August 31

Dad Clarkson (1866)

Duke Farrell (1866)

Red Ehret (1868)

Monte Cross (1869)

Eddie Plank (1875)

Sarge Connally (1898)

Ray Berres (1907)

Ray Dandridge (1913)

Danny Litwhiler (1916)

Frank Robinson (1935)

Boots Day (1947)

Claudell Washington (1954)

Tom Candiotti (1957)

Von Hayes (1958)

Mike Hartley (1961)

Pat Howell (1968)

Hideo Nomo (1968)

Tim Raines (1979)

Ramon Santiago (1979)

Armando Gabino (1983)

John Hicks (1989)

Ray Dandridge is considered by some to be the greatest Negro League third baseman.

Pitcher Michael Edward Hartley played for the Twins in 1993.  He was born in Hawthorne, California, went to high school in El Cajon, California, attended East Carolina University, and was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals in 1981. He had a good year in rookie ball in 1982, but then spent the next four years at Class A before being drafted by the Dodgers in the minor league draft. They started him at Class A in 1987, but advanced him to AA and then pitched him in two games in AAA that year. Hartley split 1988 between AA and AAA. In 1989, after an excellent year at AAA Albuquerque, he earned a September call-up with the Dodgers, and had a fine year for them in 1990, pitching mostly in relief. The Dodgers traded Hartley to Philadelphia mid-way through the 1991 season, and after a year and a half there, he was traded to the Twins for David West. Hartley was not awful as a long reliever for the Twins in 1993, pitching in 53 games, all in relief, and going 1-2 with an ERA of 4.00 and a WHIP of 1.51 in 81 innings. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed with the Angels, but was sold to the Chiba Lotte Marines three days later. After pitching in Japan in 1994, Hartley returned to the United States and signed with the Red Sox organization, spending most of 1995 in the minors but making five appearances with Boston and three with Baltimore, who signed him after he was released by the Red Sox. He played independent ball in 1997, and later got into coaching. He was the pitching coach for the Reno Silver Sox from 2005-2007, making one appearance for them in 2005. From 2008-2010 Mike Hartley was a coach and part-time pitcher for a German professional team, the Heidenheim Heidekopfe, becoming the first former big-leaguer to play in Germany.  He managed the Croatian national team in 2011, was manager of Grosseto in the Italian Baseball League in 2012, moved back to Heidenheim for the 2013-2014 seasons, and was the pitching coach for the Dutch National team from 2015-2016, and at last report was a coach for the OC Scorpions, a baseball instructional program in Orange County, California.

Outfielder Patrick O’Neal Howell did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 1991 and in their minor league system in 1993.  He was born in Mobile, Alabama, attended high school in Prichard, Alabama, and was drafted by the Mets in the ninth round in 1987.  A speedy outfielder with no power, he advanced slowly up the Mets’ system, playing in rookie ball for two years and Class A for two more.  His best season at that point had been in Class A in 1989, when he hit .290 (with a .346 slugging percentage).  The Twins thought they saw something in him, though, and took him in the Rule 5 draft after the 1990 season.  The Twins clearly wanted to keep him, but simply could not justify leaving him on the major league roster, and on April 5 returned him to the Mets.  He reached AA that season and AAA in 1992, and while he neither hit nor walked much he stole a lot of bases, including 64 of them in 1991.  The Mets even called him up for about two months in 1992 and used him as a reserve outfielder.  He did about what you’d expect from his minor league record:  .187/.218/.200 in 75 at-bats.  The Twins still liked him, though, and after the 1992 season they traded Darren Reed for him.  They sent him to AAA Portland, and while he stole 36 bases he hit .209 with an OPS of .505, which was enough to finally convince the Twins that there was nothing there.  He went back to the Mets for 1994, played in Mexico from 1995-1997, to Taiwan in 1998, and then played in independent leagues for eight seasons before finally ending his playing career after the 2004 season.  At last report, Pat Howell had returned to the Mobile area and was working with baseball clinics there.

The son of the all-star, outfielder Timothy Raines Jr. was in spring training with the Twins for a couple of weeks in 2006.  He was born in Memphis, went to high school in Sanford, Florida, and was drafted by Baltimore in the sixth round in 1998.  His minor league record is rather unimpressive, but after hitting .274 for three minor league teams in 2001 he got a September call-up and appeared in seven games.  In 2003, still only twenty-three years old, he hit .304 in a season split between AA and AAA and was called up to the Orioles in late August, playing in twenty more games.  He had three stints in the majors in 2004, totalling roughly half the season, hitting .255 in 94 at-bats.  He had a down year in 2005 in AAA Ottawa, hitting .254, and became a free agent after the season.  He signed with the Twins as a free agent on January 31, 2006, but was released on March 2.  He bounced around after that, going to the Washington organization in 2006, Houston in 2007, Arizona in 2008, and Kansas City in 2009, spending time both in AA and AAA but never making it back to the majors.  He also played briefly in Taiwan.  He played in the Atlantic League in 2010 and moved to Newark of the Can-Am League for 2011, where he was managed by his father.  Tim Raines, Jr. was a coach for Newark in 2012, with his father becoming director of player development.  At last report, he was the batting coach for the Aberdeen Ironbirds, a short-season team in the Baltimore organization.

Right-hander Armando Leisdeker (Garcia) Gabino made two appearances for the Twins in 2009.  He was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and signed with Cleveland as a free agent in 2001.  He may have spent a couple of years in the Dominican Summer League or something, because his official minor league statistics do not begin until 2004, when he pitched five games in the Appalachian League.  He came to the Twins organization the following year in the minor league draft. He had a poor 2005, but has pitched well in the minors since, posting a 2.94 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in AAA Rochester in 2009. He has been predominantly a relief pitcher in the minors, making only 13 starts in 176 minor-league appearances.  He made one start and one relief appearance for the Twins, pitching 3.2 innings and allowing seven runs on nine hits and five walks.  The Twins placed Gabino on waivers after the season and he was claimed by Baltimore.  He has spent most of the 2010 season at AAA Norfolk but made five appearances for the Orioles, again allowing seven runs on nine hits, but this time in 4.2 innings.  He has had a fine year for Norfolk, however, posting a 2.09 ERA in 77.1 innings.  He continued to pitch well in the minors for the Orioles in 2011, but did not gotten a shot back in the majors.  He was a free agent after the season, but no major league team signed him.  He did not give up, though, pitching in the Mexican League in 2012 and in the Atlantic League in 2013.  He signed with Camden of the Atlantic League for 2014 but was placed on the inactive list in mid-April and does not appear to have pitched for them.  His playing career came to an end at that point.  Armando Gabino was a pitching coach for the Eugene Emeralds in the Cubs organization at last report.

Catcher John Austin Hicks did not play for the Twins, but he was in AAA for them briefly in 2016.  He was born in Richmond, Virginia, went to high school in Goochland, Virginia, attended the University of Virginia, and was drafted by Seattle in the fourth round in 2011.  He moved up one level at a time, playing in low-A in 2011, high-A in 2012, and AA in 2013.  He struggled at the plate in 2013, but did well when he repeated it in 2014.  He also had a month in AAA that season and also did well in the Arizona Fall League.  He struggled when he went to AAA in 2015, but still went to the bigs at the end of August.  He went just 2-for-32 with the Mariners and was waived after the season.  The Twins claimed him and sent him to Rochester for 2016, but he was waived after playing just nine games there and was claimed by Detroit.  He had a solid year in AAA for them, batting .303. and got into one major league game in September, going 1-for-2.  He spent most of 2017 with the Tigers and got increased playing time, to the point where he became more-or-less a regular, both catching and playing first base.  He had a solid season, batting .266 with an OPS of .766.  He started 2018 as a part-time catcher, but became the regular first baseman when MIguel Cabrera went down.  He was nothing special there but did okay, batting .260 with an OPS of .715, but went on the disabled list in early August and is out for the season.  He turns twenty-nine today.  He was brought along very slowly, so there was apparently something about him teams didn't like (possibly defense, but that's just speculation).  When he's finally gotten a chance, though, he's done okay, batting .251/.304/.398 in 495 at-bats.  He'll never be a star, and he may never again be a regular, but as a catcher who can also play first base it seems likely he'll be on a major league roster somewhere in 2019 if he's healthy.

