November 25

Bert Cunningham (1865)

Jakie May (1895)

Clint Thomas (1896)

Charles Baron (1913)

Joe DiMaggio (1914)

Mike Ryan (1941)

Bucky Dent (1951)

Dave Baker (1956)

Chico Walker (1958)

Mark Whiten (1966)

Octavio Dotel (1973)

Nick Swisher (1980)

First baseman Charles Baron played in the minors from 1931-1951, batting .306 with 2,319 hits.  He was a player-manager for the last five of those seasons.

The brother of ex-Twin Doug Baker, third baseman David Glenn Baker did not play for the Twins, but he was in their minor league system for two seasons. He was born in Lacona, Iowa, went to high school in Grenada Hills, California, attended UCLA, and was drafted by Toronto in the eleventh round in 1978. He advanced quickly through the Blue Jays minor league system, reaching AAA in 1979 despite not really doing anything to deserve that. It was not until his fourth year at AAA, 1982, that he actually had a good year there, hitting .279 with 16 homers and an OBP of .364. He got a September call-up that year, going 5-for-20 with three walks in nine games. After the season, he was traded to Minnesota for Don Cooper. He had a good year in AAA Toledo in 1983, hitting .278 with 14 homers and an OBP of .352, but did not get a call-up. He slumped to .226 in Toledo in 1984, and as he was now twenty-seven and the Twins had Gary Gaetti at third base, they let him go. No one signed him, and his playing career was over.  At last report, Dave Baker had returned to Lacona and was offering baseball training and instruction.

November 24

George Burns (1889)
Billy Rogell (1904)
Joe Medwick (1911)
Danny Ozark (1923)
Bob Friend (1930)
Jim Northrup (1939)
Steve Yeager (1948)
Randy Velarde (1962)
Cal Eldred (1967)
Ben McDonald (1967)
Al Martin (1967)
Dave Hansen (1968)
Chris Herrmann (1987)
Jeimer Candelario (1993)

Danny Ozark was the manager of Philadelphia from 1973-1979.

Catcher/outfielder Christopher Ryan Herrmann was with the Twins off and on from 2012-2015.  He was born and raised in Tomball, Texas and is one of two big-league players to come out of Tomball High School (Troy Patton).  He attended the University of Miami and was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in 2009.  He hit well in Elizabethton that season, struggled in Fort Myers in 2010, but did well when he started the season in Fort Myers in 2011.  He was promoted to New Britain fairly early in the 2011 campaign and was there again for all of 2012, with the exception of his September call-up.  He was okay in New Britain, but was nothing special, batting .268 with an OPS of .754.  Promoted to Rochester for 2013, he did not do particularly well there, batting .227, but was in Minnesota for about half of 2013 anyway.  He hit about like you'd expect him to, going .204/.286./.325.  He was in Minnesota for about half of 2014, too, and while he hit better in the half spent in Rochester that did not translate into better numbers at the major league level.  He was in Minnesota for nearly all of 2015 despite batting a sub-Buteran .146/.214/.272.  After the 2015, the Twins traded Herrmann to Arizona for Daniel Palka.  He was the reserve catcher for the Diamondbacks for 2016, with the exception of time on the disabled list.  His April was typical Chris Herrmann, but in May he suddenly started to hit and kept hitting the rest of the season.  It was only 148 at-bats, but he hit .284/.352/.493, numbers that were far above anything anyone had any reason to expect.  In 2017 he came back to earth, batting .181, although he did hit ten home runs in 226 at-bats.  The Diamondbacks released him in spring training of 2018, but he signed with Seattle.  He started the season in AAA but came up to the majors for about two-thirds of the season.  Despite that, he got only seventy-six at-bats, batting .237.  He was waived after the season and was claimed by Houston, but was released less than a month later.  He then signed with Oakland for 2019, was in the majors for about two months, and did about what you'd expect him to do, batting .202 in eighty-four at-bats.  He was released in mid-September.  He signed with Tampa Bay for 2020, was released shortly before the season started, and signed with San Francisco but did not play for them in 2020.  He signed with Boston for 2021 and spent the season in AAA.  A free agent again, he signed with Washington for 2022, was a reserve catcher in AAA, and was released in August. He played for Kansas City in the American Association in 2023 and had an outstanding year, batting .355 with an OPS of 1.056.  He decided to stop playing on that high note.  At last report, Chris Herrmann was living in Montgomery, Texas and was an account executive for Unishippers-MFM Partners, a freight and package transportation company.  He was also a part-time instructor for Lone Star Sports Zone.

November 23

This is a great day for names:

Chief Zimmer (1860)

Hi Church (1863)

Socks Seybold (1870)

George Stovall (1877)

Jimmy Sheckard (1878)

Runt Marr (1891)

Freddy Leach (1897)

Beans Reardon (1897)

Bubber Jonnard (1897)

Roy Parnell (1903)

Prince Hal Schumacher (1910)

Bill Gates (1918)

Charles Osgood (1926)

John Anderson (1929)

Jack McKeon (1930)

Luis Tiant (1940)

Tom Hall (1947)

Ken Schrom (1954)

Brook Jacoby (1959)

Dale Sveum (1963)

David McCarty (1969)

Adam Eaton (1977)

Jonathan Papelbon (1980)

Justin Turner (1984)

Lewis Thorpe (1995)

Runt Marr played in the minor leagues for nineteen years, managed in the minors for fifteen years, and was also a scout for many years.

Beans Reardon was a National League umpire from 1926-1949.

Bubber Jonnard was a long-time coach and scout.

Bill Gates was a minor league pitcher from 1938-1940 and 1946-1951.

Jack McKeon was a long-time manager and general manager, leading the Florida Marlins to a World Series victory in 2003.  In 2011, he became the second-oldest manager in major league history at age 80.  He also managed in the minor leagues for the Senators/Twins from 1957-64 and again in 1968, scouting for the Twins from 1965-67.

