has been a player agent for many years.

The Twins have had three players named "Orlando".  Two of them were born on this day.

Right-hander Paul Franklin Hartzell was in the Twins' starting rotation for one season (1979). He was born in Bloomsberg, Pennsylvania and attended Lehigh University. Hartzell was drafted by the Angels in the 10th round in 1975. He spent only one season in Class A, mostly pitching out of the bullpen, and was jumped to the majors in 1976. He was a "swing man" for the Angels for three seasons, and pitched pretty well. Hartzell posted a 3.27 ERA for the Angels, with a 1.28 WHIP and a 111 ERA+ in 132 games, 50 of them starts. On February 3, 1979, he was traded to the Twins along with Dave Engle, Brad Havens, and Ken Landreaux for Rod Carew. Maybe it was a different park, maybe it was the pressure of being traded for Carew, maybe it was a worse defense, but for whatever reason, Hartzell's career went straight downhill after that. He was 6-10 with a 5.36 ERA for Minnesota and was released the following April. He signed with Baltimore and had a good year at AAA, but flopped in six outings in the majors. The Orioles released him after the season, and he moved on to the Brewers. He was released by them after a poor 1981 at AAA. He tried to come back in 1984, and had another good year at AAA, but pitched poorly in a September call-up and his career was over. Paul Hartzell has had what appears to be an excellent business career, and is the co-founder of True Digital Dossier, a data security company.  He was General Manager of The Perfect Pitch, which has nothing to do with baseball--it's a company that helps analyze markets and train sales teams.  He's also the vice president of global sales for TerraRad Technology and is an advisory counsel member of the Center for Supply Chain Research at Lehigh University.  Paul Hartzell is a member of the Lehigh University Hall of Fame.

Outfielder/first baseman Orlando Luis (Villanueva) Merced played for the Twins for four months in 1998. He had a longer career than you might remember, as he played in parts of 13 seasons in the big leagues. Born in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, he went to high school in San Juan and was signed by Pittsburgh as a free agent in 1985. He started very slowly in the minors, possibly due to injuries. He began his career as an infielder, then moved to first base and the outfield. His minor league numbers are not all that impressive, but after a stint as a pinch-hitter in 1990, Merced became the more-or-less regular first baseman for the Pirates in 1991, finishing second in the Rookie of the Year balloting to Jeff Bagwell. He remained a more-or-less regular first baseman/outfielder for Pittsburgh through 1996. He never put up eye-popping numbers, but he was a steady, solid contributor, hitting for a decent average, drawing a good number of walks, and providing occasional power. Traded to Toronto prior to the 1997 season, he continued to be a steady, solid contributor for the Blue Jays. He became a free agent after that season, and signed with the Twins in January of 1998. Merced continued to produce at about the same rate for the Twins, but his playing time was cut down. The 1998 Twins were going nowhere, so at the end of July, Merced and Greg Swindell were traded to Boston for Joe Thomas, John Barnes, and Matt Kinney. The Red Sox really didn't have a spot for Merced, and released him on September 1. The Cubs picked him up for their September playoff drive, but allowed him to become a free agent after the season. Signing with Montreal, Merced again had a solid season as a part-time player, but he again was allowed to become a free agent. Merced went to Japan for most of 2000, but signed with Houston on August 15. He did not play for the Astros that year, but spent 2001-2003 with them. He again had a couple of solid seasons as a part-time player. He had a down year in 2003, which may have had as much to do with sample size as anything, but he was now 36, and no one was willing to give him another chance. As a Twin, Orlando Merced hit .289/.345/.422, numbers which are quite close to his career numbers. After his playing career ended, Merced did some minor-league coaching, most recently with the Billings Mustangs in 2017.  At last report he was the owner of the Seven Tools Sports Academy in Kissimmee, Florida and was also a coach for the Puerto Rican National Team.

