November 10

Jim Whitney (1857)

Cy Morgan (1878)

Del Gainer (1886)

Jimmie Dykes (1896)

Chick Fewster (1896)

Birdie Tebbetts (1912)

Johnny Lipon (1922)

Cal Ermer (1923)

Gene Conley (1930)

Norm Cash (1934)

Mike Vail (1951)

Larry Christenson (1953)

Larry Parrish (1953)

Paul Thormodsgard (1953)

Bob Stanley (1954)

Jack Clark (1955)

Keith Lockhart (1964)

Kenny Rogers (1964)

Butch Huskey (1971)

Shawn Green (1972)

Brian Dinkelman (1983)

Matt Magill (1989)

Calvin Coolidge Ermer was a longtime manager and coach in the Twins organization, managing the major league club briefly in 1967-1968. As a player, he was primarily a second baseman. Born in Baltimore, Ermer began his playing career in Class D in the New York Giants organization in 1942, then missed three years due to World War II, when he served in the Marines. Upon his return, he played in the minors through 1951, playing in the Washington, Detroit, and Philadelphia Athletics organizations. He played in one major league game, for Washington in 1947. He went 0-for-3, but handled seven chances in the field flawlessly. He briefly managed Class B Charlotte in 1947, but did not really begin his managing career until 1950, when he was the player-manager for Class D Orlando. With the exception of three seasons from 1958-1960, his entire managing career was in the Washington/Minnesota organization, although he was a major league coach with other clubs. His record as manager of the Twins was 145-129.  Ermer retired from managing in 1984. He never really "retired", however, becoming a scout for the Twins. Ermer was not only interested in baseball; he also coached soccer at the University of Maryland. Cal Ermer passed away on August 8, 2009 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he had lived for 57 years.

Right-hander Paul Gayton Thormodsgard played for the Twins from 1977-1979. Born in San Francisco, he was signed by Cincinnati as a free agent in 1971. He had a good year at Class A in 1973, posting an ERA of 2.36, but when he slumped the following year he was released. Thormodsgard was out of baseball in 1975, but the Twins signed him in December, and after a mediocre year in Class A in 1976, the Twins put him in their starting rotation for 1977. Given his track record, he pitched surprisingly well, going 11-15 with a 4.62 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. In 1978, he got off to a 1-6 start, even though he wasn't pitching that much worse than he had before, and he was demoted to AAA Toledo, where he pitched well in five games and then missed the rest of the season with an injured groin. He had another strong year in Toledo in 1979, getting a September call-up, but was traded to Philadelphia that off-season for Pete Mackanin. He had another good year at AAA in 1980, mostly in relief, but was out of baseball after that. He didn't strike out many, but he didn't walk many either, nor did he give up a lot of home runs. In his major league career, all with the Twins, he was 12-21 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Not that he would have been great, but it seems like teams were awfully quick to give up on him. At last report, Paul Thormodsgard was living in Scottsdale, Arizona and owned a company called Tessitas Secret, a beauty salon which also makes and sells hand lotions and creams.

Left-hander Kenneth Scott Rogers played for the Twins in 2003, one of his twenty major league seasons. He was born in Savannah, Georgia, went to high school in Plant City, Florida, and was drafted by Texas in the 39th round in 1982 at age 17. Presumably due to his low draft selection, Rogers pitched in relief for much of his minor league career, not starting regularly until 1988. He proved that he belonged in the rotation, but still had never pitched above AA at this point. Still, in 1989, the Rangers brought him up to the big leagues, and he surprised them by pitching very well out of the bullpen, appearing in 73 games and posting a 2.93 ERA. Rogers remained in the bullpen through 1992, serving as the closer for a while in 1990, when he saved 15 games, and leading the league in appearances in 1992. Moved to the rotation in 1993, he did well there also, making the all-star team in 1995, when he won 17 games. Rogers was a free agent after that season and signed with the Yankees. Things did not go well for him in New York, and after two mediocre seasons he was traded to Oakland for Scott Brosius. He got back to normal in Oakland, and pitched well for a season and a half before being traded to the Mets. He finished 1999 there, and then became a free agent. He went back to the Rangers for three years, winning two Gold Gloves. A free agent again, Rogers came to the Twins for 2003. He had a good season for Minnesota, going 13-8 with a 4.57 ERA. He went back to Texas the next year and pitched well there for two years, making the all-star team both seasons and winning two more Gold Gloves. A free agent again, he moved on to Detroit, where at age 41 he won 17 games, made the all-star team again, won another Gold Glove, and finished fifth in the Cy Young voting. Rogers was injured much of 2007 and had a down year in 2008, although he made 30 starts at age 43. A free agent at the end of the season, Rogers opted for retirement. He won 219 games in his major league career, which is even more remarkable when you consider that he did not get into a major league rotation until he was 28.  He is a member of the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame. At last report, Kenny Rogers was living in Westlake, Texas, and was helping to build houses for Habitat for Humanity.

