Left-hander Devin Paul Smeltzer was with the Twins from 2019-2022. He was born in Voorhees, New Jersey, and survived cancer which was diagnosed when he was just nine years old. He went to high school in Pennsauken, New Jersey, attended Florida Gulf Coast University and San Jacinto College, and was drafted by the Dodgers in the fifth round in 2016. He pitched pretty well in ten starts for Great Lakes in 2017, but didn't do much anywhere else in the Dodgers organization and was traded to Minnesota at the July deadline of 2018 along with Luke Raley and Logan Forsythe for Brian Dozier. He did well in ten relief appearances for AA Chattanooga that season. He began 2019 in AA Pensacola and dominated in five starts, leading to a promotion to Rochester. He was up and down between the Twins and the Red Wings the rest of the season. He pitched well for Rochester, even though his won-lost record didn't show it. He did well for the Twins in eleven games (six starts), going 2-2, 3.86, 1.27 WHIP. He did not do well in 2020, however, and missed almost the entire 2021 season due to injury. He came back in 2022, however, and while he didn't pitch well in AAA he did pitch pretty well in Minnesota. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Miami. He made nine appearances in the majors, five of which were good and four of which were awful. He spent most of the season at AAA and did not pitched well there. He was in AAA again in 2024 and pitched better as a reliever, but the Marlins still released him in July. He started 2025 pitching in Mexico, but was signed by Detroit in July. Unfortunately, he was released a month later after three poor AAA starts. He turns thirty today and is planning to pitch in the Mexican Pacific League this winter. Teams are always looking for pitching, and he's left-handed, so it's not impossible that he'll get another chance. As we've said before, we're all for a guy continuing to play as long as someone will let him play. We wish him well.
Sunday, September 7, 2025
September 7
Saturday, September 6, 2025
September 6
Harry Dunlop caught in the minors for fourteen years and was a coach for seventeen years. He caught the minor league no-hitter in which Ron Necciai struck out twenty-seven batters and the back-to-back minor league no-hitters of Bill Bell.
Catcher Gregory William Olson appeared in three games for the Twins in 1989. He was born in Marshall, Minnesota, went to high school in Edina, Minnesota, attended the University of Minnesota, and was drafted by the Mets in the 7th round in 1982. He should not be confused with pitcher Greggory William Olson, who also played for the Twins. The G. W. Olson we’re dealing with here had not caught in high school, but was converted to catcher in college (oddly, he was moved from third base to catcher so Terry Steinbach could play third). He spent six years in the Mets’ minor-league system, usually as a part-time player, putting up offensive numbers that were not awful but that would not catch anyone’s attention, either. Olson became a six-year minor league free agent, and the Twins signed him after the 1988 season. He was in Portland for 1989, and did not do much on offense there either, hitting .235 in 247 at-bats. He was with the Twins for about a week from the end of June through the fourth of July, appearing in three games and going 1-for-2. The Twins let Olson go after the season, and he was signed by the Braves. He was a semi-regular for the Braves for four years. His best year was 1990 when he hit .262 in 298 at-bats and somehow made the all-star team. Released after the 1993 campaign, Olson signed with the Mets, but did not make it out of spring training. After his playing career ended, he became a manager for some independent league teams. Later, he got a real estate license. At last report he was the general manager of Bearpath Golf & Country Club in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and was also a broker for Bearpath Realty.
Right-hander LeRoy Purdy Smith pitched for the Twins from 1986-1990. Born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, he attended Fordham University and was drafted by Philadelphia in the 3rd round of the 1979 draft. He did well early, spending a year in rookie and A ball, but after repeating AA he was traded after the 1982 season with two other players to Cleveland for John Denny. Smith was in AAA Charleston in 1983, and then split the next two years between AAA Maine and the Indians. After the 1985 campaign, he was traded with Ramon Romero to Minnesota for Bryan Oelkers and Ken Schrom. Smith was in AAA for most of the next three seasons, getting a brief call-up with Minnesota each year, before getting two full years in the majors in 1989 and 1990. Smith was in the starting rotation most of the time in those years, doing fairly well in 1989 and not as well in 1990. He became a free agent and signed with Baltimore for 1991. Smith split that year between Baltimore and AAA Rochester, was apparently out of baseball in 1992, and pitched in the Pittsburgh organization in 1993 before calling it a career. As a Twin, Smith was 19-18 with a 4.28 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP in 85 games, 54 of them starts. Roy Smith has spent time in the Dodgers’ and Pirates’ front office, including a stint as the interim general manager for the Pirates in 2001, and at last report was a scout for the New York Mets.