Left-hander Travis Eugene Miller pitched for the Twins from 1996-2002. He was born in Dayton, went to high school in New Paris, Ohio, and attended Kent State University. The Twins drafted him in the first round in 1994. A starting pitcher in the minors, his numbers were not all that impressive, but this was the late '90s Twins--anyone who looked like he might possibly be a pitcher was given a chance. Each year, from 1996 to 1998, Travis Miller was given a chance. He made the Twins to stay in May of 1999, and was a not-awful left-handed bullpen option for the Twins for the next three seasons. He never developed into anything more than that, however, and after spending most of the 2002 at AAA Edmonton, the Twins let Travis Miller go. He moved on to the Cubs, Indians, Reds, and Brewers organizations, but never got back to the big leagues. He was out of baseball after 2003. In his big league career, Travis Miller made 203 appearances and pitched 267.1 innings. He had a 5.05 ERA, a 1.66 WHIP and an ERA+ of 97. At last report, he was the athletic director for Eaton Community Schools in Eaton, Ohio.

The brother of former big-leaguer Jolbert Cabrera, shortstop Orlando Luis Cabrera played for the Twins for two months in 2009. Born and raised in Cartagena, Colombia, he was signed by Montreal as a free agent in 1993. His minor-league record is somewhat mixed, but on the whole appears to be fairly average, although he started somewhat young. He made his debut with Montreal in 1997, and was in the majors to stay by June of 1998. He was a part-time player in 1998, but was the regular shortstop for the Expos from 1999 until the end of July of 2004. As an Expo, he hit about the way he has hit his entire career: a decent but unspectacular batting average, not a lot of walks, a little power but not significant power. On July 31, 2004, Cabrera was traded to Boston as part of a four-team trade that saw Doug Mientkiewicz also go to Boston. This is apparently when Cabrera began learning how to win, because he certainly didn't learn it with the Expos. He became a free agent after the 2004 season and signed with the Angels, where his education in winning continued. He had some good years with the Angels: he hit over .300 for the only time in his career in 2007, a year in which he finished 15th in the MVP balloting and won his second Gold Glove (his first came in 2001). He was traded to the White Sox after the 2008 season, signed with Oakland as a free agent for 2009, and was traded to Minnesota on July 31 for Tyler Ladendorf.  As a Twin, he hit .289/.313/.430 in 242 at-bats. A free agent after the season, Cabrera signed with Cincinnati, batting .263 for the Reds.  A free agent again after the 2010 campaign, he signed with Cleveland for 2011, then was traded to San Francisco just before the July deadline. Cabrera was an extremely durable player: he played in over 160 games four times, and in over 150 games three more times.  He had the worst year of his career in 2011, however, batting just .238 with an OPS of .573. He retired after that season.  He holds the record for most career doubles (459) by a player who never made an all-star game roster.  At last report, Orlando Cabrera was living in Windham, New Hampshire and was the owner of Cabrera Consulting, LLC, a sports management company.