Outfielder Robert Leon Huskey played for Minnesota for the first half of 2000. He was born in Anadarko, Oklahoma, went to high school in Lawton, Oklahoma, and was drafted by the Mets in the seventh round in 1989. He showed power in the minors, hitting 26 homers with Class A Columbia in 1991, 25 with AA Binghamton in 1993, and 28 with AAA Norfolk in 1995. He got a September call up in 1993, spent a month and a half with the Mets in 1995, and arrived for good in 1996. He had three solid years for the Mets, hitting .274 and averaging 17 homers as an almost-regular. After the 1998 season, Huskey was traded to Seattle, and moved on to Boston in late July. He again had a solid year, hitting .282 with 22 homers as an almost-regular. A free agent after the 1999 season, he signed with the Twins. It did not go well: in half a season, Huskey put up a line of .223/.306/.353, with 5 homers and 27 RBIs. On July 15, Minnesota traded him with Todd Walker to Colorado for Todd Sears and cash. He got going again in Colorado, hitting .348 in 92 at-bats. The Rockies were not terribly impressed, however, and sent him to AAA Colorado Springs for 2001. He hit .323 there with 19 home runs, but did not get called up to the majors and was let go after the season. No one picked him up, and Huskey's career was over. He was the last Minnesota player to wear the number 42.  At last report, Butch Huskey was a regular at New York Mets' fantasy camps. According to the Urban Dictionary, the phrase "butch huskey" means "to hustle, scam, or otherwise acquire something by fraudulent or criminal means."

Second baseman Brian Adam Dinkelman played for the Twins in 2011.  Born and raised in Centralia, Illinois, he attended McKendree University, one of two big-leaguers the school has produced (the other is ex-Twin Jay Ward).  He was drafted by Minnesota in the eighth round in 2006.  He hit well in the low minors, struggled some when he reached New Britain in 2008, but did better there in 2009.  He reached AAA Rochester in 2010 and wasn't bad, but wasn't all that good, either.  He again had a pretty nondescript year for Rochester in 2011 but still got about six weeks in the majors, playing for two weeks in June when the Twins had a shortage of infielders and coming back as a September call-up.  He did better than expected, hitting .301/.346/.315 in 73 at-bats.  Those would turn out to be his career numbers--he played in Rochester in 2012 and 2013, but did not return to Minnesota.  He became a free agent after the 2013 season and did not sign with anyone, ending his playing career.  Brian Dinkelman was a coach for the GCL Twins in 2015 and was the batting coach for the Cedar Rapids Kernels in 2016-2018.  He was the Kernels' manager from 2019-2024 and became manager of the Wichita Wind Surge in 2025.