Right-hander Luis Clemente (Vega) Tiant played for Minnesota in 1970, one of his 19 major league seasons. His father had been a star in the Negro Leagues, pitching for the New York Cubans as well as pitching in Cuba in the winter. Born in Marianao, Cuba, the younger Tiant pitched 26 games in the Mexican League in 1961, then went into the Cleveland farm system. He pitched very well in the minors, culminating in a 15-1 season with a 2.04 ERA in only 17 starts for AAA Portland in 1964. Tiant was promoted to Cleveland in mid-July, and was in the big leagues to stay. He spent six years in Cleveland; the best was 1968, when he went 21-9 with a 1.60 ERA and an 0.87 WHIP. The next year, however, was a poor one--while Tiant's ERA was still only 3.71, he lost twenty games and led the league in both home runs and walks. After that 1969 season, Cleveland traded him to Minnesota along with Stan Williams for Dean Chance, Bob Miller, Graig Nettles, and Ted Uhlaender. Tiant missed the middle two months of the season with a fractured shoulder blade, making only 17 starts, but went 7-3 with a 3.40 ERA. At the end of March, 1971, the Twins released the 30-year-old Tiant, apparently thinking his career was nearing an end. They were only off by 12 years. The Twins weren't the only ones to make this mistake, however; Atlanta signed Tiant in April of 1971, only to release him in May. He then went to Boston and converted himself from a hard thrower to a junkballer. He was successful, staying in Boston for eight years and winning 122 games for the Red Sox. He led the league in ERA in 1972, in WHIP in 1973, and in shutouts in 1974. From 1973-76 he averaged 280 innings per season. A free agent after the 1978 season, he moved on to the Yankees for two years, Pittsburgh in 1981, the Mexican League in 1982, and California in August of 1982 before retiring at age 42. He did some coaching in college after his playing days ended. He also worked for the Red Sox as a pitching advisor. He is a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame and the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame. He also founded a charitable foundation, the Luis Tiant Charitable Foundation, which provides assistance to various children’s and family programs.  Luis Tiant passed away in Wells, Maine, on October 8, 2024.

Nicknamed "The Blade", left-hander Tom Edward Hall pitched the first four of his ten major league seasons, 1968-1971, with Minnesota. He was born in Thomasville, North Carolina, but attended high school in Riverside, California. He was thin, standing six feet tall but weighing only 150 pounds. Hall was drafted by the Twins in the third round in January of 1966. He moved through the Twins system very quickly, never posting an ERA as high as three at any stop. Hall was with the Twins for about a month and a half in 1968, and made the team to stay in 1969. The Twins seem to have been unsure how to use him, but he did well in any role in which he was placed. A Twin through 1971, he posted an ERA of 3.00, a record of 25-21 with 13 saves, a WHIP of 1.19, an ERA+ of 121, and struck out 8.5 batters per nine innings. He appeared in 139 games, 44 of them starts. After the 1971 season, Minnesota traded him to Cincinnati for Wayne Granger. Hall pitched well for Cincinnati for two years, but then suffered injury problems and was never as good again. The Reds traded him to the Mets in April of 1975, and the Mets sent him to Kansas City in May of 1976. The Royals released him in June of 1977. The Twins signed Hall and sent him to AAA Tacoma, but he did not pitch well there and his career was at an end after the season. After his retirement, he returned to the Riverside area and worked at Rohr Aero Space as a prefit supervisor for three years. He then began a new career with the United States Post Office where he was a mail carrier for over twenty years. In November 2002, Tom Hall retired  to spend more time with his family and became more involved with the community.  He was inducted into the Riverside Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

Right-hander Kenneth Marvin Schrom pitched for the Twins from 1983-1985, in the middle of his major league career. Born and raised in Grangeville, Idaho, he then attended the University of Idaho, playing quarterback as well as pitching, and was drafted by California in the 17th round in 1976. He did well as a reliever his first two seasons in the minors, but did less well when changed to starting at AA in 1978-1979. Returned to the bullpen in 1980, Schrom was off to a good start in AAA when he was traded to Toronto. He made his big-league debut in August for the Blue Jays, but his control, which had never been particularly good, caused him substantial problems at the big league level. Returned to AAA for 1981 and 1982, his control improved, but he flopped in a brief trial with Toronto in August of 1982 and was released. Minnesota signed him in December and converted him back to starting. He did not get off to a great start in AAA, but he was 3-1 in five starts, and the 1983 Twins were desperate for pitching, so he came up to Minnesota in May. He did better than would have been expected, going 15-7 with a 3.71 ERA. His WHIP, however, was 1.41, indicating that he might have gotten some luck, and indeed, his ERAs got progressively higher each of the next two years, though his WHIP remained about the same. As a Twin, he was 29-31 with a 4.34 ERA in 87 appearances, 75 of them starts. In January of 1986, Schrom was traded to Cleveland with Bryan Oelkers for Ramon Romero and Roy Smith. Schrom bounced back to win 14 games for Cleveland in 1986 with the lowest WHIP of his career, though his ERA was around four and a half. He made his only all-star appearance that season. The next year, however, Schrom soared to a 6.50 ERA, and his major league career was over. He was out of baseball in 1988; he tried to come back with Milwaukee in 1989 and actually did well for AA El Paso in five starts, but then hung up the spikes for good. Ken Schrom was the president of the Corpus Christi Hooks AA baseball team until his retirement in 2019.  He is a member of the Idaho Baseball Hall of Fame, the Texas League Hall of Fame, and the El Paso Baseball Hall of Fame, and received a lifetime achievement award at the South Texas Winter Baseball Banquet in 2025.  At last report, he had moved to Weatherford, Texas to be closer to family.