Sir Sidney Alton Ponson made seven starts for the Twins in 2007. Born and raised in Noord, Aruba, he is one of four major league players to be born in Aruba and is the most successful of the four. Baltimore signed him as a free agent in 1993. He did not have a lot of success in the minors, but came to the majors in April of 1998 and stayed there. He finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1998, and was a durable rotation starter for the Orioles through July of 2003, consistently posting ERAs in the fours. Near the end of his contract, Ponson was traded to the Giants on July 31, 2003, and finished out the season with them. 2003 was Ponson's best year: he won 17 games, posting an ERA of 3.75. He returned to Baltimore as a free agent in 2004, but his ERA went over five, and then over six the next year. The Orioles released him on September 1, 2005, and Ponson began bouncing around. He was with St. Louis and the Yankees in 2006, the Twins in 2007, Texas and the Yankees again in 2008, and Kansas City in 2009. His stint with the Twins in 2007 consisted of seven games, all starts. He was 2-5 with a 6.93 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP. He played briefly for the Long Island Ducks in the Atlantic League in 2010, but was placed on the retired list in mid-June.  At last report, Sidney Ponson was living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Right-hander Daryl Marcelus Thompson did not play for the Twins, but he was in their organization for part of 2012.  Born and raised in LaPlata, Maryland, he was drafted by Montreal in the eighth round in 2003.  He had not gotten out of Class A in 2007, and was now in the Cincinnati organization, having been traded after the 2006 season.  In 2008, though, he made ten excellent starts at AA, seven fine starts in AAA, and ended the season in the majors, where he went 0-2, 6.91.  He was injured much of 2009, making only seven minor league starts, and made only fifteen minor league starts in 2010.  The Reds thought enough of him to send him to the Arizona Fall League, though, and in 2011, even though he wasn't pitching that well in the minors, they brought him back to the majors for one relief appearance.  After that season, though, the Reds released him.  He signed with Minnesota for 2012 and was sent to Rochester, where he went 1-5, 4.71 in nine starts.  The Twins released him on the first of June.  He didn't give up, though.  He had a fine year for Southern Maryland in the Atlantic League in 2013 and signed with the Mets after the season, but was released before 2014 spring training and returned to Southern Maryland.    He pitched in the Atlantic League for many years.  He had a fine season for Southern Maryland in 2019, earning Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year Honors, and had fine seasons in 2021 and 2022.   He was not as good the next two seasons, but still made twenty-six starts in 2024.  He played in winter ball that off-season, but does not appear to have played in 2025.  He also was been the pitching coach for the Blue Crabs from 2021-2024, but does not appear to have held that position in 2025. His career major league record is 0-3, 8.31 in 17 innings.  If coaching is his future, or whatever his future holds, we wish him well.

November 1

Doc Adams (1814)

Bid McPhee (1859)

Larry French (1907)

Pat Mullin (1917)

Vic Power (1927)

Jim Kennedy (1946)

Miguel Dilone (1954)

Gary Redus (1956)

Fernando Valenzuela (1960)

Eddie Williams (1964)

Bob Wells (1966)

Ryan Glynn (1974)

Cleatus Davidson (1976)

Coco Crisp (1979)

Steven Tolleson (1983)

Stephen Vogt (1984)

Anthony Bass (1987)

Alex Wimmers (1988)

Anthony Misiewicz (1994)

Brent Rooker (1994)

Daniel Lucius "Doc" Adams was instrumental in developing the rules of baseball and was the first man to play what we now know as shortstop.

November 1 takes the lead for most Twins birthdays, with ten.

First baseman Victor Pellot Power played for the Twins from 1962-1964. He appears to have been a much better player than many people remember today. Born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, his given name was Victor Pellot, a name he used when playing winter ball. Power played for some independent minor league teams from 1949-1951. Playing for an independent team carried no stigma at that time; farm systems were not fully developed yet, and it was common for teams with no formal major league affiliation to play in organized minor leagues. The Yankees bought his contract rights prior to the 1952 season, and he played for their AAA team in Kansas City for two years. He was nearly the first person of color to play for the Yankees, but instead, he was traded to the Philadelphia Athletics, made the team out of spring training in 1954, and never returned to the minors. Power later said that the Yankees traded him because he dated white women. He was with the Philadelphia/Kansas City Athletics through June of 1958. He hit over .300 twice and received MVP consideration three times in those years. He also provided double digit home runs in each season after 1954. He was traded to Cleveland at mid-season of 1958 in a trade that involved Roger Maris. Power continued to provide a .300 batting average and double-digit home run power. He made two more all-star teams as an Indian, recieving MVP consideration three more times and winning four Gold Gloves. Just before the 1962 season, Cleveland traded Power and Dick Stigman to Minnesota for Pedro Ramos. Power never hit .300 again, but he hit in the upper .200s as a Twin, again hitting double-digit home runs, again had a year in which he received MVP consideration, and won two more Gold Gloves. In June of 1964, the Twins sent him to the Angels as part of a three-team deal that also involved Cleveland: the Twins traded away Power and Lenny Green and received Frank Kostro and Jerry Kindall. Now 36, Power was near the end of his career. He was traded to Philadelphia in September, was bought back by the Angels for the 1965 season, and then retired. As a Twin, Power hit .278/.305/.398. A tremendous fielder, he played much farther off the base than other first basemen of his time. He told the infielders to throw the ball at the base, and he would get there in time to catch it, often on a dead run. Power has a number of odd records: one of five batters to hit both a leadoff and a walkoff homer in the same game; one of eleven players to steal home twice in the same game; most consecutive games with an assist as a first baseman (16); tied for most unassisted double plays in a game (2). After leaving baseball, he returned to Puerto Rico and spent his time coaching and working with youth. He had a dry sense of humor, which he used to deflect the racism he encountered. Once, when told by a waitress "We don't serve colored people," he replied, "That's OK, I don't eat colored people. I just want rice and beans." Vic Power passed away in Bayamon, Puerto Rico on November 29, 2005.