Right-hander Matthew W. Magill appeared in forty games for the Twins in 2018.  Born and raised in Simi Valley, California, he was drafted by the Dodgers in the 31st round in 2008.  A starter in his early seasons, he pitched well in the low minors, struggled when promoted to high-A in 2011 at age 21, but bounced back to have a solid year in AA in 2012.  He started 2013 in AAA but was promoted to the big leagues in late April of 2013 to make six starts.  He was not very good, however, posting an ERA of 6.51, and he would not make it back to the majors for three years.  He had a poor year in AAA in 2014, and was traded to Cincinnati after the season.  He was apparently injured, making only three AAA starts for the Reds in 2015.  He was converted to the bullpen in 2016 and did not do all that well, but got a September call-up anyway and made four scoreless appearances.  He gave up three runs in his other appearance, however, so his numbers still didn't look very good.  A free agent after the season, he signed with San Diego and again spent the year in AAA.  The Twins signed him for 2018 and sent him to AAA, but after five appearances there brought him to the majors in late April and he stayed the rest of the season.  For a while it looked like the Twins might have found something--through June 16 he had pitched 23.2 innings and had an ERA of 1.14.  In the second half of the season, however, he had an ERA of 4.22 and a WHIP of 1.88.  He was not particularly better in 2019, so the Twins sold him to Seattle on July 21.  As a Twin, he was 5-3, 4.02, 1.48 WHIP in 68 games (85 innings).  He appeared in eleven games for the Mariners in 2020.  His numbers don't look good, but are skewed by a couple of bad outings--he was unscored upon in nine of his eleven apperances.  He signed with Seattle for 2021 but did not pitch, apparently due to injury.  He then retired in April of 2022.  He was never really able to put it together, but he played in the majors for parts of five seasons and appeared in 112 games, and there aren't lots of people who can say that.  Well, they could say it, but for a lot of them it wouldn't be true.  Anyway, in May of 2023 Matt Magill became the mental performance coach for the Texas Rangers.  He also owns Tap N Go Truck Co, a "vintage mobile bartending service" in Phoenix.

November 9

George Wood (1858)

Harvey Hendrick (1897)

Johnny Gooch (1897)

Jerry Benjamin (1909)

Jerry Priddy (1919)

Bob Wren (1920)

Bill Bruton (1925)

Whitey Herzog (1931)

Bob Gibson (1935)

Jim Riggleman (1952)

Teddy Higuera (1958)

Dion James (1962)

Chad Ogea (1970)

Adam Dunn (1979)

Chuck James (1981)

Joel Zumaya (1984)

Curt Casali (1988)

Alex Kirilloff (1997)

Bob Wren was the head coach of Ohio University from 1949-1972.

Jim Riggleman managed San Diego, the Cubs, Seattle, and Washington.

Left-hander Charles Hamilton James appeared in eight games for the Twins in 2011.  He was born in Atlanta, went to high school in Mableton, Georgia, and was drafted by Atlanta in the twentieth round in 2002.  A starter for most of his minor league career, he did quite well, rose fairly rapidly, and after an outstanding 2005 season in which he excelled at three different minor league levels, he made his major league debut on September 28 of that year.  He started 2006 in the majors and was doing well out of the bullpen in a limited role, but apparently got caught in a numbers game and went back to AAA in early May.  He was back in the majors by late June, this time in the starting rotation.  He did a solid job as a starter, going 11-4, 3.93, 1.27 WHIP with 85 strikeouts in 107.2 innings.  He spent all of 2007 with the Braves and was still decent enough, going 11-10, 4.24, 1.38.   In 2008, however, he struggled in two of his first three starts and was sent to the minors.  He pitched well in AAA, but was only called up briefly a couple of times that year, and has never really gotten another chance.  He missed all of 2009 due to injury and when he came back in 2010 it was in the Washington organization as a relief pitcher.  He pitched well in the minors, but never got called up, was a free agent after the season, and signed with Minnesota for 2011.  He pitched quite well in Rochester, going 3-2, 2.30, 1.21 WHIP in 62.2 innings (38 appearances).  He was called up to the Twins twice, for a total of about three weeks, and went 0-0, 6.10, 1.66 WHIP in 10.1 innings (8 appearances).  The Twins did not retain him for 2012 and he signed with the Mets.  He was decent enough for AAA Buffalo, but the Mets released him in early July and he did not sign with another team.  His record indicates that he might have helped somebody if given the chance, but several teams had the opportunity to give him that chance and didn't do it. At last report, Chuck James was living in the Atlanta area and was a sales consultant for Window World, Inc.