Outfielder/first baseman David Andrew McCarty was a can't-miss prospect who mostly missed, although he did play in parts of eleven major league seasons. Born in Houston, McCarty attended Stanford and was drafted by Minnesota with the third pick in the 1991 draft. He hit very well at Class A and less well, though still respectably, at AA. He was off to a hot start at AAA Portland in 1993 when he was called up to the Twins. He was a semi-regular for Minnesota that year, but batted only .214 in 350 at-bats. McCarty would never get that many at-bats in the majors again. He started 1994 with the Twins, but batted .260 with only one home run in limited play and was sent back to AAA. He began 1995 in Minnesota, but again failed to hit, and was traded to Cincinnati in June for John Courtright. After a month in AAA for the Reds, he was traded again, this time to San Francisco in a trade that involved Mark Portugal. McCarty stuck with the Giants in 1996 as a reserve, but again did not hit, and was in AAA Phoenix in 1997. He moved to the Seattle organization for 1998, to the Detroit organization for 1999, and was signed as a free agent by Oakland after the 1999 season. Oakland sold him to Kansas City before the 2000 season started, and he stuck with the Royals for all of 2000 and 2001, the only two consecutive years that he spent in the big leagues. They were also his best years, as he hit .255 with 20 homers in 502 at-bats with Kansas City. Off to a poor start in 2002, the Royals released him. He was in the Tampa Bay organization for a few months, was released again, went to the Oakland organization for 2003, was placed on waivers in August, and went to Boston. He managed to stick with Boston in a reserve role in 2004, but was released in May of 2005, and his career was over. As a Twin, David McCarty hit .226/.275/.310 in 536 at-bats. Since retiring as a player, McCarty has done some television work, most recently as an analyst for NESN. He then became a principal at Lee & Associates, a commercial real estate firm in Piedmont, California.  David McCarty passed away due to a "cardiac event" in Oakland on April 19, 2024 at the young age of fifty-four.

Left-hander Lewis James Thorpe appeared in twelve games for the Twins in 2019.  He was born in Melbourne, Australia.  He signed with the Twins as a free agent in 2012 at age sixteen.  He pitched very well in the low minors through 2014, but then had Tommy John surgery and missed the next two seasons.  He came back to have a fine season in Fort Myers in 2017 and also did well in Chattanooga in 2018.  2019 did not go as well--he was 5-4, 4.58 in Rochester, although with a WHIP of 1.20.  He had a few stints with the Twins that year, pitching mostly in long relief, and was not very good, going 3-2, 6.18, 1.74 WHIP.  2020 was pretty much a lost year for him--he made only seven appearances with the Twins and had similar numbers to those of 2019.  2021 wasn't much better, as he battled injuries and appeared in just eight minor league and five major league games.  He made one really bad start in AAA in 2022 and was released in late April.  He then pitched for the independent Kansas City Monarchs and did okay, but nothing impressive.  His major league numbers are 3-5, 5.76, 1.74 WHIP in 59.1 innings (24 games, seven of them starts).  He did not play in 2023, but he played winter ball that off-season and pitched in the Mexican League in 2024-2025, not doing very well in either season.  One assumes that will bring his playing career to an end, but one assumed that before, so time will tell.  wikipedia says he has a pet kangaroo named Skippy, a kangaroo name which means something to people of a certain age.

November 22

Harry Rice (1901)

Dick Bartell (1907)

Fred Bankhead (1912)

Lew Burdette (1926)

Wade Blasingame (1943)

Rich Chiles (1946)

Greg Luzinski (1950)

Lyman Bostock (1950)

Wayne Tolleson (1955)

Lee Guetterman (1958)

Mike Benjamin (1965)

Jay Payton (1972)

Ricky Ledee (1973)

Joe Nathan (1974)

Jonny Gomes (1980)

Yusmeiro Petit (1984)

Adam Ottovino (1985)

Drew Pomeranz (1988)

Austin Romine (1988)

Griffin Jax (1994)

Mike Benjamin was drafted by Minnesota in the seventh round in January, 1985, but did not sign.

Outfielder/DH Richard Francis Chiles came to the Twins at the end of a career that covered parts of six seasons. A cousin of Hall of Famer George “High Pockets” Kelly, he was born in Sacramento, went to high school in Winters, California and was drafted by Houston in the second round in 1968. Chiles had a few fairly good years in the Astros' system. In 1970, he hit .304 with 11 triples for AAA Oklahoma City. On the strength of that, Chiles was in the majors in 1971. He was seldom used and did not have a particularly good season, hitting .227 in only 119 at-bats, although he did have 11 pinch-hits. Chiles was back in the minors in 1972, getting only a September call-up in the big leagues. That offseason, he was traded to the Mets. 1973 was another year of AAA with the exception of two weeks in April. The Mets released Chiles in April of 1974, and he was out of baseball for over a month until San Diego signed him. He did nothing particularly exceptional at AAA for the Padres, was released again in March of 1975, and was out of baseball that season. The Astros signed him for 1976, and things got better, as Chiles hit .302 in AAA Memphis. Left unprotected, the Twins signed Chiles in the Rule 5 draft, and kept him for two years. He was primarily a DH in 1977 and a left fielder in 1978, although he never got as many as 300 at-bats either season. As a Twin, Chiles hit .266/.328/.357 in 459 at-bats. The Twins released Chiles in February of 1979. He was in AAA in the Cleveland organization in 1979, and in the Pittsburgh organization in 1980, but never made it back to the major leagues. Since his retirement as a player, Rich Chiles did some scouting and also has operated youth baseball clinics in California; one of the youth who attended was Dustin Pedroia. At last report, Rich Chiles was living in Yolo County, California.

Outfielder Lyman Bostock got off to a tremendous start in his career, only to have that career cut tragically short. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, his father, Lyman Bostock Sr., was a star in the Negro Leagues. The elder Bostock left when Lyman was four, and the family relocated to Gary, Indiana. The family moved to Los Angeles four years later. Bostock went to high school in Los Angeles and then attended college at Cal State-Northridge. He did not play baseball his first two years in college. He was drafted by the Twins in the 26th round in 1972. Bostock came through the minors quickly, not hitting for much power but posting high batting averages with a good number of walks. In parts of four minor league seasons, Bostock averaged .326 with an OBP of .389. He started1975 in Minnesota, but after a slow start was sent back to AAA for a couple of months. Brought back in late June, he continued to struggle for a few weeks, but caught fire in mid-July, raising his average from .191 on July 11 to .282 by the end of the year. He hit .323 in 1976 and .336 in 1977, adding 14 homers and 12 triples and finishing 27th in MVP voting. Bostock became a free agent after the 1977 season and signed with California. He started very slowly, possibly as a result of putting pressure on himself due to his free agent contract. Bostock donated his first month's salary to charity, because he did not believe he had earned it. He was still hitting only .209 at the end of May, but had raised that to .296 by September 23. The Angels were playing Chicago that day; Bostock traveled to Gary, Indiana to visit his uncle. While there, Bostock went to visit a childhood friend. He was shot by the estranged husband of the friend's sister, who apparently mistook him for the estranged wife's boyfriend. Taken to a hospital, Lyman Bostock passed away two hours later. We will obviously never know what he might have done, but in his major league career, he hit .311/.365/.427. As a Twin, he hit .318/.366/.446. Lyman Bostock died at the age of 27.