Infielder James Earl Kennedy did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 1971. The brother of major league infielder Junior Kennedy, he was born in Tulsa and signed as a free agent with the Yankees in 1966. He did not hit as a Yankee; his highest average in four years in their system was .244. Unsurprisingly, he was left unprotected after the 1969 season; surprisingly, he was chosen by St. Louis. They apparently worked something out, because Kennedy spent most of that season in his hometown of AAA Tulsa. The home cooking must have helped, because he had his best season, batting .275. He also made his major league debut that season, getting 24 big league at-bats in about a month. He hit only .125, however, and was sent back down. After the 1970 season, Kennedy was traded to Minnesota with Sal Campisi for Charlie Wissler and Herman Hill. The Twins sent him to AAA Portland where he had the highest batting average of his career, .288. That was as good as it would get for him, however, and it was not good enough to get him back to the majors. He moved on to play in AAA for the Mets in 1972 and for the Yankees in 1973, then his career was over. No current information about Jim Kennedy was readily available.

Corner infielder Edward Laquan Williams did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 1999. He was born in Shreveport, went to high school in San Diego, and was drafted by the Mets with the fourth pick of the 1983 draft. He did not do much for the Mets in the minors, however, and they traded him to Cincinnati just a year later. In 1985, as a 20-year-old in Class A Cedar Rapids, he hit .261 with twenty homers. Cleveland was impressed enough to take him in that year’s rule 5 draft, and he started 1986 in the majors. He was there until late May but played in only five games. Something was then worked out to send him to the minors, but he never did get things going that season. In 1987, however, he bounced back to hit .291 with 22 homers for AAA Buffalo, earning a September call-up. In 1988 he hit .301 for AAA Colorado Springs, although with only 12 home runs, and got another September call-up. While the records are sketchy, he appears to have struck out a lot in the minors, which may have made teams reluctant to give him more of a chance. Cleveland traded him to the White Sox for 1989. He was in Chicago for the first half of the season and did okay, hitting .274 with ten homers, but was still sent down around the all-star break. A free agent after the 1989 season, he signed with San Diego and was back in AAA for most of the season, getting only a month in the majors. He was then sold to the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks and played in Japan for two years. He came back to the United States in 1992 with Atlanta, but was released in mid-May and was out of baseball the rest of the season. He signed with Milwaukee for 1993 but was released in mid-April and was again out of baseball the rest of the season. He did not give up, however, signing with San Diego for 1994, and in mid-June, after a four-year absence, Eddie Williams was back in the major leagues. He responded by hitting .331 with 11 homers in 175 at-bats as a part-time first baseman. He did not sustain that in 1995, but in his first full season in the majors he hit .260 with twelve homers as a part-time player. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Detroit but had a bad year, batting only .200 as a part-time DH. He signed with the Dodgers for 1997, spending most of the year in the minors but finishing it in Pittsburgh, where he was traded in early August. He went back to San Diego for 1998, spending about a month in the majors before getting released again in mid-September. He did not give up, however, and signed with Minnesota for 1999. He had a solid year in AAA Salt Lake, hitting .316 with 17 homers, but as bad as the Twins were that year they did not call him up. He then played for three seasons in independent leagues before his playing career ended after the 2002 season. He was never a star or even a regular, but he managed to play professional baseball for twenty years, making the majors for at least part of ten of them. He then spent a couple of years as a batting coach in Class A, but that seems to have ended after the 2004 season. At last report, Eddie Williams was living in the Los Angeles area.  His son, Trey, spent two seasons in the Phillies organization in the Gulf Coast League.