Right-hander Joel Martin Zumaya did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 2012.  Born and raised in Chula Vista, California, he was drafted by Detroit in the eleventh round in 2002.  A starter throughout his minor league career, he pitched very well for a couple of years, stumbled in 2004 when promoted to high-A, but came back and pitched very well at AA and AAA in 2005.  He made the Tigers out of spring training in 2006 and had a tremendous year as a set-up man, going 6-3, 1.94, 1.18 WHIP in 62 appearances (83.1 innings).  He got off to a good start in 2007, but then started a string of injuries that has never really stopped.  He missed much of 2007 with a ruptured tendon in his finger, injured his shoulder in 2008, and had a wrist injury in 2009.  He got off to a good start in 2010, but in late June broke a bone in his elbow.  He missed the rest of that season and all of 2011.  He wanted to try to come back, and Minnesota gave him the chance in 2012.  He threw thirteen pitches of batting practice before rupturing his ulnar collateral ligament, requiring Tommy John surgery.  He again attempted to come back, but in February of 2014 finally realized that it was not to be.  At last report, Joel Zumaya was living in Chula Vista, California, and was a professional fisherman.

First baseman/outfielder Alexander David Kirilloff played for the Twins from 2020-2024.  Born and raised in Pittsburgh, he was drafted out of high school by the Twins in the first round (fifteenth pick) of the 2016 draft.  He had a fine year with Elizabethton in 2016, but then missed the 2017 season due to Tommy John surgery.  He had a tremendous 2018 season split between Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers, but had a not-so-tremendous 2019 season in Pensacola.  We don't mean to overstate that--he wasn't awful by any means, but .283/.343/.413 were not quite the numbers hoped for, especially in the power department.  He was on the Twins' sixty-man roster for all of 2020, but did not get the call until the post-season, when he was added to the playoff roster.  He got a start for the Twins in Game Two and went 1-for-4.  He started 2021 in St. Paul but was quickly brought to the majors.  He got off a slow start, but was doing fairly well until he was injured in July, which brought an end to his season.  He started 2022 with the Twins, but struggled and went back down to AAA for a couple of months.  He hit tremendously there and came back to the majors in mid-June.  He did much better for a month and a half, but then an injury again brought his season to an early end.  He did well in 2023 when healthy, but again missed time due to injury.  2024 was a struggle, as he was again injured much of the season.  After the season, he decided that he was tired of being injured all the time, and retired.  His final major league numbers are .248/.309/.412 in 799 at-bats.  At last report, Alex Kirilloff was a real estate specialist for Keller Williams Elite Realty in Fort Myers, Florida.

November 8

Bucky Harris (1896)

Tony Cuccinello (1907)

Wally Westlake (1920)

Joe Nossek (1940)

Ed Kranepool (1944)

John Denny (1952)

Jerry Remy (1952)

Jeff Blauser (1965)

Eric Anthony (1967)

Henry Rodriguez (1967)

Jose Offerman (1968)

Edgardo Alfonzo (1973)

Nick Punto (1977)

Bryan Shaw (1987)

Yasmani Grandal (1988)

Giancarlo Stanton (1989)

Bucky Harris was a star for the franchise when it was in Washington in the 1920s.

November 7

Chris Von der Ahe (1851)

Ed "The Only" Nolan (1857)

Bill Brubaker (1910)

Dick Stuart (1932)

Jake Gibbs (1938)

Jim Kaat (1938)

Joe Niekro (1944)

Buck Martinez (1948)

Willie Norwood (1950)

Guy Sularz (1955)

Orlando Mercado (1961)

Russ Springer (1968)

Todd Ritchie (1971)

Glendon Rusch (1974)

Esmerling Vasquez (1983)

Sonny Gray (1989)

Danny Santana (1990)

Promoter/entrepreneur Chris von der Ahe, referred to as "Bill Veeck with a handlebar mustache", owned the St. Louis franchise from 1882-1899.