Right-hander Joseph Michael Nathan pitched for the Twins from 2004-2009 and again in 2011.  He was born in Houston. He attended Pine Bush High School in Circleville, New York. He then went to Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York, and is the only major league player the school has ever produced. He was drafted by the Giants in the fifth round in 1995. Originally a shortstop, Nathan hit .232 at Class A Bellingham that year. The Giants then decided to convert him to pitching, but Nathan refused and did not play in 1996, choosing instead to go back to college and get his degree. He returned to baseball as a pitcher in 1997, and by 1999 was in the big leagues with the Giants. Nathan was in San Francisco most of the next two seasons, mostly as a starter, and was not particularly impressive. Sent back to the minors for 2001 and 2002, he continued to struggle, although he still got a September call-up the latter season. Nathan was converted to relief pitching in 2003, and the results were immediate. Used mostly as a set-up man, he posted an ERA of 2.96 and a WHIP of 1.06 in 78 appearances. In November, he was traded to the Twins with Boof Bonser and Francisco Liriano for A. J. Pierzynski. He immediately became the Twins' closer, a role he filled for six years. He had 246 saves in those six years, with an ERA of 1.87, a WHIP of 0.93, and an ERA+ of 236. He made the all-star team four of those six years, received MVP consideration twice, and twice finished in the top five in Cy Young balloting. Nathan missed all of 2010 with a torn ulnar collateral ligament. He struggled in the first part of 2011 and gave up the closer role, but reclaimed it after the All-star break.  He pitched better over the second half of the season, although not well enough for the Twins to pick up his option.  A free agent, he signed with Texas in 2012 and had a couple of fine seasons, making the all-star team in both years.  Again a free agent after the 2013 season, he signed with Detroit.  It did not go well for him, as he had the worst season of his career.  He was injured for nearly all of 2015, appearing in one game for the Tigers and one game for AAA Toledo.  He signed with the Cubs in May 2016 and played in three games in July, picking up a win and posting a 0.00 ERA in two innings.  The Cubs released him in August and he finished the season with San Francisco, getting another win and again posting a 0.00 ERA, this time in 4.1 innings (7 games).  He signed with Washington for 2017 and was in AAA for a couple of months, but didn't get much accomplished and was released.  He signed a contract with the Twins in September so that he could retire as a Twin, which seems a little silly but is okay if it means something to him.  As a Twin, he was 24-13, 2.16, 0.96 WHIP, 260 saves.  For his career he was 64-34, 2.87, 1.12 WHIP, 377 saves.  He was inducted into the Twins' Hall of Fame in 2019.  At last report, he was living in Knoxville, Tennessee.  At one time he had expressed an interest in  returning to organized baseball in some capacity if the right opportunity should arise, but that was some time ago, so it's unclear whether that desire still exists.

Right-hander James Griffin Jax pitched for the Twins from 2021-2025.  He was born in Phoenix, attended high school in Greenwood Village, Colorado, attended the Air Force Academy, and was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 2016.  He missed most of 2017 due to injury, was in Class A in 2018, and had a strong season in AA in 2019, also making three starts in AAA that season.  He did not pitch in 2020, but did well in eight AAA starts in 2021 and was promoted to the Twins in June and joined the rotation in late July.  He did well at times--he had five starts with a game score over fifty, and two with a game score over sixty--but at the end of the season he was 4-5, 6.37, although with a 1.35 WHIP.  Moved to the bullpen for 2022, he responded with three very good seasons, the best of which was 2024.  He had a down year in 2025 and was part of the Twins' bullpen purge, traded to Tampa Bay at the deadline for Taj Bradley.  As a Twin, he was 23-29, 4.06, 1.14 WHIP with 378 strikeouts in 336.2 innings, but those numbers are much better if you only look at him as a reliever.  He turns thirty-one today, and presumably will be an important part of the Rays bullpen in 2026.

November 21

Bobby Mathews (1851)

Charlie Bennett (1854)

Billy Clingman (1869)

Andy High (1897)

Freddie Lindstrom (1905)

Paul Richards (1908)

Stan Musial (1920)

Warren Hacker (1924)

Tom McCraw (1940)

Bill Almon (1952)

Rick Peters (1955)

Mike Mason (1958)

Mark Eichhorn (1960)

Dick Schofield (1962)

Ken Griffey (1969)

Todd Erdos (1973)

Brian Meadows (1975)

Hank Blalock (1980)

Ryan LeMarre (1988)

Rick Peters was drafted by Minnesota in the eighteenth round in 1973, but did not sign.

Left-hander Michael Paul Mason made five appearances for the Twins in 1998, at the end of his major league career. A native Minnesotan, he was born in Faribault and went to high school at Benilde-St. Margaret's of Minneapolis. He then attended Oral Roberts University. He was drafted by Texas in the first round of the secondary draft in June of 1980. Mason moved quickly through the Rangers' system and made his major league debut as a September call-up in 1982. He began 1983 in the Rangers' bullpen, but after three lackluster appearances he was returned to AAA, where he spent the rest of the season until another September call-up. Mason made the Rangers' rotation in 1984, and stayed there for over three years. 1984 was his best year: he posted a 3.61 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 184 innings, although his record was only 9-13. That was his only year with an ERA under four, however, and when Mason got off to a poor start in 1987 he was traded in May to the Cubs for a player to be named later. He did little for the Cubs and was let go after the season. Minnesota signed him in April of 1988. He made five appearances with the Twins, pitching 6.2 innings and giving up eight runs. He went to Portland, but did not pitch well there. Mason's career was effectively over after that season, although he made sporadic minor-league appearances through 1996. He has been a pitching coach most of the time since 1991, serving as pitching coach of the Iowa Cubs from 2008-2013.  In 2014, Mike Mason became the assistant minor league pitching coordinator for the Chicago Cubs.  He is still with the Cubs, but it appears that in 2020 his title was changed to assistant coordinator for pitching performance and in 2021 it was changed to advisor for pitching development.  It is unclear whether he is still with the Cubs, and it's certainly possible that he retired.