Shortstop Patrick James Meares played for the Twins from 1983-1988. He was born in Salina, Kansas, went to Wichita State, and was drafted in the 12th round by the Twins in 1990. He was rather up and down in his minor league career, but the Twins needed a shortstop after Greg Gagne became a free agent, and Meares got the job in 1993. His first three years, he somewhat shared the shortstop position with Jeff Reboulet, but he was the full-time regular for 1996-98. He did a solid job for the Twins, never making anyone’s all-star team but never being someone you looked to replace, either. He became a free agent after the 1998 season and signed with Pittsburgh, but had injury problems and never really panned out for them. His last game was in 2001; Meares was on the Pirates disabled list for two seasons after that. At one point, he filed a grievance, claiming that he was healthy enough to play, but the grievance was eventually dropped; by then, the Pirates apparently preferred to pay him to not play. As a Twin, Pat Meares batted .265/.301/.382 with 41 homers and 303 RBIs in 742 games. He is a member of the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame. At last report, it appeared that Pat Meares was living in Wichita, Kansas.
Sidearming reliever Micheal Yoshihide Nakamura appeared in twelve games for the Twins in 2003. He was born in Nara, Japan, went to high school in Melbourne, Australia, and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1997. He apparently had some injury problems in the minors, as he had good numbers but not very many innings. He had a strong 2003 in Rochester and got a trial with the Twins that year, but did not do well in limited opportunities. He was with the Twins for nearly a month and went 0-0, 7.82, giving up 11 runs and 20 hits in 12.2 innings over 12 games. Nakamura was placed on waivers early in 2004 and was selected by Toronto with similar results: good numbers in AAA but no success in the majors. He left American baseball after the 2004 season for Japan, where he remained for the rest of his career. He spent three years with the Nippon Ham Fighters, moved on to the Yomiuri Giants in 2009, and then went to the Seibu Lions. He has dual citizenship with Japan and Australia (his father is Japanese and his mother is Australian), and has played for the Australian Olympic and WBC teams. He seems to have done well in Japan–he appears to have been injured in 2011, but pitched well in 2012. He did well enough in Japan that he might have been able to get another shot at the majors, but he appears to have not been interested, and retired from playing after the 2012 season. At last report, Micheal Nakamura was the head of baseball performance for Baseball Victoria in Australia.
First baseman/outfielder Christopher Tyler Austin appeared in thirty-seven games for the Twins in 2018-2019. Born and raised in Conyers, Georgia, he was drafted by the Yankees in the thirteenth round in 2010. He hit really well in the low minors but struggled when he got to AA in 2013. He did better when he repeated AA in 2014 but struggled again in AAA in 2015. He put it together in 2016, though, batting .323/.415/.637 in 201 AAA at-bats. He reached the majors for a couple of months in 2017 but was given very little chance to play, getting just forty at-bats. He started 2018 as a part-time first baseman for the Yankees, hitting very well in April but not so well in May. He was sent back to AAA in mid-June and was traded to Minnesota in late July with Luis Rijo for Lance Lynn and cash. The Twins started him in Rochester but brought him to the majors in mid-August when Logan Morrison went on the disabled list. He played regularly the rest of the season, mostly at DH. He started 2019 with the Twins, but was traded to San Francisco in early April for Malique Ziegler. He was a pinch-hitter/backup first baseman with the Giants, not playing much and not doing much when he did play. He became a free agent in early August and signed with Milwaukee, for whom he played a similar role. He then went to Japan, where he has had some fine seasons playing for Yokahama. He also was an important part of the most recent USA Olympic baseball team. As a Twin, Tyler Austin batted .236/.298/.488 with nine home runs in 141 plate appearances. He turns thirty-four today. It's very unlikely that we'll see him in the majors again, but he's had a very good career in Japan, and that's not nothing.
Friday, September 5, 2025
September 5
Karl Kuehl was a coach for the Twins from 1977-1982. He was a minor league manager for several seasons and also managed the Montreal Expos in 1976. His minor league managing career started in 1959, when he managed the Salem Senators in the Northwest League at age 21.
Tom Hallion was a major league umpire from 1986-1999 and 2005-2022.