August 30

Cal McVey (1849)

Pol Perritt (1891)

Bing Miller (1894)

Kiki Cuyler (1896)

Johnny Lindell (1916)

Ted Williams (1918)

Frank Funk (1935)

Tug McGraw (1944)

Roger Erickson (1956)

Randy O’Neal (1960)

Marlon Byrd (1977)

Cliff Lee (1978)

Luis Rivas (1979)

Roberto Hernandez (1980)

Adam Wainwright (1981)

Frank Funk served as a pitching coach for five major league teams (not all at the same time).

Randy O’Neal was drafted by Minnesota in 1979, but did not sign.

Right-hander Roger Farrell Erickson played for Minnesota from 1978-1982.  He was born in Springfield, Illinois, and was drafted by the Twins out of the University of New Orleans in the third round in 1977. He had an excellent year in AA Orlando, going 8-4 with a 1.98 ERA, and found himself in Minnesota at the start of the 1978 season. He went 14-13 that year with a 3.96 ERA in 256 innings, but could not replicate his success the following year, falling to 3-10 with a 5.63 ERA. The next two years he had good ERAs but poor won-loss records, and in May of 1982 he was traded to the Yankees with Butch Wynegar for Pete Filson, John Pacella, Larry Milbourne, and cash. Erickson was decent for the Yankees, posting ERAs in the mid-fours, but was sent to Columbus for part of the 1983 season and traded in the off-season with Steve Balboni to Kansas City for Duane Dewey and Mike Armstrong. He spent time in the Detroit and St. Louis organizations, but never did make it back to the big leagues, and retired following the 1989 season. Erickson is the nephew of former major league pitcher Don Erickson. As a Twin, Erickson appeared in 114 games, 106 of them starts. He was 31-47 with a 4.10 ERA in 712 innings.  He was a pitching coach in the Cardinals organization for a couple of years in the early 1990s.  At last report, Roger Erickson was operating Erickson Baseball School in Clarkesville, Georgia.

Infielder Luis Wilfredo Rivas played for the Twins from 2000-2005.  Born and raised in LaGuaira, Venezuela, he signed with the Twins as a free agent at age 16. He came through the minors one level at a time, never hitting a lot until 2000, when he batted .318 at AAA Salt Lake in 41 games. That earned him a September call-up, and in 2001 Rivas became the Twins’ regular second baseman. He consistently posted batting averages in the .250s and .260s, not drawing a lot of walks and not hitting for much power. The Twins kept waiting for him to improve, but it did not happen, and in 2005 Rivas was sent to AAA Rochester for part of the season and was released after the season. He spent 2006 in the Tampa Bay organization, was with the Cleveland organization in 2007, appearing in four major-league games, was with Pittsburgh in 2008, and was with AAA Iowa in the Cubs organization in 2009.  He became a free agent after the 2009 season, and does not appear to have signed with anyone, ending his major league career.  Luis Rivas played 565 games as a Twin, batting .262/.307/.383 with 30 home runs and 177 RBIs in 1884 at-bats.  He apparently was shot in the leg during a robbery while he was visiting his family in Venezuela.  No information about what Luis Rivas is doing these days was readily available.

August 29

Pep Young (1907)

Joe Schultz (1918)

Billy Cox (1919)

Orval Grove (1919)

Dave Nicholson (1939)

Doug DeCinces (1950)
Bill Latham (1960)
Jeff Kellogg (1961)
Henry Blanco (1971)
Steve Lomasney (1977)
Aaron Rowand (1977)
Roy Oswalt (1977)
Anthony Recker (1983)
Mark Rzepczynski (1985)

Bill Nicholson is the one nicknamed "Swish", but Dave deserved the nickname more.  In the one season in which he played more than a hundred games (126 in 1963), he struck out 175 times.  He did hit 22 homers.  In 1964 he had 294 at-bats and struck out 126 times while hitting 13 homers.  Come to think of it, that sounds like what Adam Brett Walker II's major league career might have been if he'd gotten a chance.  It's also about what Miguel Sano's 2018 season has been.

Jeff Kellogg has been a major league umpire since 1993.

Left-hander William Carol Latham played for the Twins in 1986.  Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, he was signed out of Auburn University as a free agent by the Mets in 1981.  He did well in the minors, winning 13 games in both 1984 and 1985 with an ERA under 3.00 both years, mostly at AAA Tidewater.  Latham started 1985 with the Mets and did not do badly, posting an ERA of 3.97 and a WHIP of 1.24 in 22.2 innings, starting three games and relieving four.  In the off-season, the Mets traded him along with Billy Beane and Joe Klink to the Twins for Pat Crosby and Tim Teufel.  Latham pitched well in AAA Toledo, and appeared in seven games for the Twins in 1986, two of them starts, going 0-1 with a 7.31 ERA in 16 innings.  He started poorly in 1987 with AAA Portland and was traded back to the Mets in May for Jayson Felice.  He spent the rest of 1987 and all of 1988 in the Mets’ minor-league organization, and then his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Bill Latham was a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers after having done that job for several years for the Red Sox.

Catcher Henry Ramon Blanco played for the Twins in 2004.  He was born in Caracas, Venezuela, went to high school in Miranda, Venezuela, and was signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in 1989.  He did not hit much in the minors, but slowly moved up, making his AAA debut in 1995.  A .313 average at AAA Albuquerque in 1997 earned him a cup of coffee with the Dodgers, but he was back in Albuquerque for all of 1998.  Blanco became a minor-league free agent after that season, and was signed by the Rockies.  His first full year in the majors came in 1999 for Colorado, but it was his only season there, as he was traded to the Brewers as part of a three-team deal that also included future Twin Jeff Cirillo.  Blanco spent two seasons as a part-time player in Milwaukee, and then was traded to Atlanta in spring training of 2002.  After two years in Atlanta, he became a free agent.  Minnesota signed him during the 2003-04 off-season to back up Joe Mauer, but when Mauer was hurt, Blanco became the regular, playing 114 games, the most he has ever played in a season.  He had never hit well in the majors and did not do so in Minnesota, batting .206/.260/.368 with 10 homers and 37 RBIs, but he gave the Twins good defense behind the plate.  The Twins let him go after that season, and Blanco moved on to the Cubs, where he spent four years as a part-time catcher.  Let go by the Cubs after 2008, he signed with the Padres for 2009, moved on to the Mets for 2010, was with Arizona in 2011-2012, signed with Toronto for 2013, was released in mid-June, signed with Seattle three days later, and signed with Arizona for 2014, but retired shortly before the season started and became a coach for the Diamondbacks.  He is currently the bullpen coach for the Washington Nationals.  Henry Blanco threw out 43 percent of opposing base stealers for his career, throwing out 58 percent in 2000 and twice leading the league in that category.  Needless to say, the Twins still miss him.

Catcher Steven James Lomasney did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for about four months in 2006.  He was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, went to high school in Peabody, Massachusetts, and was drafted by Boston in the fifth round in 1995.  He was not too bad in the low minors, hitting 20 homers or more in consecutive seasons in 1998-1999.  In 1999, after hitting .259 with twenty home runs in a season split between Class A and AA, Lomasney got a September call-up.  He made his major league debut in the last game of the season, replacing Jason Varitek in the fifth inning.  He went 0-for-2, striking out against B. J. Ryan and Brian Falkenborg.  Unfortunately, that was Lomasney’s major league swan song as well, as he never got back to the major leagues.  He struggled when he got to AAA, posting a batting average of .220 and an OPS of .590 with seven home runs in 631 career AAA at-bats.  He suffered a serious eye injury near the end of 2001 when he was struck by a batted ball and his eyesight never fully recovered, which partly explains his struggles in the high minors.  He became a free agent after the 2002 season and signed with Baltimore for 2003.  After one year in their farm system, he moved on to the Cincinnati chain for 2004-2005.  He signed with Minnesota for 2006, spending most of the season at New Britain with ten at-bats in Rochester.  The Twins released him in August 3, bringing his playing career to an end.  At last report, Steve Lomasney owned The Show, a baseball academy in Lawrence, Massachusetts which is opening a branch in Peabody, Massachusetts.  He is also the coach of an under-fifteen baseball team which won the New England championship in 2010 and finished second in the national AAU championship for under-sixteen (there was no under-fifteen division).