Right-hander Todd Michael Erdos did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 2003 and early 2004. He was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, went to high school in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and was drafted by San Diego in the ninth round in 1992. Initially a starter, he pitched very well in rookie ball in 1992 and low A in 1993, but flopped when promoted to high A midway through 1993. He then missed all of 1994 with an injury. When he returned in 1995, he was in the bullpen. He did pretty well there in Class A in 1996 and AA in 1997. He made his big-league debut in the latter season, coming up for a week in June and then getting a September call-up. He was left unprotected in the expansion draft and chosen by Arizona. He went to spring training with the Diamondbacks, then was traded to the Yankees in March of 1998. He did not pitch well in AAA in either 1998 or 1999, but got cups of coffee in the majors both seasons. In 2000, he made the big club and stuck all season, his only full year in the majors. It wasn’t all with the Yankees, though; they put him on waivers in mid-July and he was selected by San Diego, where he finished the season. It was not a good season, as he posted an ERA of nearly six, and he became a free agent after the season, signing with Boston. He had a fine year in Pawtucket and came up to the Red Sox in mid-August, finishing the season there. He again had a good AAA season in 2002, but this time he did not get a call to the majors and became a free agent after the season. Minnesota signed him and sent him to Rochester. He did nothing to attract anyone’s attention in 2003 and in late April of 2004 was sold to Milwaukee. He pitched poorly in AAA Indianapolis and was released. Erdos then pitched three seasons for the independent Long Island Ducks and also played briefly in Taiwan before ending his playing career after the 2007 season. At last report, Todd Erdos was a financial advisor for Edward Jones in the Pittsburgh area.

Right-hander Matthew Brian Meadows did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 2002. He was born in Montgomery, Alabama, went to high school in Troy, Alabama, and was drafted by Florida in the third round in 1994. He pitched well in the low minors, but struggled some when he reached AA in 1997. Still, he made the Marlins at the start of 1998 and was a major league rotation starter for three full seasons despite never posting an ERA below five or a WHIP below 1.5. The Marlins traded him to San Diego after the 1999 season, and the Padres traded him to Kansas City at the end of July of 2000, but he still remained in the rotation. He began 2001 in the starting rotation, too, but after ten starts in which he posted an ERA of nearly seven he was finally sent to AAA. Meadows was a free agent after that season and signed with Minnesota for 2002, but was released at the end of March. Pittsburgh picked him up and sent him to AAA, where he pitched fairly decently, getting called up to the majors in August. He was in the Pirates’ bullpen for most of 2003 and all of 2004 and 2005 and had the only major league “success” of his career, putting up an ERA of 4.28 and a WHIP of 1.32. He was a free agent after the season, signed with Los Angeles for 2006, was released in spring training, signed with Tampa Bay, but had a bad year in the bullpen. He went to spring training with Cincinnati in 2007, but was released in spring training and his playing career was over.  For his career, he was 47-62, 5.05, 1.46 WHIP. When you see guys who succeed in the minors for years but can never get a shot, it’s hard to understand how Brian Meadows was able to make 122 starts in the major leagues. At last report, it appeared that Brian Meadows was involved in doing a variety of charitable work in Alabama.

Outfielder Ryan M. LeMarre appeared in fifty-seven games for the Twins from 2018-2019.  He was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, went to high school in Jackson, Michigan, attended the University of Michigan, and was drafted by Cincinnati in the second round in 2010.  He really didn't do anything in the minors to distinguish himself--he was never terrible, but he was never particularly good, either.  He'd usually have a batting average around .270 with an OPS around .700 to .750.  He did show some speed, stealing fifty-five bases in 2011 and thirty in 2012.  He made his major league debut with Cincinnati in late August of 2015.  He's never gotten a full season in the majors, but has managed to get there for at least a few games in every season since except the shortened 2020 season.  He was a free agent after the 2015 season and signed with Boston for 2016  He got about a week with the Red Sox that year.  He signed with the Angels for 2017 but was traded to Oakland in late April.  He was with the Athletics for three games, went to the minors, and was released in late June.  He signed with Minnesota for 2018, had a tremendous spring training, and made the club, staying in the majors as a reserve outfielder for most of the first half of the season.  The Twins waived him in early July and he was claimed by the White Sox.  After the season he signed with Atlanta.  He had spent all of 2019 in the minors, but in early September the Twins found themselves short of outfielders and purchased him on September 8.  As a Twin, he has batted .254/.319/.344 in 135 plate appearances, numbers which are slightly better than his career numbers.  He signed with Tampa Bay for 2020, was released shortly before the season started, and signed with the Cubs a few days later.  He did not play for them, however, and was released in September.   He signed with the Yankees for 2021 and had a solid year in AAA while batting .190 in 21 at-bats in the majors.  He was again in AAA with the Yankees in 2022 and had another solid year, but did not get called up.  He signed back with the Twins for 2023 but had a poor year in AAA and was released in late July.  That brought his playing career to an end.  At last report, Ryan LaMarre was a sales account manager for Stryker in the Twin Cities area.

November 20

Joe Sommer (1958)

Kenesaw Landis (1866)

Clark Griffith (1869)

George McBride (1880)

Leon Cadore (1890)

Larry Benton (1897)

Jay Ritchie (1936)

Herm Starrette (1938)

Jay Johnstone (1945)

Rick Monday (1945)

Ron Cash (1949)

Alex Arias (1967)

Gabe White (1971)

J. D. Drew (1975)

Sam Fuld (1981)

Brock Peterson (1983)

Greg Holland (1985)

Cody Allen (1988)

Amed Rosario (1995)

Tarik Skubal (1996)

Kenesaw Landis, as I'm sure you know, was the first commissioner of baseball, holding the job from 1920 until his death in 1944.