Left-handed reliever Randol Doyle Choate never actually played in a regular season game with the Twins, but he was in spring training with them in 2007. Born and raised in San Antonio, he attended Florida State and was drafted by the Yankees in the fifth round in 1977. He spent three years at Class A, but jumped to AAA in 2000 and rode the New York-Columbus shuttle from 2000-2003, appearing in 82 games for the Yankees over four seasons. The Yankees traded Choate to Montreal after the 2003 season, and the Expos traded him to Arizona at the end of 2004 spring training. He then started bouncing between Arizona and AAA Tucson, appearing in 114 games for the Diamondbacks from 2004-2007. After the 2006 season, Arizona released Choate and the Twins signed him, but Minnesota released him at the end of spring training and the Diamondbacks signed him again. Released by Arizona after 2007, he spent 2008 with AAA Nashville in the Milwaukee organization. Randy Choate signed with Tampa Bay for 2009. He was strictly a LOOGY for the Rays: over two seasons he appeared in 146 games but logged just 81 innings. He did well for them in that role, but was a free agent after the season and signed with Florida. He pitched very well for the Marlins for a year and a half, then was traded to the Dodgers in late July. After the season, he was a free agent again and signed with the Cardinals for 2013. He again had a fine year in his role. His numbers did not look particularly good in 2014, but he gave up half of his runs for the season in just two bad appearances. Back with the Cardinals in 2015, he slipped a little, but was still a competent LOOGY. He signed with Toronto for 2016, was released in late March, signed with the Dodgers in mid-June, but did not do well in AAA. He went unsigned after the season and announced his retirement in February of 2017. He played in parts of fifteen major league seasons, but did not get a full season until 2010. He was a pretty good LOOGY for a long time, though. At last report, Randy Choate was a certified substitute teacher in Davis, California.
Outfielder Jason Wyatt Hart did not play for the Twins, but he was in their minor league system for a couple of months. He was born in Walnut Creek, California, went to high school in Fair Grove, Missouri, attended Missouri State University, and was drafted by Oakland in the fifth round in 1998. He had a couple of tremendous years in the low minors, hitting .326 with 30 homers at AA Midland in 2000. He stumbled when he reached AAA, however, hitting about .250 with around twenty homers a year over three seasons. Only one of those seasons was spent in the Athletics organization, as he was traded to Texas after the 2001 season in a multi-player deal. He was a September call-up for the Rangers in 2002, going 4-for-15 with 3 doubles in ten games. He was injured all of 2004, but there was no significant difference in his numbers when he came back in 2005. A free agent after the season, the Twins signed him for 2006 and sent him to Rochester. He hit .225/.267/.425 there in 80 at-bats, hitting four home runs and four doubles. On June 1, the Twins sent Hart back to Texas. He finished the season in AAA for them and then his playing career was over. He was the batting coach for the Rangers’ Arizona League affiliate in 2009, for the Hickory Crawdads, the Rangers’ Class A affiliate in the South Atlantic League in 2010-2011, and for the Frisco RoughRiders, the Rangers’ AA affiliate in the Texas League, in 2012-2019. He would have been the batting coach for the Hickory Crawdads in 2020, but he does not appear to have been retained for 2021. In 2022, however, he was the assistant batting coach of Las Vegas in the Oakland organization, and in 2023 became the assistant batting coach for the Miami Marlins. He was let go after the 2024 season, and no information about what Jason Hart may be doing this year was readily available. He was inducted into the Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.
Thursday, September 4, 2025
September 4
Cody Martin was drafted by Minnesota in the 20th round in 2010, but did not sign.
Outfielder/first baseman Paul Jata did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 1976. He was born in Astoria, New York, went to high school on Long Island, and was drafted by Detroit in the fifth round in 1967. His minor league numbers don't stick out, but he was always very young for his league, reaching AA at age 20 and AAA at age 21. He made the Tigers out of spring training in 1972 at age 22 but was used mostly as a pinch-hitter/defensive replacement, getting only 71 at-bats through July 19. At that point he was sent to the minors, coming back for three games as a September call-up. Given his age and his role, he didn't do so badly: .230/.296/.257 in 74 at-bats. Unfortunately, those would be his major league career numbers. He split 1973 between AA and AAA and had what may have been his best year in the minors. After the season, he was traded to Minnesota for Jim Nettles. He'd had numerous knee problems, however, and elected to retire. After sitting out the 1974 and 1975 seasons, he decided to give baseball one more try. He played in AA Orlando in 1976 but appeared in only 22 games, batting .242/.351/.306 as his knees apparently could not hold up. His playing career ended after that. At last report, it appeared that Paul Jata was living in Newport, Kentucky.
Left-handed reliever Richard Aaron Fultz played for the Twins in 2004. He was born in Memphis, went to high school in Munford, Tennessee, attended North Florida Community College, and was drafted by the Giants in 1992 in the sixth round. He pitched pretty well in rookie ball that year and in Class A in 1993, but was traded to the Twins in August of 1993 with Andres Duncan and Greg Brummett for Jim DeShaies. After just over two years (1994 and 1995) in the Twins system, Fultz was released, and he went back to the Giants. He generally had to repeat levels in the minors, with the result that he did not reach AAA until 1998. Fultz was not particularly impressive in AAA in either 1998 or 1999, but made the Giants with a strong spring training in 2000. Fultz spent three years with the Giants as a middle reliever, posting ERAs in the mid-fours, but was allowed to become a free agent after 2002 and signed with Texas. He did not pitch particularly well for the Rangers, and was again allowed to become a free agent, signing with the Twins for the 2004 campaign. Fultz appeared in 55 games for the Twins, going 3-3 with a 5.04 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP in 50 innings. The Twins placed him on waivers after the season, and he was selected by Philadelphia, for whom he had his best year in 2005, going 4-0 with a 2.24 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP in 72.1 innings. He did not repeat his success in 2006, and again became a free agent, signing with Cleveland for 2007. He did a good job for the Indians, going 4-3 with a 2.92 ERA in 37 innings, but was again released after the season. He has since played in the Detroit, Colorado, and Cincinnati organizations, as well as playing in Taiwan. Fultz played a little independent ball in 2009 before retiring in June. In recent years he was a minor league pitching coach for the Phillies from 2011-2021. At last report, he is living in Memphis and working as a safety manager for Turner Industries.