Left-hander James Lee Kaat was one of the original Minnesota Twins, playing for the franchise from 1959-1973. This is only a little more than half of his incredibly long career. Born in Zeeland, Michigan, he attended Hope College in Holland, Michigan, one of two alumni to make the major leagues (the other was Doc Lavan). Kaat was signed by the Washington Senators as a free agent in 1957. He came through the minors quickly, making his major league debut with Washington in August of 1959 at age 20, spending half the season with them in 1960, and making the big leagues to stay in 1961 when the team moved to Minnesota. He struggled a little early on, as might be expected of someone his age, but hit his stride in 1962, winning 18 games and pitching a league-leading 5 shutouts. He made the all-star team that year, and won the first of his 16 gold gloves. He also pitched 269 innings that year, his second year in a row over 200. He had an off year in 1963, although he certainly wasn't terrible, and then ran off a string of nine seasons in which his highest ERA was 3.56, with four of them under three. In the first eight of those seasons, he pitched over 200 innings, with a high of 304.2 in 1965, the year he won 25 games and pitched 19 complete games. He also made his second all-star team that year and finished fifth in the MVP voting. He was famously injured at the end of the 1967 season, possibly costing the Twins the pennant that year, but was well for 1968. Kaat was injured again for part of 1972, and when he got off to a slow start in 1973, the Twins assumed the 34-year-old Kaat was done and placed him on waivers. The Twins were eventually proved correct, as Kaat only played for ten more years. The White Sox quickly selected him, and he won 20 games in each of his two full seasons with them, piching a total of 581 innings in those two seasons. That off-season, the White Sox traded him to Philadelphia, where he spent three more seasons as a rotation starter. The Phillies sold him to the Yankees in 1979, where at age 40 he was converted to relief. The Yankees kept him until April of 1980, when they released him and he signed with St. Louis. Somewhere along the way, Kaat, already a quick worker, developed a no-windup delivery, which made him even quicker. He was with the Cardinals through 1983, pitching effectively out of the bullpen for most of that time. He was released in July at age 44, and even though there was no conclusive proof that he could not pitch any more, Kaat elected retirement. As a Twin, Jim Kaat was 190-159 with a 3.34 ERA with 133 complete games and 23 shutouts. For his career, he was 283-237, with a 3.45 ERA, 180 complete games, and 31 shutouts. Kaat was the pitching coach for Cincinnati, and then turned to broadcasting, working for the MLB Network and also as an occasional analyst for FSN until his retirement late in the 2022 season. He also has a sports management company, Southpaw Enterprises, Inc., which solely represents pitchers.  Jim Kaat was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022.

Right-hander Joseph Franklin Niekro pitched for the Twins in 1987 and 1988. He tends to be remembered today as either Phil Niekro's brother or the guy who got caught with the nail file in his pocket. That’s a shame, because Joe Niekro was a very good pitcher who came to the Twins at the end of a very long career. Born in Martin's Ferry, Ohio, he attended Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio, and then went to West Liberty State College in West Liberty, West Virginia, the most successful of four major leaguers to have attended that school. He was drafted by the Cubs in the third round of the secondary phase of the 1966 draft. He spent only one season in the minors, making the Cubs to stay in 1967. Niekro was in the Cubs starting rotation for just over two years before being traded to San Diego in April of 1969. After the season, he was traded to Detroit. Niekro was in the Tigers' organization through 1973, spending part of 1972 and most of 1973 in the minors before being placed on waivers and selected by Atlanta in August. It was during this time that he developed his knuckleball, helped by some coaching by Phil. He remained in the minors for most of his time with the Braves, and then was purchased by the Astros in April of 1975. Houston is where his career finally took off at age 30. After a few years as a swing man, he moved into the starting rotation in 1978. His two best years came in 1979 and 1980, when he won 21 and 20 games, respectively. He finished in the top four in Cy Young voting both years, also receiving MVP consideration. He remained a rotation starter and innings eater for several more years, pitching over 200 innings every year from 1978-1985 with the exception of the strike year of 1981. In September of 1985 he was traded to the Yankees, and in June of 1987 Niekro was traded to the Twins for Mark Salas. He was 42 by the time he came to the Twins, and did not have much left; as a Twin, he was 5-10 with a 6.67 ERA in 24 appearances, 20 of them starts. The Twins released him in May of 1988, and his career came to an end. Still, it was a pretty good career--it lasted 22 major league seasons, and he won 221 games with a 3.59 ERA. He pitched 107 complete games, and had 29 shutouts. Joe Niekro passed away in Tampa, Florida on October 27, 2006 from a brain aneurysm. In his memory, the Joe Niekro Foundation has been established to raise money for aneurysm research.