Catcher Anthony Vito Recker did not play for the Twins yet, but was in Rochester for about six weeks in 2017.  He was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, went to high school in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, attended Alvernia College in Reading Pennyslvania (one of three major leaguers to have attended that school), and was drafted by Oakland in the eighteenth round in 2005.  He hit fairly well as he worked his way up the Athletics system, reaching AA in 2008, AAA in 2009, and making his major league debut in 2011, playing in five games.  He started 2012 in Oakland but didn't get much chance to play, appearing in only thirteen games in two months.  He was then sent back to AAA and traded in late August to the Cubs.  He played in nine games for them and was put on waivers, claimed by the Mets.  He was with the Mets from 2013-15, spending most of that time in the majors but not getting to play much.  He didn't do much with the playing time he did get, batting .190/.256/.350 in 389 at-bats spread over three seasons.  He was a free agent and signed with Cleveland for 2016, but after spending a month in AAA he was sold to Atlanta.  The Braves started him in AAA but brought him up for the second half of the season.  He had a good season for them, batting .278 with an OPS of .828, but in just 90 at-bats.  He started 2017 in Atlanta but was sent to AAA after two weeks.  On July 24 he was traded to Minnesota with Jaime Garcia for Huascar Ynoa.  The Twins kept him in AAA and he did well there, batting .286/.333/.414 in seventy at-bats.  He signed with Arizona for 2018 and has had another good season in AAA.  He's always hit in AAA:  his line there is .268/.353/.474 in 1826 at-bats.  In the majors, however, his line is .199/.283/.348 in 552 at-bats.  He's never had more than 174 at-bats in a major league season.  I have no idea what his defense is like, but he hit well enough in AAA to make one think he could've hit in the majors if he'd been given a real chance.  He wasn't, though, and since he's thirty-five today it's doubtful that he ever will be.  He can, however, probably play a few more years in the minors if he chooses to, and given how long he's been around there's probably a good chance he can become a coach or a scout after that if that's what he wants to do.

August 28

Joe Yeager (1875)

Dode Paskert (1881)

Aaron Ward (1896)

Charlie Grimm (1898)

Paul Bowa (1918)

Tony Gonzalez (1936)

Tom Satriano (1940)

Lou Piniella (1943)

Mike Torrez (1946)

Ron Guidry (1950)

Joel Youngblood (1951)

Darren Lewis (1967)

Jay Witasick (1972)
Tom Shearn (1977)
Ryan Madson (1980)
Carlos Quentin (1982)

Paul Bowa is the father of Larry Bowa and the grandfather of Nick Johnson.  He was a minor league infielder who reached as high as AAA, and later became a minor league manager in the St.  Louis Cardinals’ organization.

Right-hander Thomas Aaron Shearn did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for about six weeks in 2008.  Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, he was drafted by Houston in the twenty-ninth round in 1996.  He was a starter for the first five years of his minor league career and did fairly well, but took a very long time to advance, not getting above Class A until his fifth minor league season.  He stumbled a bit in his first shot at AA in 2000, although he wasn’t awful.  He went to the bullpen after that and had a decent year in 2002 at AAA New Orleans, posting a 2.92 ERA in 83.1 innings.  He was only 25, but the Astros gave up on him and released him.  He needed Tommy John surgery and was out of baseball all of 2003, then signed with Cincinnati for 2004.  He stayed in the Reds organization for four and a half years, most of which was spent in AAA, and was consistently mediocre.  Still, they kept him around, and he hung in there, going back to starting in 2006.   In 2007, while he was living in a trailer outside the Louisville ballpark, he was called up to the majors, and two days before his thirtieth birthday, Tom Shearn made his major league debut with Cincinnati.  He was the Reds’ fifth starter the rest of the season, going 3-0, 4.96 with a 1.38 WHIP in 32.2 innings.  He began 2008 in AAA Louisville and went 6-2, 4.53 for about two months, then asked for his release to play in Korea.  Things did not go well there and he came back to the United States, signing with the Twins in late July.  He was in AAA Rochester the rest of the season.  He made six starts, going 1-2, 5.34 with a 1.57 WHIP.  He became a free agent after the season, went unsigned, and his playing career ended.  It was only a short time in the majors, but he’s a twenty-ninth round draft choice who went 3-0 in the majors, and that’s more than a lot of people can say.  At last report, Tom Shearn was living in the Austin, Texas area and was working for Dell.

Outfielder Carlos Jose Quentin did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 2016.  He was born in Bellflower, California, went to high school in San Diego, attended Stanford, and was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round in 2003.  He reached AAA in 2005, and despite batting .301 with twenty-one  homers there he was back in AAA at the start of the 2006 season.  He came up to the big leagues in mid-July and was there to stay.  He was used as a part-time player in Arizona, but got his big chance in 2008 when he was traded to the White Sox.  He made the most of it, batting .388 with 36 homers and a .965 OPS.  He made the all-star team, won the Silver Slugger award, and was fifth in MVP balloting.  That was easily his best season, but he remained a productive player for the White Sox through 2011, when he was traded to San Diego.  He had two solid years for them, but then fell off a cliff.  Injuries played a part, but he batted only .177 in 130 at-bats for the Padres in 2014 and has not played in the majors since.  He was traded to Atlanta at the start of the 2015 season but was released nine days later.  He signed with Seattle in late April but retired nine days later. He came out of retirement and signed with Minnesota for 2016, but though he did fairly well in spring training he was released.  He retired again, but again came back in late July to played for Puebla of the Mexican League.  He played for Monclova in the Mexican league in 2017, but does not appear to be playing anywhere in 2018.  He turns thirty-six today.  In nine major league seasons, he hit .252/.347/.484 with 154 homers and made two all-star teams.  All in all, a very respectable career.  No information about what Carlos Quentin is doing in 2018 was readily available.

August 27

Hal Janvrin (1892)

Peanuts Lowrey (1917)

Joe Cunningham (1931)

Jim King (1932)

Ernie Broglio (1935)

Joe McCabe (1938)

Ed Herrmann (1946)

Buddy Bell (1951)

Mike Maddux (1961)

Brian McRae (1967)

Jim Thome (1970)

Jose Vidro (1974)

A. J. Achter (1988)

Catcher Joseph Robert McCabe played for the Twins in 1964.  He was born in Indianapolis, went to high school in Lebanon, Indiana, and attended Purdue University.  He was signed as a free agent by the then Washington franchise in 1960.  He did not hit with power, even in the minors, but was up and down as far as batting average; for example, he hit .309 in 1962 in AAA Vancouver, but .216 in 1963 for AAA Dallas-Ft. Worth.  Despite that, McCabe began 1964 with Minnesota backing up Earl Battey.  He appeared in fourteen games, starting three of them.  He went 3-for-19 with two RBIs.  Sent to AA Charlotte for the remainder of the season, McCabe was traded to the new Washington franchise after the season for Ken Retzer.  He appeared in fourteen more games for the Senators in 1965 with similar results, although he did hit a home run.  His playing career ended after the 1965 season.  He then became an airline pilot and according to wikipedia is the only person to have both played in the major leagues and have piloted large commercial airlines for major carriers.  He was inducted into the Purdue Intercollegiate Hall of Fame in September of 2016.  At last report, Joe McCabe was living in Indianapolis.

First baseman/designated hitter James Howard Thome played for the Twins from 2010-2011.  He was born in Peoria, Illinois, went to high school in Bartonville, Illinois, and was drafted by Cleveland in the thirteenth round in 1989.  He did little in rookie ball that year (when he played shortstop), but then was shifted to third base and came on strong:  he hit .340 with 16 homers in a 1990 season split between rookie and Class A and batted .319 (although with only seven homers) in a 1991 campaign split between AA and AAA.  He made his big league debut as a September call-up in 1991 at age 21 and was in the majors for about two months in 1992.  In 1993 he hit .332 with 25 homers and an OPS of 1.026 at AAA Charlotte.  That was enough for him to leave the minors behind for good, but the Indians apparently still did not realize what they had, as Thome shared third base in 1994 with Alvaro Espinoza and Rene Gonzales.  He hit 20 home runs in 321 at-bats that season, the first of twelve consecutive years and sixteen of seventeen in which he hit at least twenty home runs.  He also had nine consecutive years and twelve out of thirteen in which he hit over thirty homers, and four consecutive years and five out of six in which he hit over forty home runs.  He became the regular third baseman for the Indians in 1995 and 1996, moving to first in 1997.  He remained a regular with Cleveland through 2002, making the all-star team three times, getting MVP consideration five times, and finishing in the top seven in MVP voting three times.  He became a free agent after that season and signed with Philadelphia for 2003.   He was with the Phillies for three seasons, getting MVP consideration in two of them and making another all-star team.  He was injured much of 2005 and was traded to the White Sox after the season.  Thome became a full-time DH in 2006 and continued to hit, making another all-star team and again receiving MVP consideration.  He started to slip in 2008, and in August of 2009 to the Dodgers.  A free agent after that season, he signed with Minnesota, where he was a part-time DH and pinch hitter.  He hit his six hundredth home run in 2011, and was a productive player for the Twins when healthy, hitting .266/.387/.562 in 482 at-bats.  He was traded to Cleveland on in late August of 2011 for a player to be named later.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Philadelphia.  Used mostly as a pinch-hitter there, he was still productive in limited playing time.  He was traded to Baltimore in late June, was used as a DH, and again was productive in limited playing time.  A free agent after the season, he did not sign with anyone.  He became a special assistant to the general manager for the White Sox in July of 2013 and is also an analyst for MLB Network.  His career numbers are .276/.402/.554, for an OPS of .956.  He hit 612 home runs.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.  He also has a statue outside the Cleveland Indians stadium and has been inducted into the Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame.  That the Twins, for whom he played less than two full seasons, held a night in his honor shows the high regard in which he is held.  We can safely say that Gentleman Jim had a Hall of Fame playing career and, from all reports, is a Hall of Fame person.