Right-hander Robert Lee Wells played for the Twins from 1999-2002. He came to the Twins at the end of a career that was surprisingly lengthy considering how he pitched. Born and raised in Yakima, Washington, Wells attended Spokane Falls community college and signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in 1988. He began as a starting pitcher, but became primarily a reliever at Class A in 1991. He had some good years as a reliever, but advanced slowly, not seeing the last of Class A until 1993. He made his major league debut with the Phillies in May of 1994 and pitched well in six appearances, but was sent back to the minors and then placed on waivers in August. Seattle selected him, and Wells finally reached the majors to stay in 1995. He was never very good for the Mariners; his lowest ERA with them was 5.30. Still, he was with Seattle for four years until he was finally released in November of 1998. The Twins signed Wells as a free agent the following January, and he pitched four more years for them. He actually did pretty well the first couple of seasons, posting ERAs in the mid-threes and WHIPs around 1.2. In 2001 and 2002, however, he posted ERAs over 5.00. He was released after the season, and his career was over. As a Twin, Bob Wells appeared in 265 games, posting an ERA of 4.47 and an ERA+ of 109 in just over 300 innings.  At last report, Bob Wells had moved back to Yakima.  He was the pitching coach for the Yakima Valley Pippins of the West Coast League from 2014-2016, but then resigned to spend more time in his full-time job.

Right-hander Ryan David Glynn did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 2006. Born and raised in Portsmouth, Virginia, he attended VMI and was drafted by Texas in the fourth round in 1995. He started slowly but hit his stride in 1998, when he went 9-6, 3.44 with a 1.30 WHIP at AA Tulsa. He reached the majors in mid-May of 1999 and was soon in the starting rotation but flopped, posting a 7.24 ERA in 13 games before being returned to the minors. He was back in the minors at the start of 2000, but after a good half-season in AAA he came back to Texas. He stayed in the rotation the rest of the year and started 2001 there but continued to struggle, going back to the minors in early June of 2001. He became a free agent after the season and started moving around: he signed with Milwaukee for 2002, was released in early June, signed with Florida a week later, became a free agent after the season, signed with Atlanta for 2003, was released in late June, and was out of baseball the rest of the season. He did not make the majors in either of those years. He signed back with Atlanta for 2004, was released again in late May, signed with Toronto a few days later, and after sixteen strong starts at Syracuse found himself back in the majors as a September call-up. He started 2005 back in the minors, however, and was sold to Oakland in mid-May. He got back to the majors for a month, making three starts but pitching in AAA most of the year. Minnesota signed him for 2006, but released him after one start for AAA Rochester. He then went to Japan, pitching two years for the Nippon Ham Fighters and one year for Yokohama. He came back to the United States in 2010, pitching for the independent Newark Bears. He apparently pitched in China in 2011, after which his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Ryan Glynn was a financial professional for Blue Chip Financial in Fort Myers, Florida.

Infielder Cleatus Lavon Davidson appeared in twelve games for the Twins in 1999. He was born in Bartow, Florida, went to high school in Lake Wales, Florida, and was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 1994. He never hit a lot in the minors, but he was fast, stealing 123 bases from 1997-1999. He got a couple of call-ups to the Twins, both in 1999. Davidson appeared in 12 games for the Twins, batting .136 (3-for-22) with 3 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Other than those two call-ups, Davidson never rose above AA with the Twins. After the 2000 season, they let him go; he was in the Padres' system in 2001 and played in the Yankees and Cardinals organizations in 2002. He then played in independent leagues, last playing for Long Beach of the Golden Baseball League in 2008.  He got into some sort of legal trouble in Florida in 2017, but we could not find out what that was about. At last report, it appeared that Cleatus Davidson was living in the Tallahassee area.