Outfielder Willie Norwood played for the Twins from 1977-1980. Born in Greene County, Alabama, he went to high school in Long Beach, California, then attended the University of La Verne in La Verne, California, the same university attended by Dan Quisenberry. He was drafted by the Twins in the third round in 1972. He spent three years in Class A, but after hitting .309 in 1974 was finally moved up the following year. After hitting .303 in AAA Tacoma in 1976, Norwood started the next season in Minnesota. He was used mostly as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement, getting only 83 at-bats through the end of June. At that point, he was sent back to Tacoma, where he hit .412 over the last two months of the season and earned a September call-up. He was a mostly regular in 1978 and a semi-regular in 1979, his only two full years in the big leagues, but hit only .250 over that span with few walks and not much power, although he did steal 25 bases in 1978. He was with the Twins for the first half of 1979, then was sent to the minors. In December, he was traded to Seattle for Byron McLaughlin in what has to be considered an even swap: both players were released by their new teams the following March.  He was inducted into the University of La Verne Hall of Fame in 2013. At last report, it appeared that Willie Norwood was living in Birmingham, Alabama.

Infielder Guy Patrick Sularz did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 1980. He was born in Minneapolis, went to high school in North Hollywood, California, and was drafted by San Francisco in the tenth round in 1974. He had no power, but drew a good number of walks and hit for a good average. He reached AAA in 1978 and hit around .300 in consecutive seasons there. He was originally a shortstop, but moved into more of a utility role in 1979. He was left unprotected after the 1979 season and was chosen by Minnesota in the Rule 5 draft. He stayed most of spring training, but was returned to the Giants on April 1. His average slipped a little, but he was still considered good enough to get a September call-up that year. He had become primarily a third baseman at this point. In 1981 he hit .324 with 24 stolen bases in AAA and again got a September call-up. He spent nearly all of 1982 in the majors as a utility infielder, but played sporadically and hit only .228 in just 101 at-bats. Back in AAA in 1983, he again hit .316 and earned another September call-up. In 1984 he slipped to .284 in AAA, and while that’s not bad, he was 28 that season, and the Giants released him after the season was over. No one picked him up, and his playing career came to an end. He then moved to Phoenix, where he became a firefighter. He then went into the real estate business in the Phoenix area, which is what he was doing at last report.

Catcher Orlando (Rodriguez) Mercado played in nineteen games for the Twins in 1989. He is one of a number of weak-hitting catchers who have played for the Twins over the years. Mercado was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and was signed by Seattle as a free agent in 1978. He didn't hit much in the minors until 1982, when he hit .280 with 16 home runs for AAA Salt Lake City. That got him a September call-up, and he stayed as a reserve catcher with the Mariners for most of the next two seasons, with brief stints at AAA. His high for major league playing time came in 1983, when he played in 66 games and got 197 at-bats. He hit only .197, however; his playing time was reduced for 1984, and he was traded to Texas after the season. He was in the Rangers' organization for two years, spending about half the season with them in 1986. The Rangers traded him to Detroit in March of 1987, he moved on to the Dodgers in May, and was released in November. Mercado was with the Oakland organization in 1988, was released again, and signed with the Twins for 1989. He was with AAA Portland most of the season, getting about a month in Minnesota from mid-May to mid-June. He played in 19 games over that span, getting 38 at-bats: his line was .105/.190/.105, with an OPS+ of -16. A free agent again after the season, Mercado signed with the Mets for 1990, and was taken by Montreal on waivers in August. Back in the Mets' organization in 1991, he went on to the Cubs, Indians, and Angels organizations before ending his playing career in 1994. He got 617 major league at bats over eight seasons, hitting .199 with 7 homers and 45 runs batted in. He was the bullpen coach for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from 2003-2010, then became the team's minor league catching coordinator, a job he held from 2011-2013.  In 2014, he was a coach for AA Trenton in the Yankees organization.  He retired after the season and at last report was living in Sun City, Arizona, where he gives private baseball instruction.  Orlando Mercado was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Hall of Fame Museum in 2004. His son, Orlando Mercado, Jr., was a catcher in the Angels' organization from 2003-2011 and played in the Can-Am League in 2012.