Right-handed reliever Adam Joseph Achter appeared in eighteen games for the Twins from 2014-2015.  He was born in Toledo, went to high school in Oregon, Ohio, attended Michigan State, and was drafted by the Twins in the forty-sixth round in 2010.  He was a starter in Beloit in 2011 but has been a reliever the rest of his career.  The move seemed to help him quite a bit--he was a pretty average starter, but has excelled as a reliever at every stop along the way.  He was promoted to Fort Myers at mid-season of 2012, started 2013 in New Britain, went to Rochester later that season, and got a September call-up in 2014.  He spent most of 2015 in Rochester, but was with the Twins for a couple of weeks in August and again got a September call-up.  The Twins waived him after the 2015 season, he was chosen by Philadelphia in November, was waived a month later, and was chosen by the Angels.  He was back-and-forth between AAA and the majors a few times in 2016, but did okay with the Angels when given the chance.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Detroit but did poorly in AA and was released in June.  He is currently pitching for Somerset in the Atlantic League.  As a Twin, he was 1-1, 5.18, 1.44 WHIP in 24.1 innings (18 games).  He always pitched well in AAA, but was not able to translate that into major league success.  He does not appear to be playing anywhere in 2018, so we assume his playing career is over.  At last report, A. J. Achter was an assistant baseball coach for Eastern Michigan University.

August 26

Chick Fraser (1873)

Jesse Barnes (1892)

Sparky Adams (1894)

Gene Moore (1909)

Alex Kellner (1924)

Alex Trevino (1957)

Jeff Parrett (1961)

Angel Hernandez (1961)

Chad Kreuter (1964)

Ricky Bottalico (1969)
Brendan Harris (1980)
Kyle Kendrick (1984)
Eric Fryer (1985)
Darin Mastroianni (1985)
David Price (1985)
Elvis Andrus (1988)
Mario Hollands (1988)

It is reported that Angel Hernandez has been a major league umpire since 1993.  We continue to search for evidence of this.

Mario Hollands was drafted by Minnesota in the 24th round in 2009 but did not sign.

Infielder Brendan Michael Harris was with the Twins from 2008-2010.  Born and raised in Queensbury, New York, he was drafted out of the College of William and Mary by the Cubs in the fifth round of the 2001 draft. He hit well throughout the minors, usually averaging over .300 with double-digit home runs, and played mostly second base and third base. He made his major-league debut with the Cubs in 2004, playing in three games for them before being sent to Montreal in the four-team trade that involved Doug Mientkiewicz going to Boston. Harris spent most of 2005 and 2006 in the minors, making brief appearances in both years with Washington before being traded to Cincinnati in August of 2006 in a multi-player deal that involved Austin Kearns and Ryan Wagner. The following off-season, Harris was traded to Tampa Bay in what baseball-reference.com describes as “a conditional deal”. The conditions must have been met, because Harris was with the Devil Rays all year, his first full season in the majors. After one season with Tampa Bay, he was traded to the Twins in the deal that sent Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Eduardo Morlan to Tampa Bay for Harris, Delmon Young, and Jason Pridie. Harris was a semi-regular utility infielder for the Twins from 2008-2009, seeing time at second, short, and third.  He seemed likely to see most of his time at third base in 2010 but got off to a horrible start, batting just .157 in 108 at-bats before being sent to Rochester in mid-June.  Things did not go well in Rochester, either, as he hit just .233.  After the season, he was traded to Baltimore with J. J. Hardy and cash for Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey.  He did no better in AAA for the Orioles, hitting .225.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Colorado and has had a good year for AAA Colorado Springs, hitting .317.  A free agent again after the season, he signed with the Angels and somewhat surprisingly made the team out of spring training.  He didn't do much for them, though, and was released in late July.  He signed with the Yankees three days later, was sent to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, was released a month after that, signed with Texas, was sent to AAA Round Rock, and became a free agent again after the season.  He signed with the Dodgers for 2014 but was released after playing in only six AAA games.  He spent the rest of the season with Long Island of the Atlantic League but signed with Detroit for 2015 and was in their minor league system that season, not doing much for either AA Erie or AAA Toledo, and was released in late June.  At last report, Brendan Harris was a scout for the Los Angeles Angels.  He has also received an MBA at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Catcher Eric Joseph Fryer, was with the Twins from 2013-2015.  He was born in Columbus, Ohio, went to high school in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, attended an Ohio State University, and was drafted by Milwaukee in the tenth round in 2007.  He didn't do much in rookie ball that season, but hit .335 in the Sally League in 2008.  He was traded to the Yankees that off-season, and in the middle of 2009 was traded to Pittsburgh in a deal involving Eric Hinske.  He had a solid year in the Florida State League in 2010, although he was twenty-four by then.  He did really well in the Eastern League in 2011 and got called up to the majors for about six weeks in the middle of the season.  He had a poor year in AAA in 2012, but still got a couple more weeks in the majors as a backup catcher.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Minnesota and spent 2013 in Rochester, getting a September call-up.  He started 2014 back in Rochester, but came up to Minnesota at mid-season and was the Twins' reserve catcher the rest of the season.  He had a fine season in Rochester in 2015, which earned him two more months in the majors.  A free agent after the season, he signed with St. Louis and hit well in a small sample size, but was still waived at the end of June.  He was claimed by Pittsburgh and has gone back to being who he was before.  A free agent after the season, he signed back with St. Louis for 2017.  He was seldom used, did not hit, and was "granted free agency", which seems like a nice way of saying he was released, in late July.  He signed with Philadelphia for 2018 but decided in February to retire instead.  As a Twin, he hit .266/.323/.355 in 110 at-bats.  No information was readily available regarding what Eric Fryer has done in 2018.

Outfielder Darin Paul Mastroianni was in the Twins organization from 2012-2014 and again in 2016.  He was born in Mount Kisco, New York, went to high school in Bedford, New York, attended the University of Southern Indiana, and was drafted by Toronto in the sixteenth round in 2007.  His numbers in the low minors were decent, but not outstanding.  He stole a lot of bases, though–seventy of them in 2009 in a season split between A and AA.  He had a very good year in AA in 2010, hitting .301 with an OBP of .390 and 46 steals, and it looked like he was poised to make a move.  He was disappointing in a 2011 split between AA and AAA (plus one game for the Blue Jays, going 0-for-2), however, and the Blue Jays gave up on him, putting him on waivers.  The Twins claimed him in February of 2012.  He started the season in the minors, but after hitting .346 twenty games in Rochester he came up to the big leagues.  Following the trades of Denard Span and Ben Revere he was in the mix for the Twins' center field job in 2013, but was injured in spring training and missed half the season.  When he came back, he was optioned to Rochester, not getting back to Minnesota until late August.  He started 2014 with Minnesota but was placed on waivers early in the season and was claimed by Toronto.  He signed with Philadelphia for 2015, spent about a month in AAA, then was sold to Washington, continuing to play in AAA.  A free agent after the season, Minnesota signed him again for 2016 and was mostly with Rochester, although he was in the majors for a couple of weeks in May.  The Twins released him a few weeks ago and he signed with Texas.  He finished out the season in AA with them, but did not sign with anyone for 2017, ending his playing career.  As a Twin, he hit .214/.286/.286 in 248 at-bats.  In 2018 he was inducted into the University of Southern Indiana Hall of Fame.  At last report, Darin Mastroianni was living in the Twin Cities area and owned a woodworking company.