Infielder Steven Wayne Tolleson did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for five seasons. The son of major league infielder Wayne Tolleson, he was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina and was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 2005. He posted some solid minor league batting averages, had decent doubles power, and drew a good number of walks. His best season in the Twins’s system was 2008, when he hit .300 with 28 doubles and nine homers, giving him an OPS of .848. He mostly played second base, but also had a pretty fair number of games at shortstop. He reached AAA in 2009 and hit .270, but was placed on waivers on February 1 of 2010 and was selected by Oakland. He had a tremendous season in AAA Sacramento, hitting .332 with an OPS of .915. He appeared briefly with the Athletics in late April, then came up in mid-August and stayed the rest of the season. He got 49 at-bats, hitting .286 with a home run and four RBIs. In 2011, however, he was back in AAA, and was traded to San Diego in late May for a player to be named later.  He played all over the diamond, seeing time at second, short, third, and left field, and had a solid enough season, but did not get another shot at the majors.   A free agent after the 2011 season, he signed with Baltimore.  He hit for a decent average in AAA, but with little power.  He got two months in the majors as a reserve infielder, hitting .183/.227/.310 in 76 at-bats.  A free agent again after the 2012 season, he signed with the White Sox for 2013 and had a good year in AAA, but did not return to the majors.  Once again a free agent, he signed with Toronto, came up to the majors in early May, and stayed the rest of the season as a reserve.  He did okay in that role, hitting .253 while playing six positions, including pitcher.  He started the 2015 season with the Blue Jays and was doing well in a reserve role when he was hurt in late May.  He played very little the rest of the year and was in a dispute with the Blue Jays, with Tolleson saying he was still injured and the Blue Jays saying he wasn't.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Baltimore for 2016, but had only twenty AAA at-bats before being released in late May.  He signed with Kansas City a few days later but had only four at-bats in AAA with them.  That was the end of his playing career.  At last report Steven Tolleson was a partner at Parallel Financial, which specializes in "strategic wealth management for athletes, business owners, and retirees," in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Right-hander Alex Wimmers played for the Twins in 2016 and 2017.  He was born in Cincinnati, attended Ohio State, and was drafted by the Twins in the first round in 2010 with the twenty-first pick.  He pitched very well in four starts in Fort Myers in 2010, then started having injury problems.  He appeared in only twenty-one games from 2011-2013.  When he came back he did okay, but nothing to get too excited about.  He split 2014 between A and AA, was in AA for all of 2015 (making 18 starts and 12 relief appearances), and started 2016 in relief in Rochester.  He pitched decently enough there--3.62 ERA, 1.33 WHIP--for the Twins to call him up in late August.  He was not particularly good for the Twins, but he was not terrible, either.  He had an outstanding season in AAA in relief in 2017 and had six appearances for the Twins in June, not doing very well.  In his major league career, he is 1-3, 4.38, 1.66 WHIP in 24.2 innings (22 games).  He became a free agent after the 2017 season and signed with Miami.  He made only four AAA appearances for them, not doing very well again, and spent the rest of the season with Sugar Land of the Atlantic League.  He had a fine season in relief for them, but it was the swan song for his playing career.  At last report, Alex Wimmers was living in Lubbock, Texas.  He was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2025.

Left-hander Anthony Misiewicz appeared in five games for the Twins in 2025.  He was born in Detroit, went to high school in Fair Haven, Michigan, attended Michigan State, and was drafted by Seattle in the eighteenth round in 2015.  He was mostly a reliever in college, although he did make a handful of starts.  The Mariners turned him into a starter, which did not go particularly well.  He was in AA in August of 2017 when he was traded to Tampa Bay.  The Rays traded him back to Seattle after the season for international bonus slot money.  He had a poor year in AA in 2018, but after seven good AA starts in 2019 he was promoted to AAA.  He had a poor season there, but spent all of the shortened 2020 COVID season with Seattle and did okay, though nothing special.  He was less okay in 2021, and after spending the first two months of 2022 in the majors he went back to AAA and then was traded to Kansas City in early August.  That was the start of a journey for him.  He was sold to Kansas City that off-season, sold to Arizona before the 2023 season started, was waived in mid-June and claimed by Detroit, and was waived again a couple of weeks later and claimed by the Yankees.  He made eleven appearances in the majors that season.  He stayed in the Yankees organization in 2024, but was almost entirely in AAA, getting only one game in the majors.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Minnesota for 2025.  He had a pretty good year in St. Paul and came up to the Twins for about two weeks.  That did not go very well, as he went 0-0, 9.64, 1.93 WHIP in 4.2 innings.  He turns thirty-one today and is on the Twins' forty-man roster at this point.  In the majors, he is 8-9, 4.86, 1.45 WHIP.  In AAA, he is 20-13, 4.51, 1.24 WHIP.  There's not a lot to recommend him, but the Twins have plenty of openings in their bullpen, so it's certainly possible that he'll get another shot at the majors in 2026.