Right-hander Todd Everett Ritchie pitched for the Twins in 1997 and 1998. He was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, went to high school in Duncanville, Texas, and was selected by Minnesota with the 12th pick of the 1990 amateur draft. He apparently suffered some fairly serious injuries, as he hardly played in 1993 and 1994. Attempting a comeback, he really did not pitch very well in 1995 or 1996. Perhaps because the Twins were desperate for pitching, or perhaps because he was out of options, he spent all of 1997 with the Twins, posting a 4.58 ERA in 42 relief appearances. He spent a couple of months with Minnesota in 1998, but was no better, and was released after the season. Pittsburgh signed him, and he stayed with the Pirates for three years. Ritchie enjoyed his only major league success with Pittsburgh, winning 15 games in 1999 and posting the only ERA under four of his major league career. After the 2001 season, he was traded to the White Sox and never had a good year again. Released by the White Sox after 2002, he played in the Milwaukee, Tampa Bay, and Pittsburgh organizations, playing briefly in the majors in 2003 and 2004. Released by Pittsburgh in February of 2006, Ritchie was out of baseball for two years before attempting a comeback in the Rockies organization in 2008. It was not to be, however, and after the season his playing career ended for good. As a Twin, Todd Ritchie was 2-3 with a 4.83 ERA. He appeared in 57 games, all in relief, and pitched 98.2 innings.  He has six children, all of whose names start with K.  At last report, Todd Ritchie was living in Antioch, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville.

Right-hander Esmerling Vasquez made six starts for the Twins in 2012.  Born and raised in Tenares, Dominican Republic, he signed with Arizona as a free agent in 2003.  He was a reliever early in his career but struggled, mostly with his control.  He struggled in that role initially too, but then appeared to take a big step forward in 2007, going 10-6, 2.99, 1.12 WHIP in 29 starts for AA Mobile.  Unfortunately, when promoted to AAA in 2008 he took a big step backward, going 3-6, 6.62, 1.83 WHIP in 83 innings (24 appearances, 15 starts).  He went back to the bullpen in 2009, made six good appearances for AAA Reno, and found himself in the big leagues at the end of April, staying the rest of the season.  He stayed there in 2010, too, although in neither year were his numbers anything to shout about, as he posted a combined ERA of 4.81 and a WHIP of 1.55.  He actually pitched better in the first half of 2011, going 1-1, 4.15, 1.32 WHIP, but by this time the Diamondbacks had run out of patience.  They sent him to AAA in late June, and when he did not pitch well there they put him on waivers at the end of September.  The Twins claimed him and sent him to Rochester, where he pitched very well in 2012:  9-6, 2.78, 1.13 WHIP in 100.1 innings (31 appearances, 8 starts).  He got a September call-up and went into the rotation for the last month of the season, going 0-2, 5.68, 1.61 WHIP in 31.2 innings.  He was released by the Twins in June of 2013 and went unsigned.  He pitched briefly and ineffectively for Lancaster in the Atlantic League that season.  He apparently did not pitch in 2014, but pitched in winter ball after the season and then went to Japan, pitching there for two seasons.  It appears that he did not pitch in 2017, but again pitched in winter ball after the season and then went to the Mexican League for 2018.  Surprisingly, the Texas Rangers signed him for 2019 and he made twelve minor league appearances between AA and AAA.  That appears to have been it, though, as he has not pitched since.  No information about what Esmerling Vasquez is doing now was readily available.