Right-handed reliever Patrick John Neshek was with the Twins from 2006-2010. He was born in Madison, Wisconsin, went to high school in Park Center, Minnesota, and was drafted in the 45th round out of high school by the Twins in 1999. He did not sign, choosing instead to go to Butler University. The Twins kept watching him, and drafted him again in 2002 in the sixth round. He spent roughly a year at each minor league level, and pitched well at all of them, posting a WHIP below 1.00 in each of his first two minor league seasons. He came up to the Twins in July of 2006, and continued to pitch very well, becoming the Twins’ top set-up man. In 2007, he was one of five players who was in the running for the final spot in the all-star game, losing to Hideki Okajima. Neshek then began to battle injuries, undergoing Tommy John surgery, and missed most of 2008 and all of 2009. He came back in 2010, beginning and ending the season in Minnesota but spending most of it in Rochester, where he was decent but no more than that. The Twins waived him in March of 2011 and he was claimed by San Diego. He was up and down a few times in 2011; he’s was again decent but no more in AAA and not very good in the majors. A free agent after the season, he signed with Baltimore for 2012 and pitched very well in AAA but did not get promoted. He was purchased by Oakland in early August and was awesome in 24 appearances, striking out sixteen in 19.2 innings while posting an ERA of 1.37 and a WHIP of 0.81. Unfortunately, he could not sustain it in 2013. He wasn't awful, but he wasn't particularly good, either. A free agent after the season, he signed with St. Louis and was not considered to have particularly good odds of making the team. He not only made the team, he had an awesome year, going 7-2, 6 saves, 1.87 ERA, 0.79 WHIP in 67.1 innings (71 games). He also made his first all-star team that year. Despite that, the Cardinals allowed him to become a free agent, and he signed with Houston for 2015. He was very good for them for two seasons. After the 2016 season he was traded to Philadelphia. He continued to be very good, but as the Phillies were a long way out of the race he was traded to Colorado in late July, for whom he continued to pitch well through 2018. He was off to a good start in 2019, but then started to struggle and was injured (or, more likely, was injured and then started to struggle). He went on the injured list in late May and made only one appearance after that. He became a free agent after the season and did not signed with anyone, bringing his playing career to an end. As a Twin, Pat Neshek was 11-6, 3.05, 1.01 WHIP. He appeared in 132 games and pitched 129.2 innings. At last report, Pat Neshek was living in Melbourne Beach, Florida, and was continuing to pursue baseball card and autograph collecting.
Outfielder Jordan James Schafer played in sixty-eight games for the Twins from 2014-2015. He was born in Hammond, Indiana, went to high school in Winter Haven, Florida, and was drafted by Atlanta in the third round in 2005. He started slowly, not doing much in rookie ball in 2005 or in Class A in 2006, but broke through in 2007, hitting .372 in low A and .294 in high A, where he spent most of the season. He had a solid year in AA in 2008 and started 2009 as the Atlanta Braves' starting center fielder. He didn't hit, however, and was sent to AAA in June, where he played in only nine games before getting hurt and missing the rest of the season. He did nothing in the minors in 2010 and wasn't doing much in 2011 when he was promoted to Atlanta and made the starting centerfielder again in late May. He hit better than he'd done in 2009, but not a lot better, and was traded to Houston in a deadline deal in late July. He spent a month in AAA and then became the starting centerfielder for the Astros, where he continued to not hit much. He was still the starter in 2012, but still didn't hit, and lost the job in early August. He was waived after the season and went back to Atlanta, this time as a reserve. He hit a little better in that role, but was doing nothing in 2014 when he was waived again and selected by Minnesota in early August. He was the Twins starting left fielder the rest of the season and had the best stretch of his career, hitting .285 with an OPS of .707. That was enough to convince the Twins to keep him around for the start of the 2015 season, but he went back to being who he had been, batting only .217 in 69 at-bats before being released in mid-June. He did not sign with anyone the rest of the season, but signed with the Dodgers in 2016 with the idea of becoming a pitcher. He appeared in thirty-nine minor league games, mostly in relief at AA. It was kind of a mixed bag: his ERA was 3.91, but his WHIP was 1.45. On the other hand, he did strikeout 57 batters with only 18 walks in 48.1 innings. A free agent after the season, he signed with St. Louis for 2017. He injured his elbow, though, and appeared in only thirteen minor league games, all as an outfielder or DH. In 2018, however, he signed with the Giants and returned to pitching, appearing in seven games in AAA. He was released in early June and his playing career came to an end. His numbers as a Twin (in 199 at-bats) were .261/.313/.327. At last report, he was apparently involved with a company called BrightMeds, which sells weight loss products.