Outfielder Terry Brent Rooker played for the Twins in 2020-2021.  He was born in Germantown, Tennessee, attended Mississippi State, and was drafted by the Twins in the first round in 2017.  It was the second time the Twins had drafted him--they had taken him in the thirty-eighth round in 2016.  He batted very well throughout his minor league career, reaching AA in 2018 and AAA in 2019.  He made his major league debut in 2020, appearing in seven games for the Twins.  As with many players, he was probably set back by the lack of a minor league season that year.  He split 2021 between AAA and the Twins, having a fine minor league season but batting just .201/.291/.397 in the majors.  The Twins traded him to San Diego just before the 2022 season along with Taylor Rogers for Chris Paddack, Emilio Pagan, and a player to be named later (Brayan Medina).  That trade did not work out particularly well, for the Twins, although it took a while for us to see that.  He hit very well at AAA El Paso but got only two games in the majors before being traded to Kansas City.  He again hit very well in AAA and got a few weeks in the majors, but got just twenty-five at-bats and batted .160.  The Royals waived him after the season and he was claimed by Oakland.  Given regular playing time, some at corner outfield and some at DH, he finally did in the majors what he'd done in the minors, slugging thirty homers and posting an OPS of .817.  He had an even better season in 2024, hitting 39 homers with an OPS of .927.  He did not repeat that in 2025, but still had a fine season, making his second all-star team.  He turns thirty-one today and will presumably again be a major factor in the Athletics lineup in 2026.

October 31

Harry Smith (1874)

Cal Hubbard (1900)

Ken Keltner (1916)

Jim Donohue (1938)

Ed Stroud (1939)

Ed Spiezio (1941)

Dave McNally (1942)

Dave Trembley (1951)

Mike Gallego (1960)

Fred McGriff (1963)

Matt Nokes (1963)

Eddie Taubensee (1968)

Steve Trachsel (1970)

Tim Byrdak (1973)

David Dellucci (1973)

Mike Napoli (1981)

Javy Guerra (1985)

Cal Hubbard was an American League umpire from 1936-1951.  He is in the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the College Football Hall of Fame.

Dave Trembley was the manager of the Baltimore Orioles from 2007-2010.

David Dellucci was drafted by Minnesota in the eleventh round in 1994, but did not sign.

Right-hander James Thomas Donohue made six appearances for the Twins in 1962. He was born in St. Louis, and the Cardinals signed the home town boy as a free agent in 1956. He pitched pretty well in the minors, especially when you consider that the Cardinals could never make up their mind whether he should be a starter or a reliever, using him in both roles every year. In June of 1960, St. Louis traded Donohue to the Dodgers for John Glenn. The Tigers took him in the Rule 5 draft the following off-season, and after pitching well for them in 14 appearances, he was traded to the Angels. He did fairly well for them out of the bullpen as well, getting five saves at a time when many teams did not have a closer as we know it today. In May of 1962, Donohue was traded to the Twins for Don Lee. He made six appearances with the Twins, starting once. He worked 10.1 innings, posting an ERA of 6.97, and then went back to the minors, never to return to the big leagues. He was in the Twins' system for two more years, but was out of baseball after 1964.  He apparently returned to the St. Louis area after leaving baseball.  Jim Donohue passed away on September 9, 2017.  The obituary we found did not say what he had done after his playing career was over, but it noted that "his love for baseball continued throughout his lifetime."