Pitcher Clark Griffith was a star for the Cubs before jumping to the White Sox when the American League was formed. Later, of course, he was the owner of the Twins franchise while it was still in Washington. His adopted son, Calvin, brought the team to Minnesota.

Ron Cash was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in 1969, but did not sign.

Outfielder Samuel Babson Fuld was with the Twins for about half of the 2014 season.  He was born in Durham, New Hampshire, went to high school in Exeter, New Hampshire, attended Stanford University, and was drafted by the Cubs in the tenth round in 2004.  He never showed much power, but he hit for a high average, drew a good number of walks, and stole some bases throughout his minor league career.  He got his first taste of major league ball as a September call-up in 2007, was with the Cubs for the second half of 2009, and finally made the majors to stay in mid-August of 2010.  That off-season, he was traded to Tampa Bay in a multi-player trade that included ex-Twin Matt Garza.  He started 2011 as the Rays' regular left fielder, but could not hit enough to hold the position.  He was injured much of 2012, was a reserve for the Rays in 2013, was a free agent after the season, and signed with Oakland.  The Athletics waived him three weeks into the season and was claimed by Minnesota.  He was a mostly regular outfielder for them when healthy and didn't do badly, hitting ,274/.370/.354 in 164 at-bats.  The Twins traded him to Oakland at the end of July for Tommy Milone and he was a regular outfielder for them for the rest of the season.  He was again with Oakland in 2015 and started nearly half the team's games, starting at all three outfield positions, but hit only .197.  He missed all of 2016 with a shoulder injury.  He played for Israel in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, but that was the end of his playing career.  Still, he was in the big leagues for parts of eight seasons, overcoming type 1 diabetes to get there, and he made a number of highlight-reel catches during his career.   He has worked for the Philadelphia Phillies since his playing career ended, became their general manager in 2020, and is scheduled to become their president of business operations in May of 2026, after he completes his MBA.

First baseman/outfielder Brock Alan Peterson did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them and was in their farm system for eight years.  He was born in Centralia, Washington, went to high school in Chehalis, Washington, and was drafted by Minnesota in the forty-ninth round in 2002.  He was initially a third baseman, but switched to first in 2004.  He rose very slowly, spending one year in rookie ball and three in Class A.  After hitting .291 with 21 home runs in Fort Myers in 2006, he finally reached New Britain in 2007.  He had a couple of decent years there, reaching AAA briefly in 2008 before going there for all of the following two seasons.  The Twins let him go after the 2010 campaign.  When one looks at his minor league career, one doesn't really see any bad years, but one doesn't really see much to make him sit up and take notice, either.  He was a consistently good minor league player, but not really any more than that.  He played in Bridgeport in the Atlantic League for most of the next two years before signing with the Cardinals in mid-August of 2012.  They sent him to AAA Memphis, and in 2013 he had the best minor league season of his career, hitting .296/.364/.531 with twenty-five home runs.  He got two stints in the majors that season, playing in St. Louis for about three weeks from mid-July to early-August and then getting a September callup.  He was used mostly as a pinch-hitter, playing in 23 games but getting only 26 at-bats.  He did not do well in those at-bats, going 2-for-26 with no extra-base hits, two walks, and two RBIs.  He once again became a free agent after the season, signed with Washington, was sold to the Dodgers in July, and spent the entire season at AAA, doing much better in Albuquerque than he had done in Syracuse.  He signed back with the Twins for 2015 but hit only ,186 in Rochester and was released in late May.  He signed with the Mets a couple weeks later and finished out the season in AAA for them.  He was a free agent after the season and went unsigned, ending his playing career.  Twenty-six big league at-bats isn't a lot, but it's not bad for a forty-ninth round draft choice, and it's twenty-six more than most of us will ever get.  Sadly, in July of 2021, Brock Peterson was paralyzed from the chest down in a diving accident in Virginia Beach, Virginia.  At last report, he was still living in Virginia Beach and working as a digital creator.

Right-hander Cody Edward Allen did not play for the Twins, but he was in their farm system for about half of 2019.  Born and raised in Orlando, he attended St. Petersburg College and High Point University and was drafted by Cleveland in the twenty-third round in 2011.  A reliever all the way, he shot through the Indians farm system and made his major league debut in July of 2012.  He was there to stay, setting up Chris Perez in 2013 and taking over the closer role in 2014.  He did very well for the Indians:  through 2017 he had 122 saves, an ERA of 2.66, and a WHIP of 1.16.  He appeared in around 70 games a season, however, and by 2018 it looked like all those games had caught up to him.  He had a poor year and was allowed to become a free agent after the season.  He signed with the Angels for 2019, but could not get anything accomplished and was released in mid-June.  The Twins signed him and sent him to first to Fort Myers, then to Rochester.  He did okay, but nothing special, and the Twins released him at the end of July.  He signed with Texas for 2020, was released shortly before the season started, and signed with the Cubs a week later.  He did not play for them, however, and he was released after the season.  It appears that he wanted to keep pitching, but no one wanted him to pitch, and so he announced his retirement in the spring of 2021.  His twin brother, Chad, played baseball at the University of West Florida.  No information about what Cody Allen has done since retiring was readily available.

November 19

Billy Sunday (1862)

Everett Scott (1892)

Roosevelt Davis (1904)

Roy Campanella (1921)

Joe Morgan (1930)

Manny Jimenez (1938)

Larry Haney (1942)

Bobby Tolan (1945)

Bob Boone (1947)

Dickie Noles (1956)

Mike Winters (1958)

Gary Disarcina (1967)

Mario Valdez (1974)

Clay Condrey (1975)

Ryan Howard (1979)

Jeff Gray (1981)

Jonathan Sanchez (1982)

Bryan Holaday (1987)

Michael Tonkin (1989)

Joey Gallo (1993)

Ian Gibaut (1993)

Lewin Diaz (1996)

The Joe Morgan listed above is not Hall of Famer Joe Morgan. The Joe Morgan born today is the Joe Morgan who once managed the Red Sox.