Shortstop Andrelton Alexander Simmons came to the Twins for the 2021 season. He was born in Mundo Nobo, Curacao, attended Western Oklahoma State College, and was drafted by Atlanta in the second round in 2010. He hit fairly well in the low minors, was considered an excellent defender, and made the jump from AA to the majors in early June of 2012. With the exception of some rehab assignments, he has been there ever since. He did not bring his bat with him to Atlanta--an average of .256 with an OPS of .666 with the Braves--but he did bring his glove, winning two Gold Gloves. He even finished fourteenth in MVP voting in 2013 despite batting just .248. He was traded to the Angels after the 2015 season, and while he wasn't exactly Cal Ripken he did improve with the bat, posting an average of .281 with an OPS of .722 for them. He also received two more Gold Gloves and more MVP consideration, finishing eighth in 2016 and fifteenth in 2017. He was a free agent after the 2020 season and signed with Minnesota. He was, to put it bluntly, awful at the plate, batting .223 with an OPS of .558. He signed with the Cubs for 2022 and was even worse, batting .173 with an OPS of 431 before being released in early August. He briefly played winter ball after that season, and he played for Curacao in the Caribbean Series in 2024, but after that he retired from baseball. In his prime, he had a little pop in his bat--he hit fourteen homers in 2017 and eleven in 2018, but it disappeared after that. At last report, Andrelton Simmons had founded Simba's Helping Hands, which "guides young individuals as they navigate the path to becoming adults."
Right-hander Aaron Allan Slegers appeared in eight games for the Twins from 2017-2018. He was born in Scottsdale, Arizona, attended Indiana University--Bloomington and was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 2013. He was outstanding in just 19 innings for Elizabethton that season. He was fairly good for Cedar Rapids in 2014 and did very well for Fort Myers in 2015, although he struggled in six starts in Chattanooga that season. He was much better for Chattanooga in 2016 and had a fine season for Rochester in 2017. He made four appearances for the Twins, one in August and three in September--the first was good, the others not so much. In 2018 he again pitched well in Rochester but again not so well in Minnesota in four appearances. The Twins waived him after the season, and he was claimed by Pittsburgh, but the Pirates sold him to Tampa Bay just before the 2019 season. He spent the year in AAA other than one game in the majors in August. He has made eleven appearances for the Rays in 2020 and did quite well. The Rays were not particularly impressed, however, and traded him to the Angels in the off-season for "unknown compensation". He began 2021 in the majors and started quite well, but got progressively worse. He spent most of three months in the minors and did not do well there, either. He was released in late August and signed back with the Rays. He apparently was still injured as he made just two appearances, both in the Florida Complex League. One wonders if the injury occurred in 2021, which would explain his poor performance. He did not pitch at all in 2022 became a free agent after that season. He announced his retirement in January of 2023 due to continuing shoulder problems. As a Twin, he was 1-2, 5.90, 1.28 WHIP in 29 innings. He is 6' 10", but still not as tall as his father, who is 7'0". At last report, Aaron Slegers was a business development advisor for JMB Insurance in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
September 3
Bill Armour managed Cleveland from 1902-1904 and Detroit from 1905-1906. He also managed in the minor leagues for several years.
Outfielder Cedric Bernard Landrum did not play for the Twins, but was briefly in their minor league system. He was born in Butler, Alabama, went to high school in Sweet Water, Alabama, attended the University of North Alabama, and signed with the Cubs as a free agent in 1985. Standing a 5’9″ and weighing 165 pounds, he hit for a solid average in the minors, although with little to no power. He was hitting .336 at AAA Iowa in 1991 when he was brought up to the majors in late May. He was strictly a reserve, appearing in 56 games but getting only 86 at-bats. He was back in AAA in 1992 and hit .311, despite being traded to the Milwaukee in mid-season. A free agent after the 1992 season, the Twins signed him on February 23 and sent him to AAA Rochester. He played in four games, batted four times, and went 0-for-4 before being released on April 17. The Mets signed him about a month later, bringing him to the majors in mid-August. He was once again a reserve, getting 19 at-bats in 22 games. He was released after the season and was out of baseball in 1994. He made a comeback in 1995, playing in AAA Colorado Springs in the Rockies’ organization, but hit only .259 and his playing career came to an end. In 105 major league at-bats, he hit .238/.304/.286 with 27 stolen bases. After his playing days ended, he remained in baseball, coaching first with the Expos’ organization and then in the Orioles’ system. He was the batting coach for the Joliet Jackhammers in 2011. At last report, Ced Landrum was an instructor for the Lone Star Baseball Academy, an instructional baseball academy in Euless, Texas. He is a member of the University of North Alabama Hall of Fame.