August 25

Dick Rudolph (1887)

Darrell Johnson (1928)

Choo Choo Coleman (1937)

Dooley Womack (1939)

Rollie Fingers (1946)

Dave Heaverlo (1950)

Stan Perzanowski (1950)

Pete Redfern (1954)

Oddibe McDowell (1962)

Albert Belle (1966)

Doug Glanville (1970)

Gary Matthews (1974)

Logan Morrison (1987)

Justin Upton (1987)

The less successful cousin of ex-Twin Ron Perranoski, right-hander Stanley Perzanowski pitched for the Twins in 1978.  He was born in East Chicago, Indiana, went to high school in Hammond, Indiana, and was drafted in the 16th round by the White Sox in 1968. He was apparently rather thin: he is listed as 6′ 2″, 170 pounds. He pitched well in the minors, and made his major-league debut in June of 1971 with Chicago. He did not do well, however, and he spent 1972, 1973, and most of 1974 (other than another brief major league trial) at AAA Iowa. In spring training of 1975, Perzanowski was traded to the Texas Rangers. He again was in AAA most of the year, but pitched well in 12 games (eight starts for the Rangers, going 3-3 with a 3.00 ERA. He got off to a poor start in 1976, however, and was traded to Cleveland in May, pitching for their AAA team the rest of the season. At the end of 1977 spring training, Perzanowski was traded to California, and was immediately sent to their AAA team. He pitched poorly in his sixth year of AAA, and was released in August. The Twins signed him near the end of spring training in 1978, and after pitching well in Toledo, he was called up to the Twins. It did not go well in Minnesota; in 13 games, seven of them starts, he went 2-7, 5.24, 1.50 WHIP (he did pitch one complete game). He began 1979 in Toledo again, but started poorly and released. Perzanowski pitched over a thousand innings in AAA, but only 142.2 in the majors. In 1997, he was inducted into the Hammond (IN) High School Sports Hall of Fame, and in 2008, he was named as the catcher on the all-tournament team at the Amateur Softball Association’s Men’s 50 and over Class AA slow-pitch national tournament, playing for the Indiana Old Stars.  At last report, Stan Perzanowski was living in East Chicago, Indiana.

Right-hander Peter Irvine Redfern pitched for the Twins from 1976-1982.  He was born in Glendale, California, went to high school in Sylmar, California, and was drafted by the Twins out of the University of Southern California with the first pick of the secondary phase of the 1976 draft. Redfern made four starts with AAA Tacoma that year, and was with the big club the rest of the season, going 8-8 with an ERA of 3.51 in 23 starts. He was unable to repeat his success the next year, posting an ERA of 5.18, and spent most of 1978 with AAA Toledo. He came back to the Twins the next year and had a good season, going 7-3 mostly in relief, with an ERA of 3.49 in 40 games. He was decent the next couple of years, mainly as a starter, but fell apart in 1982, going 5-11 with an ERA of 6.58. The Twins released him toward the end of spring training in 1983. He pitched briefly in AAA for the Dodgers, but did poorly and called it a career at the age of 28. In his big league career, all of which came with the Twins, he was 42-48 with a 4.54 ERA in 714 innings. He made 111 starts in 170 appearances, and was the starting pitcher in the Twins’ first game at the Metrodome. Sadly, he was paralyzed in a diving accident in October of 1983, and remains confined to a wheelchair. Redfern remains interested in baseball, however, and has coached American Legion, high school, and small college teams.  At last report, Pete Redfern was living in his home town of Sylmar, California.  His son, Chad, pitched in the low minors in the Atlanta and Tampa Bay organizations.

First baseman Justis Logan Morrison came to the Twins prior to the 2018 season.  He was born in Kansas City, went to high school in Sidell, Louisiana, attended Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City (also attended by Albert Pujols), and was drafted by Florida in the twenty-second round in 2005.  He struggled in 2006 but then hit his stride, moving up a level a year and hitting well at every stop.  He reached the majors in late July of 2010 and with exception of rehab assignments has stayed there ever since.  He was primarily a left fielder with the Marlins through 2012, moving to first base in 2013.  He stayed the healthiest, got the most playing time, and had his best season as a Marlin in 2011, hitting 23 home runs and posting an OPS of .797.  He was traded to Seattle at the end of the 2013 season and was a Mariner for two years.  He was not particularly good there, batting .241 with an OPS of .706.  A free agent after the 2015 season, he signed with Tampa Bay for 2016.  He was not much better in 2016 but had by far his best season in 2017, batting .246/.353/.516 with thirty-eight home runs at age twenty-nine.  He was again a free agent after that season and signed with Minnesota for 2018.  He promptly fell on his face, batting .186/.276/.368 before having his season ended by a hip injury.  He has said that the hip has bothered him all season.  It may be that a return to good health will see him bounce back in 2019, or it may be that 2017 was simply a fluke.  As they say, time will tell.  It always does.

August 24

Harry Hooper (1887)

Hank Gowdy (1889)

Hal Woodeshick (1932)

Tony Bernazard (1956)
Cal Ripken (1960)
Tim Salmon (1968)
Kevin Correia (1980)
Brett Gardner (1983)
Nick Adenhart (1986)

Right-hander Kevin John Correia pitched for the Twins from 2013-2014.  He was born in San Diego, went to high school in La Mesa, California, attended Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, and was drafted by San Francisco in the fourth round in 2002.  He had an indifferent time in low class A that season, but started 2003 in AA, was promoted to AAA, and reached the majors by mid-August.  He did well there, too, going 3-1, 3.66 in 39.1 innings.  He split 2004 between AAA and the majors, not doing particularly well in either place.  2005 was similar.  In 2006, however, he was shifted to the bullpen and spent the whole year in San Francisco, going 2-0, 3.49, 1.23 WHIP in 69.2 innings.  He continued to do well as a reliever in 2007.  2008, however, was pretty much a disaster for him, and he became a free agent after the season.  He signed with San Diego and spent two years with them, doing all right in 2009 but not so well in 2010.  A free agent again, he signed with Pittsburgh and spent two years there as well.  He made the all-star team in 2011, but was not particularly good (although not awful, either) in both years.  His career numbers at that point were 60-65, 4.54, 1.41 WHIP.  Once again a free agent, he signed with Minnesota for 2013.  He got off to a hot start, but for the season pitched pretty much as he had his whole career--adequately, but no more.  He repeated that performance for the Twins in 2014 until August, when he was traded to the Dodgers for a player to be named later or cash.  As a Twin, Kevin Correia was 14-26, 4.49, 1.44 WHIP, numbers pretty much in line with what his career has been.  He pitched poorly for the Dodgers, became a free agent, signed with Seattle for 2015, was released at the end of March, signed with the Giants, was granted free agency at the end of May, and signed with Philadelphia, for whom he made five mostly poor starts before being sent to AAA.   He did not sign with anyone for 2016, bringing his playing career to an end.  You wouldn't necessarily call it a distinguished career--his top ten similarity scores include ex-Twins Mike Pelfrey and Mike Smithson--but he pitched in all or part of thirteen major league seasons and appeared in 358 major league games, and that ain't chicken feed.  At last report, Kevin Correia was living in Del Mar, California.

August 23

George Davis (1870)

Guy Bush (1901)

Lonny Frey (1910)

Nels Potter (1911)
Carl Pohlad (1915)
Dale Mitchell (1921)
George Kell (1922)
Sherm Lollar (1924)
John Romano (1934)
Marty Martinez (1941)
Ron Blomberg (1948)
Jerry White (1952)
Mike Boddicker (1957)
Julio Franco (1958)
Randy St. Claire (1960)
Casey Blake (1973)
Mark Bellhorn (1974)

Carl Pohlad, of course, was the owner of the Twins from 1984 until his death in 2009.

Infielder Orlando (Oliva) “Marty” Martinez played in 37 games for the Twins in 1962.  He was born in Havana, Cuba and was signed by Washington as a free agent in 1960.  An infielder, he made his major league debut in 1962 with the Twins as a bench player, appearing in 37 games but getting only 24 plate appearances, batting .167/.286/.278.  Sent back to the minors, Martinez did not start to hit until 1966, when he hit .313 as a 24-year-0ld at AAA Denver.  That was good enough to get him noticed, and the Atlanta Braves selected him at the end of the season in the Rule 5 draft.  Martinez spent the next six years in the big leagues, mostly as a reserve.  His only year as a semi-regular was in 1968, when he got 356 at-bats with the Braves and hit .230.  Traded to Houston that off-season for Bob Aspromonte, Martinez had his best year in 1969, batting .308 in 198 at-bats.  It did not translate into any more playing time, however, and after two less-productive seasons he was traded to St. Louis.  Martinez played for three teams in 1972, St. Louis, Oakland, and Texas, totalling only 88 at-bats.  Martinez then turned to coaching and managing, first as a player-coach, then taking a full-time job on the bench.  He managed in the Texas and Seattle organizations in the minor leagues, coached for Seattle at the major-league level, and was interim manager for Seattle for one game in 1986.  Marty Martinez passed away on March 8, 2007.