Larry Haney is the cousin of ex-Twin Mike Cubbage.

Mike Winters was a major league umpire from 1990-2019.

First baseman/outfielder Mario Ayelar Valdez did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for about four months in 2000. He was born in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, went to high school in Hialeah, Florida, and was drafted by the White Sox in the forty-eighth round in 1993. He had some fine seasons in the minors, hitting .330 with 13 homers in a 1996 split between A and AA and .330 with 20 homers in Calgary in 1998. He was in the majors for a little less than half of 1997, allowing Frank Thomas to spend time at the DH spot. He got 115 at-bats, hitting .243/.350/.330. Despite his 1998 AAA season, he never got another chance with Chicago and was allowed to become a free agent after the 1999 campaign. The Twins signed him and sent him to AAA Salt Lake, where he hit .366 with 18 homers through the end of July, at which point he was traded to Oakland for Danny Ardoin. He got a September call-up with the Athletics in 2000 and started 2001 in Oakland. He was used largely as a pinch-hitter and hit .278 in 54 at-bats, but was sent back to AAA in June and never got back to the majors. He stayed in the Athletics’ organization through 2002, played in AAA for San Diego in 2003, went to Japan in 2004, then went to Mexico, where he continued to hit well.  He played sparingly in 2013 and 2014, played in winter ball in 2014-15, and then his playing career came to an end. There were surely reasons he didn’t play more in the majors, but it seems like he could have helped somebody if he’d been given a chance.  At last report, Mario Valdez was the general manager of the Sultanes de Monterrey in the Mexican Pacific League.

Right-handed reliever Clayton Lee Condrey did not play for the Twins, but was on their disabled list in 2010. He was born in Beaumont, Texas, went to high school in Navasosta, Texas, and then attended McNeese State, the same college attended by ex-Twin Danny Ardoin, and was drafted in the ninety-fourth round by the Yankees in 1996.  He apparently did not sign with them, however, as he did not make his minor league debut until 1998 in the San Diego system.  He was strictly a relief pitcher through 2001, pitching well in the low minors but not so well above Class A. He never pitched as many as ninety innings in a season in those years, averaging around 55 innings. He became a starter in 2002 and did well, going 10-4, 3.50, 1.26 WHIP for AAA Portland. He made his major league debut in late August and continued to do well, posting an ERA of 1.69 and a WHIP of 1.05 in 26.2 innings. Condrey began 2003 as the Padres’ fifth starter, but flopped and was sent back to AAA in May. In late March of 2004, Condrey was sent to Philadelphia as part of a “conditional deal.” He had a couple of mediocre years at AAA for the Phillies, but they did not give up on him, instead shifting him back to the bullpen for 2006. Now 30, he suddenly flourished there, spending nearly half of 2006 and almost all of 2007 in the majors. He had two full seasons in the majors in 2008 and 2009 and did very well, posting a combined ERA of 3.16 in 111 innings. A free agent after the 2009 campaign, he signed with Minnesota but was injured in spring training, missing the entire season except for 9.1 innings on an aborted minor league rehab assignment.  That brought his playing career to an end.  He holds the distinction of being the latest-drafted player to make the majors, and as there are no longer ninety-four rounds in the draft, that's a record that probably won't be broken.  He apparently is now giving private pitching instruction to young players through OOSinker Pitching Lessons in College Station, Texas.

Right-handed reliever Jeffrey Michael Gray pitched for the Twins in 2012.  He was born in Texas City, Texas, went to high school in Wildwood, Missouri, attended Missouri State University, and was drafted by Oakland in the thirty-second round in 2004.  He became a reliever for good in 2006 and was rather up and down in his minor league career.  He first reached the majors as a September call-up in 2008 and got over two months in the majors in 2009.  He did pretty well in 2009, but was traded to the Cubs after the season.  He started the year in Chicago but was in AAA by early May and spent the rest of the year there.  He got his first full season in the majors in 2011, but with two different teams:  the White Sox had signed him as a free agent in November of 2010, waived him in mid-May, and he was claimed by Seattle.  He did not have a very good year, was waived again, and was claimed by Minnesota for 2012.  He appeared in 49 games and was 6-1, which is the good news.  The bad news is that he posted an ERA of 5.71 and a WHIP of 1.54.  He was again a free agent after the season, signed with the White Sox, went to AAA, and was released in mid-July, bringing his playing career to an end.  It may not have been a great career, but he appeared in 115 games over five big league seasons, which is not bad for a thirty-second round draft choice.  We thought we had found him last year, but apparently our information was about a different Jeff Gray.  Thus, no information about what our Jeff Gray is doing now was readily available.

Right-handed reliever Michael Harvey Tonkin pitched for the Twins from 2013-2017 and again in 2024-2025.  He was born in Glendale, California, went to high school in Palmdale, California, and was drafted by Minnesota in the thirtieth round in 2008.  He was primarily a starter through 2010 and did not do badly in that role, but became a relief pitcher in 2011.  He did not reach AA until 2013, but was promoted to AAA that same season and ended the year in the majors.  He pitched very well for the Twins in 11.1 innings, going 0-0, 0.79, 1.06 WHIP with three walks and ten strikeouts.  He started 2014 in the majors and pitched very well in April, but stumbled in May and was sent to AAA. returning as a September call-up.  He split 2015 pretty evenly between AAA and the majors, pitching extremely well in AAA and not badly in Minnesota.  He was with the Twins for all of 2016 and started the season quite well, but ultimately did not have a good season, although he did strikeout quite a few batters.  At that time, we said, "He has a good chance to be in the Twins' bullpen at the start of 2017, but he's probably going to have to pitch better than last year if he wants to stay there."  Well, he was in the Twins' bullpen at the start of 2017, but he didn't pitch better and he didn't stay there, regardless of how much he may have wanted to.  He was with the Twins for about five weeks and then went back to Rochester, where he pitched very well and earned a spot as a September call-up.  The Twins released him after the season, however.  He went to Japan for 2018 and had a solid season in the Nippon Ham Fighters bullpen.  At that time, we said, "He would probably get at least a minor league contract if he came back", and that turned out to be true, as he signed with Texas for 2019.  He was released in spring training, signed with Milwaukee and went to AAA, was released again in late May, pitched very well for independent Long Island, and signed with Arizona in mid-August for the rest of the season.  He did not play anywhere in 2020, but there were not nearly as many opportunities to play in 2020 as there usually are.  In 2021 he played for Long Island in the Atlantic League and for Tijuana in the Mexican League, pitching well in both places.  He signed with Atlanta for 2022 and had an excellent season in AAA.  He was back in the majors in 2023, and while he was hurt by the long ball he had a decent season overall.  He had an interesting 2024--signed with the Mets as a free agent, sold to the Twins in early April, waived and claimed by the Mets about a week later, waived and claimed by the Yankees about a week after that, and waived and claimed by the Twins in late August.   Through it all, he had a pretty decent season again.  He was not as good in 2025, but stayed with the Twins all season, though he was injured for part of it.  He turns thirty-six today.  As a Twin, he is 5-4, 4.44, 1.40 WHIP in 175 games (186.2 innings).  He is currently a free agent.  It seems likely that he'll go to spring training with someone in 2026.