Right-handed reliever Matthew Dicus Capps was with the Twins from 2010-2012. Born and raised in Douglasville, Georgia, he was drafted in the seventh round by Pittsburgh in 2002. He was a starter from 2003-2004, doing well in that role in rookie ball in 2003 but poorly at Class A in 2004. He became a full-time reliever in 2005 and advanced rapidly, starting the season in Class A and ending it in the major legaues. He never went back to the minors again, other than on a rehab assignment in 2008. He was a set-up man in 2006, took over as closer at mid-season in 2007, and was a closer most of the rest of his career. He never put up big saves numbers, which seems to be at least partly a function of having played on bad teams most of his career. After one and a half successful years as the Pirates’ closer, he had a bad year in 2009, posting an ERA of 5.80 and a WHIP of 1.66. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Washington. He was having a fine season there when he was traded to Minnesota for Joe Testa and Wilson Ramos. He set a personal record for saves in 2010 with forty-two, sixteen of them for Minnesota. He began 2011 as a set-up man for Joe Nathan, but became the closer when Nathan appeared not to be fully recovered from surgery. It did not go particularly well, and Capps lost the closer role to Nathan at mid-season. It was later reported that he was pitching with an injury much of 2011. He was injured again for much of 2012, but pitched well when he could pitch. He signed with Cleveland for 2013 but was again injured nearly the entire season, appearing in only six games in AAA. He was still in the Indians organization in 2014, but was able to make only four minor league appearances. He signed with Atlanta for 2015 but was released in May without having appeared in a game. He signed with Arizona for 2016 and spent the summer at AAA Reno, but he didn't get much accomplished other than apparently to stay healthy. He became a free agent after the season and did not sign with anyone, ending his playing career. As a Twin, Matt Capps was 7-11, 3.61, 1.17 WHIP. He appeared in 126 games and pitched 122 innings, saving 45 games. From what I've read he seems like a pretty good guy; it's not his fault that the Twins made a bad trade for him. At last report, it appeared that Matt Capps is a co-owner of Bullpen Real Estate Group in the Atlanta area. He also is the director of business development for CA South, a construction company. He is also a part-time analyst for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
September 2
Right-hander Donald Reid Williams made three appearances for the Twins in 1963. He was born in Los Angeles and was signed as a free agent by the Kansas City Athletics in 1956. He pitched fairly well in Class D, but did not do particularly well after that. He missed all of the 1959 season and was traded to the White Sox in 1960. The White Sox sent him on to the Twins minor-league system in June of 1960 in an unknown transaction. Williams pitched reasonably well in three AAA seasons for the Twins, and spent two weeks with the big-league club in August of 1963, pitching 4.1 innings in three games. He gave up five runs on eight hits and six walks in 4.1 innings, getting no decisions and posting an ERA of 10.38. He was back in the minors in 1964, and pitched two AAA seasons in the Washington organization before calling it a career after the 1966 season. Don Williams passed away on December 20, 1991 in La Jolla, California.
Right-hander Jerry Stephen Crider appeared in 21 games for the Twins in 1969. Born and raised in Sioux Falls, SD, he pitched on three state champion American Legion teams, being named player of the year in 1959, and pitched Humboldt, SD to its only state amateur baseball championship in 1961 before being signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1962. He began to hit his stride in the minors in 1964, and after two good years at AAA Denver, he was called up to Minnesota in May of 1969. Crider pitched in 21 games for the Twins, working 28.2 innings with a record of 1-0 and an ERA of 4.71 but a WHIP of 1.61. The next year, he was traded in May to the White Sox for Cotton Nash. Crider spent most of 1970 in Chicago, and did not do that badly, but it was his last year in the big leagues. He pitched a year and a half at AAA for the Padres and another year and a half at AAA for the Giants, and did okay for both organizations, but did not get another chance in the majors. After leaving baseball, Crider moved to Mexico and owned and operated a hunting and fishing business, helping to film programs for Bill Dance, Rowland Martin, and the American Sportsman shows. A member of the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, Jerry Crider passed away on April 4, 2008, after a long battle with emphysema.