Right-hander Sonny Douglas Gray pitched for the Twins from 2022-2023.  Born and raised in Smyrna, Tennessee, he attended Vanderbilt University and was drafted by Oakland in the first round in 2011.  The Athletics started him in AA, he reached AAA in 2013, and he made his major league debut in July of 2013.  He was an excellent pitcher for the Athletics through 2015, making the all-star team in 2015 and finishing third in Cy Young voting.  He struggled in 2016, partly due to injury.  He bounced back in 2017 but was traded to the Yankees at the July deadline.  He did well the rest of 2017 but struggled in 2018 and was traded to Cincinnati.  He pitched very well in 2019, making his second all-star team and finishing seventh in Cy Young voting.  He was fairly good in 2020, not as good in 2021, and was traded to Minnesota with Francis Peguero for Chase Petty.  He missed some time in 2022 due to injury, but pitched very well when he could pitch, going 8-5, 3.08, 1.13 WHIP in 26 starts.  Healthy in 2023, he pitched even better, going 8-8, 2.79, leading the league in FIP and making the all-star team.  Thus, as a Twin, he was 16-13, 2.90, 1.14 WHIP in 56 starts (303.2 innings).  He moved on to St. Louis in 2024 and had another fine season.  He was not as good in 2025, but still a solid major league starter. He turns thirty-six today and will presumably be part of the St. Louis rotation in 2026.

Infielder/oufielder Daniel Ernesto Santana played for the Twins from 2014-2017.  He was born in Monte Plata, Dominican Republic, and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 2007.  He really did not hit all that much in the minors, although he was generally young for his league.  He improved as he went along, though, hitting .286 for Fort Myers in 2012 and .297 for New Britain in 2013.  He was batting .286 for Rochester in 2014 when he was called up to Minnesota in early May.  Primarily a shortstop in the minors, he became the regular center fielder for the Twins by the end of the month.  While the move may have been made out of desperation, it worked, as .319/.353/.472 in 405 at-bats, numbers significantly better than any he'd had in the minors.  He was not a great defender, as one would expect of someone learning a new position in the big leagues, but he played center field competently.  The Twins moved him back to shortstop in 2015 and hoped they had the position taken care of, but it didn't work out that way.  He struggled offensively and was not all that stellar on defense, either.  He ultimately lost the shortstop job to Eduardo Escobar and went to AAA for the month of August, coming back as a September call-up.  He moved back to the outfield in 2016 and was again not particularly good as a reserve.  He started 2017 with the Twins but they traded him to Atlanta in early May for Kevin Chapman and cash.  The change of scenery did not help him, as he batted just .203 for the Braves as a reserve outfielder.  He had a solid year in AAA for the Braves in 2018, but did little when promoted to the majors for a month.  At that time, we wrote, "He turns twenty-eight today and hasn't done much in the majors since his rookie year in 2014.  He may get a minor-league contract somewhere, but one suspects he is just about out of chances."  Well, he got a minor league contract with Texas, was promoted to the majors in mid-April, and had an amazing year, batting .283 with 28 homers and an OPS of .857 while playing every position but catcher and pitcher.  He was back with the Rangers in 2020 but had an injury-plagued season and appeared in just fifteen games.  A free agent, he signed with Boston for 2021 and spent about half the season with them as a utility player, but batted just .181.  He signed back with the Red Sox and spent a month in the minors in 2022, but then was released.  He did not play in the summer of 2023-2024 but played winter ball in the Dominican Republic both seasons.  He was back playing in the summer in 2025 and had a fine season in the Mexican League.  He turns thirty-five today.  It's extremely unlikely that he'll be back in the majors, but he can probably play somewhere in 2026 if he wants to.

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.