Outfielder Jerome Cardell White did not play for the Twins, but coached for them for several years.  He was born in Shirley, Massachusetts, went to high school in San Francisco, and was drafted by Montreal in the fourteenth round in 1970.  He quietly progressed about a level a season, never particularly standing out but never having a really bad year, either.  He got a September call-up in 1974 and started 1975 in Montreal as a rarely-used reserve; through May 20 he had played in fifteen games and gotten six at-bats.  The Expos finally decided that wasn’t particularly useful so they sent him back to AAA Memphis, where he hit .297 with ten homers at AAA Memphis.  He was again called up in September, was given a chance to play, and went on to hit over .300 the rest of the year.  He got his first full major league season in 1976, but could not take advantage of it, hitting only .245 as a part-time player.  White was back in AAA in 1977, getting just a September call-up.  He started 1978 in Montreal, but it was a rerun of 1975; through May 20, he played in eighteen games and had ten at-bats.  He was sent down and then traded to the Cubs in late June.  He stayed in the majors the rest of that season, but then the Cubs sent him back to the Expos.  He finally stuck with Montreal in 1979, staying through 1983.  Used as a reserve outfielder and pinch-hitter, he only once got as many as 200 at-bats and his averages varied quite a bit.  He became a free agent after the 1983 season and went to Japan for a couple of years, coming back to the United States with St. Louis in 1986.  That was his swan song; he batted twenty-four times, getting three hits, and was released in mid-June, ending his playing career.  He joined the Twins’ organization in 1987 as a roving outfield and baserunning coach.  He was with the Twins from 1987-2012 other than 1997, when he was the first base and baserunning coach for Detroit.   He was the Twins’ first base coach in 2012, but was let go after the season.  At last report, Jerry White was not working in baseball, and was enjoying his hobby of restoring classic cars.  He is a member of the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame.

Pitcher Randy Anthony St. Claire was with the Twins in 1989.  He was born in Glens Falls, New York, and was signed by the Montreal Expos as a free agent in 1978.  He stuggled in his first few years in the minors, but got things going in 1983, and earned a September callup to Montreal in 1994.  St. Claire bounced back and forth between AAA and Montreal until 1988, when he was traded to Cincinnati in a deal that also included ex-Twin Jeff Reed.  Released by the Reds at the end of spring training 1989, the Twins quickly signed him.  He again split the season between AAA and the majors, pitching well in Portland, but not so well in Minnesota.  St. Claire spent all of 1990 at AAA with Texas and Houston, 1991-92 bouncing between AAA and Atlanta, 1993 in AAA with Atlanta, Seattle, and Toronto, most of 1994 at AAA with a two-game cup of coffee with Toronto, and 1995 at AAA with Pittsburgh.  In all that bouncing around, he always pitched well in AAA (3.38 ERA), and not all that badly in the majors, really (4.14 ERA, 1.37 WHIP).  St. Claire never spent a full season in the big leagues, but he was there in parts of nine seasons.  As a Twin, he was 1-0 with a 5.24 ERA in 22.1 innings.  Randy St. Claire also got into coaching at the end of his playing days, and was the pitching coach for the Montreal/Washington franchise for 6 1/2 years until he was fired in June of 2009.  He was the pitching coach for the Miami Marlins from 2010-2012.  Randy St. Claire was the pitching coach for the Las Vegas 51s in the Mets organization in 2013 and was been the pitching coach for the Buffalo Bisons in the Toronto organization in 2014-15, after which he retired.  His father, Ebba St. Claire, was a major league catcher from 1951-1954.  His brother, Steve St. Claire, was an outfielder in the Expos organization from 1984-1988.  He is the uncle of the professional wrestler known as Ryback.

Third baseman William Casey Blake played for the Twins from 2000-2002.  He was born in Des Moines, went to high school in Indianola, Iowa, went to Wichita State, and was drafted in the seventh round by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1996.  He struggled his first two years in the minors, then had a big year in 1998 hitting a combined .357 with 18 homers and 103 RBI, although as a 24-year-old at advanced A and AA.  Promoted to AAA in 1999, Blake hit only .245, although with 22 home runs.  He played 14 games with Toronto that year, but was back in AAA at the start of 2000, and batting only .217 there, when he was taken off waivers by the Twins in June.  The move seemed to help him, as he hit .317 with AAA Salt Lake and made a brief appearance in Minnesota.  2001 was similar, with Blake hitting well in Edmonton and appearing briefly with the Twins.  Blake was put on waivers in September of that year, and selected by Baltimore,  He played for the Orioles the rest of the season, but was again waived in October and the Twins took him back.  Blake again played mostly for Edmonton, with a brief appearance in Minnesota, in 2002.  As a Twin, he hit .241/.338/.310 in 58 at-bats.  Released by the Twins after that season, he signed with Cleveland, where he became the regular third baseman at the age of 29 and stayed there for all but one of the next 5 1/2 seasons (he played right field one year).  In July of 2008, Blake was traded to the Dodgers.  He played well for them through 2009, but struggled in 2010 and became a part-time player in 2011.  He signed with the Rockies for 2012 but was released in late March, could not find another playing job, and announced his retirement in early May.  Casey Blake was never a star, but he was a solid major league regular for several years.  Blake lives in both Indianola and Los Angeles.  He owns Casey Blake Baseball Camps of Indianola.

August 22

Ned Hanlon (1857)

Howie Camnitz (1881)

Wally Schang (1889)

Happy Felsch (1891)
Carl Yastrzemski (1939)
Doug Bair (1949)
Ray Burris (1950)
Paul Molitor (1956)
Darrin Jackson (1962)
Mike Everitt (1964)
Gary Scott (1968)
Hipolito Pichardo (1969)
Steve Kline (1972)
Jeff Weaver (1976)
Randy Wolf (1976)
Alan Busenitz (1990)

Mike Everitt has been a major league umpire since 1996.

We would also like to wish a very happy anniversary to Grandma and Grandpa S.

Hall of Famer Paul Leo Molitor played for the Twins from 1996-1998.  Born and raised in St. Paul, he attended the University of Minnesota and was chosen by Milwaukee with the third pick of the 1977 draft. He spent only one year in the minors, hitting .346 with Class A Burlington, before jumping to the big leagues. He was a fixture in the Brewers lineup for the next fifteen years, playing regularly at second base, center field, third base, and designated hitter, as well as playing a little shortstop. He made the all-star team five times in Milwaukee, received MVP consideration five times, finishing as high as fifth in 1987, and twice won the Silver Slugger award. After the 1992 season, Molitor became a free agent and went to Toronto, where he helped the Blue Jays win a world championship in 1993 and finished second in the MVP balloting to Frank Thomas. He made the all-star team in 1993 and 1994, but his average dropped to .270 in 1995, so the Blue Jays allowed him to again go the free-agent route. This time he came to Minnesota, and showed that his bat had plenty of life left. In his first year with the Twins, a year in which he turned forty, Molitor batted .341, led the league in hits, had 113 RBIs, won his fourth Silver Slugger award, and finished thirteenth in the MVP balloting. He played with the Twins for two more seasons before retiring at age 42. As a Twin, Paul Molitor hit .312/.362/.432 in exactly 1700 at-bats, driving in 271 runs. For his career, he batted .306 and had 3,319 hits. He was elected to the major league baseball Hall of Fame in 2004.  He is currently the manager of the Minnesota Twins.