First baseman Danny Kay Goodwin played for the Twins from 1979-1981. He was born in St. Louis, went to high school in Peoria, and was drafted out of Southern University and A & M College by the California Angels with the first pick of the 1975 draft. He got 10 at-bats with the big club that year, going 1-for-10. Goodwin was drafted as a catcher, but a shoulder injury suffered early in his minor league career left him unable to throw out all but the slowest runners, and resulted in a move to first base. He hit well throughout the Angels minor-league system, hitting 25 home runs for AA El Paso in 1978. After brief trials with California in 1977 and 1978, he was traded after the 1978 season to the Twins with Ron Jackson for Dan Ford. He was a part-time player who was used mostly at DH for the Twins, never compiling more than 160 at-bats in a season. He had a good year in 1979, but hit poorly in 1980 and 1981 and was released after the 1981 season. He spent the next four years playing for AAA Tacoma in the Oakland system, making a brief appearance with the A’s in 1982. Danny Goodwin appeared in 172 games as a Twin, batting .242/.312/.372 with 8 home runs and 55 RBIs in 475 at-bats. Goodwin is the only player to have been twice chosen with the first pick in the draft, having been chosen but not signed by the White Sox in 1971. He is one of three players, along with David Clyde and Joe Mauer, to be chosen with the first pick by their home town team. After he retired, Danny Goodwin was the director of the Atlanta Braves Foundation, developing programs for underprivileged children in Atlanta. At last report, he was the president of First Choice Management Services in the Atlanta area. He is a member of the Greater Peoria (IL) Sports Hall of Fame and the College Baseball Hall of Fame
Corner infielder Terry Allen Jorgensen played for the Twins in 1989 and again from 1992-1993. He was born in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, and was drafted by the Twins in the second round out of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1987. He got a September call-up in 1989, getting twenty-three at-bats, but then did not make it back to the big leagues until 1992. Primarily a third baseman in the minors, Jorgensen was decent but unspectacular, batting around .300 in three seasons with AAA Portland with moderate power. After a second brief trial in 1992, he spent about half of 1993 with the Twins, but failed to impress. He became a free agent after that season and signed with the Marlins, playing in their minor-league system for two years. He played for Green Bay in the independent Prairie League in 1996 before his playing career came to an end. Terry Jorgensen played in 91 games as a Twin, batting .240/.292/.292 with 1 home run and 19 RBIs in 233 at-bats. He is a member of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Hall of Fame. His brother, Tim Jorgensen, was also primarily a third baseman and played for four years in the Cleveland and Pittsburgh organizations, getting as high as AA. His son, Brent, played at Minnesota-Duluth and is a high school baseball coach in Middleton, Wisconsin. At last report, Terry Jorgensen was a physical education instructor and high school baseball coach for Luxemburg-Casco, Wisconsin. He had his number there retired in April of 2015 before a game in which his nephew hit a walk-off single. The baseball field there is also named in his honor.
Right-hander Dusten Devoil Knight did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for about a month in 2019. Born and raised in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, he attended the University of Texas-Pan American and was drafted by San Francisco in the twenty-eighth round in 2013. He did well in the low minors and made a fairly successful jump from A to AAA in 2017. For some reason, however, he was sent back to AA for most of 2018 and was left off the Giants forty-man roster after the season. The Twins claimed him in the Rule 5 draft. He made seven appearances for AA Pensacola and was outstanding, going 1-0, 1.59, 0.62 WHIP with 14 strikeouts in 11.1 innings. Even granting that he was twenty-eight and playing in AA, that's pretty good. Still, the Twins simply released him in early May and no one signed him. He went to the Atlantic League and pitched well. He did not pitch in 2020, but was signed by Baltimore in 2021. He pitched very well in AAA, but did not get much accomplished in seven relief appearances in the majors. A free agent after the season, he signed with Tampa Bay for 2022. He again had a good AAA season, but has made only four appearances in the majors. He played winter ball, and signed with Cleveland for 2023, but he was released in spring training and his playing career came to an end. His minor league numbers were pretty good, and 16.2 major league innings were not conclusive evidence that he couldn't have pitched there, but there was obviously something about him that teams didn't like. No information about what Dusten Knight has done since baseball was readily available.