Outfielder/first baseman Joseph Nicholas Gallo played for the Twins in 2023.  He was born in Henderson, Nevada, went to high school in Las Vegas, and was drafted by Texas in the first round in 2012,  He showed lots of power in the minors, blasting forty home runs in a 2013 split between rookie ball and Class A and forty-two in a 2014 split between high-A and AA.  He made his major league debut in 2015, spending about two months there and batting .204/.301/.417 in 108 at-bats.  Not bad for a twenty-one year old, you might say, but he spent most of 2016 having a good year in AAA, playing just seventeen games in the majors.  He stuck in the majors after that, though.  In 2017 and 2018 he batted just over .200, but hit forty or more homers each season.  He was on the way to the best year of his career in 2019, batting .253 with 22 homers in the first half, but was injured shortly after the all-star break and missed the rest of the season.  He had a poor 2020 but bounced back some in 2021, batting just .199 but hitting 38 home runs and leading the league in walks.  He was traded to the Yankees at the July deadline that year, though, and hasn't done much since.  He struggled with the Yankees in 2022, batting just .159, and didn't do much better when he was traded to the Dodgers in early August.  The Twins signed him as a free agent in 2023 and he did about what he should've been expected to do, batting .177/.301/.440 with 21 homers in 282 at-bats.  He signed with Washington for 2024 and did even worse.  He signed with the White Sox for 2025 but was released in spring training.  He announced plans to try to come back as a pitcher, but nothing has come of it so far, and it appears that his playing career is over.  We wish him well with whatever his future holds.

Right-handed reliever Ian Philip Gibaut appeared in three games for the Twins in 2021.  He was born in Houston, attended Tulane (where he had an excellent career), and was drafted by Tampa Bay in the eleventh round in 2015.  He pitched very well in the minors, posting ERAs below three at every stop through 2018.  It appears that he dealt with injuries in 2019 and the Rays abruptly gave up on him, sending him to Texas for a player to be named or cash.  He made his major league debut that season, appearing in one game for the Rays before the trade and nine for Texas afterward.  He was with the Rangers for about half of the shortened 2020 season, appearing in fourteen games and posting an ERA of 6.57.  He became a free agent and signed with Minnesota in 2021.  He had a poor year in AAA St. Paul, although he pitched well in three games for the Twins.  As a Twin, he was 0-0, 2.70, 1.35 WHIP in 6.2 innings. A free agent after the season, he signed with Cleveland for 2022.  He was having a good year in AAA, but was still waived in late June.  The Dodgers claimed him, but waived him again five days later and he was claimed by Cincinnati.  The Reds brought him back to the majors, and while he was not particularly good in 2022 he was in 2023, going 8-4, 3.33 with three saves and a 1,28 WHIP.  He was injured much of 2024, making only two major league appearances., but came back to play in twenty-five games in 2025 and wasn't terrible.  He turns thirty-two today and is a free agent.  As much as teams always are looking for pitchers, we expect him to sign with someone for 2026.

First baseman Lewin Jose Diaz did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system from 2014-2019.  He was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic and signed as a free agent with the Twins in July of 2013.  He was in rookie ball from 2014-2016, which isn't as bad as it sounds since he was still a teenager in all those seasons.  He batted .310/.353/.575 with Elizabethton in 2016, which attracted attention.  He was okay, but nothing special, in Cedar Rapids in 2017 and had a poor year in Fort Myers in 2018.  He rebounded in 2019, however, doing well first in Fort Myers and then in AA Pensacola.  In late July, however, he was traded to Miami for Chris Vallimont, Sergio Romo, and a player to be named later (who apparently still has not been named and probably never will be).  He didn't do much the rest of that season, but he was put on the sixty-man roster for 2020 and spent about three weeks with the Marlins.  He didn't do much then, either, batting just .154 in 41 plate appearances.  He had a solid year in AAA Jacksonville in 2021 and spent about two months with the big club, batting .205 but with 8 homers in 122 at-bats.  He was back in AAA in the first half of 2022, but was given the first base job with Miami in the second half of the season.  He gave it back, batting just .169 with five home runs. He then had an interesting off-season.  He was waived by the Marlins in November and claimed by Pittsburgh, waived again ten days later and claimed by Baltimore, traded to Atlanta three weeks later for "unknown compensation", and waived again two weeks later and claimed by Baltimore again.  After all that, he had a solid year in AAA for the Orioles in 2023 but did not get a call to the majors.  He signed with Washington for 2024 but was released in spring training.  He spent the season playing in Mexico and then Korea and hit well in both places.  He stayed in Korea for 2025 and had an excellent season there.  His AAA numbers are good, but in the majors he has batted .181/.227/.340 in 321 at-bats.  He turns twenty-nine today.  It's unlikely, though not impossible, that we'll see him in the majors again.  But he can probably play in Korea for quite some time yet.