Outfielder Darrin Jay Jackson played in 49 games for the Twins in 1997.  He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in Culver City, California, and was drafted by the Cubs in the second round in 1981. He was fairly nondescript in the minors, with his best year prior to his major league debut coming in 1984, when he hit .270 with 15 homers at AA Midland. He got a brief cup of coffee with the Cubs in 1985, but then started to pick up the pace a little, and after a solid season with AAA Iowa in 1987 (.274, 23 homers), he spent all of 1988 with Chicago, getting 188 at-bats as a bench player. In August of 1989, he was sent to the Padres in a multi-player deal, and saw his playing time gradually increase, becoming a semi-regular in 1991 and a full-time regular in 1992, the only season in which he got more than 403 at-bats. He was decent that year, but that’s all, .249 with 17 homers and 70 RBIs. Jackson was traded to Toronto at the end of 1993 spring training, and in June the Blue Jays sent him to the Mets for Tony Fernandez. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed with the White Sox, where he had easily his best season in 1994, batting .312 as a semi-regular. Jackson played for the Seibu Lions in 1995-96, but returned to the United States in 1997, when the Twins signed him as a free agent. He played in 49 games for the Twins, batting .254/.272/.354 with 3 homers and 21 RBIs, before the Twins traded him to Milwaukee in August for the immortal Mick Fieldbinder. He stayed with the Brewers in 1998 before rounding out his career back with the White Sox, batting decently (.275) in a reserve role in 1999. His numbers are not particularly impressive, but he spent parts of 12 years in a big-league uniform, and a guy could do a lot worse. Darrin Jackson is currently a broadcaster for the White Sox radio network.

Third baseman Gary Thomas Scott did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for a short time.  He was born in New Rochelle, New York, went to high school in Pelham, New York, and then attended Villanova.  Scott was drafted by the Cubs in the second round in 1989. He had a couple of solid years in A and AA, and after a tremendous spring training in 1991, he was installed with much fanfare as the regular third baseman with the big club. Unfortunately, he was not up to the task, and was sent back to the minors after hitting only .165 in 31 games. He did poorly in the minors that year, too, hitting only .208 at AAA Iowa. He came back some in 1992, but when promoted to the Cubs late in the season he was awful again, batting .156 in 36 games. The Cubs gave up on Scott and traded him to Florida at the end of the season. He never played for Florida, however, as the Marlins traded him to Cincinnati for Hector Carrasco just prior to the 1994 season. The Reds sent him to AAA Indianapolis, and at the end of June traded him to the Twins for Tom Houk and Alan Newman. He hit .291 at AAA Portland, but it did not convince the Twins of anything, and they let him go after the season. Scott then played at AAA for the Giants, Braves, and Padres with mixed results, but never got another chance in the majors. Overall, he played in 67 big league games and had a batting line of .160/.250/.240, with 3 home runs and 16 RBIs.  At last report, Gary Scott was an oil broker for Compagnie Financiere Tradition in the New York area.

Right-hander Alan Paul Busenitz has played for the Twins in 2017.  He was born in Watkinsville, Georgia, went to high school in Athens, Georgia, attended Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia, and was drafted by the Angels in the twenty-fifth round in 2013.  He pitched quite well in the low minors his first two seasons.  He stumbled when he was promoted to AA in 2015 but did quite well there in 2016.  On August 1 of 2016 he was traded to the Twins with Hector Santiago for Ricky Nolasco, Alex Meyer, and cash.  He finished that season in the minors with Minnesota, making five appearances in Chattanooga and six in Rochester.  He started 2017 in Rochester and did very well there.  He came up to Minnesota for about two weeks in June and did very well there, too, but was sent back anyway because the Twins needed "a fresh arm for the bullpen".  He came back in late July and continued to do well.  2018 has not gone as well for him--he has pitched very well in Rochester, but not very well in limited chances in Minnesota.  At this writing, Alan Busenitz is 4-1, 3.04, 1.29 WHIP in forty major league games (47.1 innings).  He turns twenty-eight today.  It's doubtful he'll ever be a star, but he may be able to be a major league reliever for at least a few seasons.

August 21

Due to personal time constraints, this is a reprint from last year which has not been updated other than the biography of Ehire Adrianza.

Frank Isbell (1875)
Murray Dickson (1916)
Gerry Staley (1920)
Jim Beauchamp (1939)
Felix Millan (1943)
John Ellis (1948)
John Stearns (1951)
Frank Pastore (1957)
John Wetteland (1966)
Mike Misuraca (1968)
Craig Counsell (1970)
Ismael Valdez (1973)
Akili Smith (1975)
Jason Marquis (1978)
Jesse Chavez (1983)
Melvin Upton (1984)
Ehire Adrianza (1989)

Akili Smith, better known as an NFL quarterback, played for three seasons in the Pittsburgh organization, reaching AA.

Right-hander Frank Enrico Pastore pitched for the Twins in 1986.  He was born in Alhambra, California, went to high school in La Verne, California, and was drafted in the second round by Cincinnati in 1975, Pastore pitched well at every stop along the way in the minors, and made the Reds at the beginning of 1979. He pitched mostly out of the bullpen that year, but became a solid member of the rotation in 1980. That was his best year: he went 13-7 with an ERA of 3.27 in 27 starts. He pitched well in 1981 and 1982, but started to slip after that, and also apparently started to have injury problems. He was primarily a reliever in 1985, became a free agent, and signed with the Twins in April of 1986. The Twins ran through a lot of relief pitchers that year, and Pastore was actually one of the better ones they had: in 33 games, he was 3-1 with a 4.01 ERA and 2 saves, but walked 24 in 49.1 innings and had a WHIP of 1.58. He again became a free agent after the season, and signed with the Texas Rangers, but pitched poorly for AAA Oklahoma City and his career was over. After baseball, Frank Pastore went back to school and obtained degrees in business administration, philosophy of religion and ethics, political philosophy, and American government. He became the host of a radio program, The Frank Pastore Show, which was described by wikipedia as the largest Christian talk show in the United States.  Sadly, Frank Pastore passed away December 17, 2012 as a result of injuries following a motorcycle accident.

Right-hander Michael William Misuraca did not play for the Twins, but he was in their farm system for over seven years.  He was born in Long Beach, California and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1988.  A starter for most of his career, he pitched fairly well in the low minors, but never well enough to attract anyone’s attention.  He reached Class A in 1989, but did not advance past there until 1993, when he finally got to AA Nashville.  He reached AAA in 1994, but did not pitch well in Salt Lake, posting ERAs over five each season there.  He was sent to Milwaukee in a conditional deal in June of 1996 and sent to AAA New Orleans.  He did not pitch any better in AAA for the Brewers, but was brought up to the majors for about three weeks in 1997.  It did not go well:  in five appearances (10.1 innings), he put up an ERA of 11.32 and a WHIP of 2.13, allowing five home runs.  His playing career came to an end after that season.  He may not have been in the big leagues for long, but as an undrafted free agent, he beat the odds to get there at all.  He has stayed in baseball, and at last report was the supervisor of scouting in the greater Los Angeles area for the Cincinnati Reds.

Right-hander Jason Scott Marquis made seven starts for the Twins at the beginning of 2012.  He was born in Manhasset, New York, went to high school in Staten Island, and was drafted by Atlanta in the first round in 1996.  He advanced slowly, mostly because he really didn’t pitch all that well.  he had a good year in AA in 2000, though, and ended up spending nearly half the season in the majors.  2001 was his first full year in the majors and was one of his best years there.  He started in the bullpen, but made the rotation by mid-June and ended up posting a 3.48 ERA.  He came nowhere near those numbers in 2002 and was back in the minors for about half of 2003.  That off-season he was traded to St. Louis.  He had a fine year for the Cardinals in 2004, going 15-7, 3.71, though with a WHIP of 1.42.  He was still pretty good in 2005 but had a terrible 2006, leading the league in earned runs allowed and home runs allowed.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with the Cubs.  He was adequate for the Cubs for two seasons, then was traded to Colorado before the 2009 season.  Given that he was pitching in Coors Field, he actually had a pretty good year for the Rockies, but became a free agent again and signed with Washington.  He was on the disabled list much of 2010 and was pretty awful when he did pitch, but he bounced back in 2011 and was having a decent season when he was traded to Arizona at the deadline.  He again was injured and was awful in the three starts he did make for the Diamondbacks.  A free agent again, he signed with Minnesota for 2012.  It was hoped he would bring a veteran presence to the rotation, but his time with the Twins was a disaster:  2-4, 8.47, 1.94 WHIP in 34 innings.  He was released in late May and signed with San Diego the next day.  He was actually fairly good with the Padres the rest of the season and was adequate in 2013 as well, although he issued a lot of walks.  A free agent after that season, he did not sign for 2014 until early June, when he signed with Philadelphia and made nine minor league starts.  Once again a free agent, he signed with Cincinnati for 2015 and made the team, but was pretty bad in nine starts and was released in June.  He pitched for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic in 2017 and said last spring that he was still interested in playing professional baseball.  It appears, though, that no professional baseball team is interested in having him play, as he has not signed with anyone.  It is probably time for Jason Marquis to decide what the next phase of his life is going to be.