Infielder Ronald Alcides Torreyes appeared in seven games for the Twins in 2019. He was born in Libertador, Venezuela and signed as a free agent with Cincinnati in 2010. He hit very well in the low minors but not so well when he moved up. He reached high-A in 2012, AA in 2013, and AAA in 2014. He moved around a lot--he was traded to the Cubs after the 2011 season, was sold to Houston in July of 2013, was sold to Toronto in May of 2015, and was sold to the Dodgers in June of 2015. It was with the Dodgers that he made his major league debut, going 2-for-6 in eight games as a September call-up. He was traded to the Yankees that off-season and basically spent the next three seasons in their organization. I say "basically" because the Angels chose him off waivers in January of 2016, only to place him on waivers and have the Yankees take him back about a week later. He was a utility infielder for them from 2016-2018 and did okay in that role, batting .281, although taking few walks and showing little power. He was traded to the Cubs after the 2018 season but was allowed to become a free agent and signed with Minnesota for 2019. He spent most of the season in Rochester but got a September call-up and went 3-for-16 with no extra base hits and one walk. He was again a free agent and signed with Philadelphia for 2020, but appeared in only four games. The Phillies must have liked something about him, though, because they re-signed him and he was in the majors as a utility infielder almost all of 2021. He started 2022 in AAA with the Phillies, but was released in late April and did not sign with anyone, ending his playing career. For his career, he batted .265/.299/.361 in 917 at-bats. Ronald Torreyes now owns Torreyes Warriors Baseball in Tampa.
Outfielder Aaron James Whitefield appeared in three games for the Twins in 2020 and remains in their minor league system. He was born in Brisbane, Australia and signed with the Twins as a free agent in 2015. He has some speed and is reputed to be a fine defensive player, but has not hit about low-A. His record in high-A is .216/276/.304 in 418 at-bats. In AA it's .233/.295/.322 in 451 at-bats. He did better in AA in 2021, batting .257, but still had an OPS of less than .700. He signed with the Angels for 2022 and spent most of the season at AA, but played five more major league games in May, going 0-for-11. He played in the American Association in 2023, but has not played in the United States since then. He has usually hit very well in Australia, where he spends his winters (summers there, of course) and continued to play last year. He appeared in three games for the Twins in July of 2020, going 0-for-1 and scoring a run, so for his major league career he's 0-for-12. It appears that the record for most at-bats without a hit for a career is twenty-three, so he'll have to get back to the majors somehow to get a chance at that. He turns twenty-nine today. He's fast and plays good defense, but as we've said before none of the other tools matter much when you can't hit. In the old days, when teams kept five or even six outfielders, he might've made a career out of being a pinch-runner/defensive replacement. In the current days, however, a long career in Australia is probably the best he can hope for.
Monday, September 1, 2025
September 1
Joe Brown was the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1956-1976.
Craig Skok was drafted by Minnesota in 1967, but did not sign.
Second baseman Robert Daniel Wilfong played for the Twins from 1977-1982. He was born in Pasadena, California, went to high school in Covina, California, and was drafted in the thirteenth round by the Twins in 1971. He had somewhat mixed results in the minors, but after hitting .305 with AAA Tacoma in 1976, he made his big-league debut with the Twins at the start of the 1977 season. He spent most of that season with the Twins, going back to AAA for a month or so, and then was in the big-leagues to stay. Wilfong was almost exclusively a second baseman. For much of his Twins career, he shared the position with Bobby Randall, but as a left-handed batter, Wilfong got the majority of the playing time. His best year was 1979, when he hit .313 and led the league in sacrifice bunts with twenty-five. He remained with the Twins until May of 1982, when he was traded to the Angels along with Doug Corbett for Tom Brunansky, Mike Walters, and $400,000. Wilfong remained with the Angels as a part-time player through 1986. He was released just before the start of the 1987 season and signed with the Giants. but played only two games for them before retiring. As a Twin, Wilfong played in 554 games, batting .262/.322/.360 with 22 home runs and 152 RBIs. At last report, Rob Wilfong was a scout for the Angels based in San Dimas, California.
Left-hander David Lee West played for the Twins from 1989-1992. Born and raised in Memphis, he was drafted by the Mets in the fourth round in 1983. It took him three years to get higher than Class A, but then he took off, having two excellent years in AAA Tidewater in 1987-88, during which he posted a combined ERA of 2.00 in 247 innings. He made his debut with the Mets in 1988, pitching six innings in a September callup. In July of 1989, West was traded to the Twins with Rick Aguilera, Kevin Tapani, Tim Drummond, and Jack Savage for Frank Viola. A highly touted prospect, West was immediately placed in the Twins’ rotation, but he never really panned out for them, and after spending part of 1992 in AAA he was traded to Philadelphia in the off-season for Mike Hartley. He pitched much better in Philadelphia when he was available, but battled injury problems much of his time there, and became a free agent after the 1996 season. He spent 1997 in Japan, playing for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, but was back in 1998, splitting the year in AAA for Houston and Boston and making his major league swan song by pitching two innings for the Red Sox. He pitched in eight games in the minors in 1999, and then his career was over. As a Twin, David West was 15-18 with a 5.33 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP in 63 games, 47 of them starts. Sadly, David West passed away on May 14, 2022 from brain cancer.