Infielder Ehire Enrique Adrianza has been with the Twins since 2017.  He was born in Guarenas, Venezuela and was signed by the Giants as a free agent in 2006.  He spent two years in the Dominican Summer League and was apparently injured for much of 2008, as he played in only eighteen games.  He reached class A in 2009, AA in 2012, and AAA in 2013.  He had a strong year in AAA in 2013, batting .310 with an OPS of .851, and got a September call-up that season.  He spent about half of each season with the Giants from 2014-16, playing mostly second base and shortstop.  He was a reserve most of that time and batted like one, batting .220/.292/.313 for the Giants.  They waived him at the end of January of 2017 and he was claimed by Milwaukee.  A week later Milwaukee waived him and he was claimed by Minnesota.  He started 2017 in AAA but came up in early May and has stayed there ever since.  He was fairly decent as a reserve in 2017, batting .265 with an OPS of .707.  He began 2018 again in a reserve role, but the Twins ran into a shortage of infielders for a variety of reasons, and he became a mostly regular in June.  He did okay in that role, too.  He turns twenty-nine today.  He'll probably never go into spring training with a regular job, but he's someone you can plug in anywhere on the infield for a few weeks and not have him hurt you, and he's even played a handful of games in the outfield.  It would not be surprising if Ehire Adrianza has a fairly decent major league career.

August 20

Due to personal time constraints, this is a reprint from last year and has not been updated.

Al Lopez (1908)

Fred Norman (1942)
Graig Nettles (1944)
Bobby Cuellar (1952)
Tom Brunansky (1960)
Mark Langston (1960)
Andy Benes (1967)
Todd Helton (1973)
Matt Hague (1985)

Third baseman Graig Nettles played for the Twins in parts of seasons from 1967-1969.  Born and raised in San Diego, he was drafted by the Twins out of San Diego State in the fourth round in 1965. He showed instant power, hitting 69 home runs in three minor league seasons. He made his debut with Minnesota as a September callup in 1967 and reached the big leagues for good in 1969, his first full season, when he was a part-time player with the Twins. Nettles played more outfield than third base as a Twin, which seems surprising until one remembers that Harmon Killebrew was the Twins’ third baseman at the time. Nettles did not do a lot in 1969, and the Twins were trying to win now, so they traded him, along with Dean Chance, Bob Miller, and Ted Uhlaender, to Cleveland for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams. Tiant and Williams helped the Twins win the division in 1970, but after that the trade does not look so good for Minnesota. On the other hand, how does it look for Cleveland? After Nettles put up three solid seasons for the Indians, hitting a total of 71 homers and getting a tenth-place vote for MVP in 1971, Cleveland traded him to the Yankees with Jerry Moses for John Ellis, Jerry Kenney, Charlie Spikes, and Rusty Torres. New York, of course, is where Nettles became a star. He hit over 20 homers in each of his first seven seasons for the Yankees, twice hitting over 30; drove in over 90 runs four times, made the all-star team five times, and won a pair of Gold Gloves. At the end of 1984, the Yankees traded Nettles to San Diego, a trade many said was prompted by the release of a book Nettles wrote in which he was critical of George Steinbrenner. In San Diego, he became the starting third baseman for the Padres’ World Series team. He made the all-star team the next year, at age 40, but it was his last productive season. After the 1986 season, the Padres let Nettles go, and he spent 1987 with Atlanta and 1988 with Montreal, mostly as a pinch-hitter. As a Twin, Graig Nettles hit .224/.314/.401 with 12 homers and 34 RBIs in 304 at-bats. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2007, but had surgery and at last report was cancer-free. Nettles is a spring training instructor for the Yankees. At last report, he was living in Lenoir City, Tennessee, just outside Knoxville, but also traveled frequently.

Robert Cuellar never pitched for the Twins, but has been a minor league pitching coach and manager for them for several years.  He was born in Alice, Texas, and was drafted out of the University of Texas by the Rangers in the 29th round in 1974.  Cuellar pitched well in relief for eight years in the minors, five of them at AAA. He posted a minor-league ERA of 3.06 during this time, with a AAA ERA of 3.20, but never really got a chance in the majors. Cuellar’s only time in the big leagues was as a September call-up in 1977; he gave up only one run and four hits in 6.2 innings spread over four games, for an ERA of 1.35. He left the Rangers organization after the 1978 season, playing three years for the Cleveland organization and one year in the Mexican League. After his playing career ended in 1982, he turned to coaching. He has been a minor league coach, minor league manager, and major league coach, including serving as the pitching coach for Seattle and Montreal and as the bullpen coach for Pittsburgh. For the Twins, Cuellar was the pitching coach for the Rochester Red Wings from 2003-2005, managed the New Britain Rock Cats in 2008, and returned to the Red Wings as their pitching coach in 2009-2012. Among the minor leaguers Cuellar has coached are Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana, both of whom credit Cuellar for teaching them the changeup.  Bobby Cuellar was the bullpen coach of the Minnesota Twins from 2013-2014.  He has been a minor league pitching coach in the Dodgers organization since then, serving as the pitching coach of the Ogden Raptors in 2017.

The brother-in-law of Dave Engle, outfielder Thomas Andrew Brunansky played for the Twins from 1982 through the first part of 1988.  He was born in Covina, California, went to high school in West Covina, California, attended Cal Poly–Pomona, and was drafted by the California Angels with the 14th pick of the 1978 draft. He hit well in his four minor league seasons, average more than 20 homers and hitting over .300. He made the Angels out of spring training in 1981, but hit .152 over 41 at-bats and was returned to the minors. He started 1982 in the minors, but in May was traded with Mike Walters to the Twins for Doug Corbett and Rob Wilfong. The Twins immediately installed him in their outfield, and Brunansky had what was arguably his best season, batting .272 with 20 homers. He never hit for as high an average again, but his power numbers increased, as he hit over 20 homers each year through 1989. After winning the World Series in 1987, the Twins got off to a slow start in 1988, and Brunansky was traded to St. Louis for Tom Herr in what even Andy McPhail would later admit was a panic move. Brunansky continued to be a solid player, but his low-average slugging did not really fit with the Cardinals running style, and after a poor start in 1990 he was traded to Boston for Lee Smith. He was a productive player for the Red Sox through 1992, went to Milwaukee as a free agent in 1993, and returned to the Red Sox in June of 1994 to finish his career. As a Twin, Tom Brunansky batted .250/.330/.452 with 163 homers and 469 RBIs in what works out to be about six full seasons, and holds the distinction of being the only Twin to hit an inside-the-park grand slam. Brunansky is coached high school baseball in Poway, California.  He became the batting coach for the GCL Twins in late June of 2010, was the batting coach for the New Britain Rock Cats in 2011, was the batting coach for the Rochester Red Wings in 2012, and was the batting coach for the Minnesota Twins from 2013-16.  He does not appear to be working in baseball in 2017, but rather is making personal appearances and enjoying some time off.

First baseman Matthew Donald Hague has not played for the Twins yet, but has been in Rochester in 2017.  He was born in Bellevue, Washington, went to high school in Covington, Washington, and attended both the University of Washington and Oklahoma State University.  He was drafted by Pittsburgh in the ninth round in 2008.  He hit well in the minors, posting high doubles totals and hitting some but not a lot of home runs.  He reached AA in 2010, AAA in 2011, and made it to the majors in 2012.  He was with the Pirates most of the first half of the season as a reserve first baseman but got only seventy at-bats, being frequently used as a pinch-hitter.  He didn't do particularly well, batting .229 with an OPS of .527.  He went back to AAA and continued to hit well, but did not get to the majors at all in 2013 and got only two big-league at-bats in 2014.  He was waived in mid-August of 2014 and was chosen by Toronto.  He had an outstanding year with AAA Buffalo and got a September call-up, but got only twelve at-bats.  He went to Japan in 2016 and came back to the United States in 2017, signing with Minnesota.  The Twins have kept him in Rochester all year, where he is batting .296/.375/.408 at this writing.  His major league stats are .226/.286/.262 in 84 at-bats.  Being a first baseman without home run power has undoubtedly hurt him, but in 2779 AAA at-bats he has hit .301/.377/.429.  It seems like he could've helped someone if he'd been given the chance, but he turns thirty-two today, so it's doubtful that chance will ever come.