November 30

Mordecai Davidson (1845)

Frank Killen (1870)

Josh Billings (1891)

Firpo Marberry (1898)

Clyde Sukeforth (1901)

Steve Hamilton (1935)

Craig Swan (1950)

Juan Berenguer (1954)

Dave Engle (1956)

Steve Shields (1958)

Bob Tewksbury (1960)

Bo Jackson (1962)

Gary Wayne (1962)

Mark Lewis (1969)

Ray Durham (1971)

Matt Lawton (1971)

Shane Victorino (1980)

Rich Harden (1981)

Luis Valbuena (1985)

Mordecai Davidson was the owner of the Louisville Colonels in the late 1880s.  Under financial pressure, he tried to save money in a variety of ways, including fining players each time the team lost.  As a result, he is credited with inspiring the first baseball players' strike.  Nobody ever seems to name their kid "Mordecai" any more.

Right-handed reliever Juan Bautista Berenguer pitched four solid years for Minnesota, from 1987-1990, and is still remembered fondly by Twins fans. Born in Aguadulce, Panama, Berenguer was signed by the Mets as a free agent in 1975. He was a starting pitcher throughout his minor league career. He pitched well there, striking out more than a batter per inning, although his walk totals were uncomfortably high. He pitched briefly with the Mets in 1978-1980, with varying success, but totalling only 53 innings. The Mets traded him to Kansas City at the end of March, 1981. This was Berenguer's first full season in the big leagues, but it was not all with they Royals; they sold him to Toronto in early August. He did not have a good year, going 2-13 with a 5.26 ERA, and was released the following March. Detroit signed him, and sent him to AAA, where he had a mediocre season. He made the team in 1983, however, and pitched well for them for two years, mostly as a starter. In 1985, however, he slipped, and was traded to San Francisco after the season. He pitched very well out of the bullpen for the Giants in 1986, posting a 2.70 ERA in 73.1 innings. It didn't impress the Giants, though; they released him, and he was signed by Minnesota. Given his previous ups and downs, Berenguer was remarkably consistent in his four years with the Twins, posting ERAs in the mid-to-upper threes and WHIP of around 1.3 to 1.4. As a Twin, he was 33-13 with nine saves, an ERA of 3.70, an ERA+ of 115, and a WHIP of 1.36 over 211 appearances. At the end of the 1990 season, Berenguer became a free agent, signing with Atlanta. He was a Brave for a season and a half. He pitched well in 1991, but broke his pitching arm while wrestling with his children and missed the Braves' playoff run. He pitched poorly in 1992, was traded to Kansas City in July, and was released after the season. He played for independent teams in Minnesota from 1994-1997 before hanging up the spikes for good.  His son, Chris, played minor league hockey.  At last report, Juan Berenguer was working for a Lincoln car dealership and for a Spanish-language television station in Minnesota.

Catcher/outfielder Dave Engle's father, Roy, was a high school teammate of Ted Williams. Ralph David Engle is the brother-in-law of Tom Brunansky. Born and raised in San Diego, he went to U.S.C. and was drafted by California in the third round in 1978. A third baseman at the start of his minor league career, Engle was only in the Angels organization for one year. In February of 1979, he was traded to Minnesota with Paul Hartzell, Brad Havens, and Ken Landreaux for Rod Carew. He batted over .300 in two of his three minor league seasons, reaching the Twins in 1981. He was fifth in Rookie of the Year balloting that season, despite hitting only .258. An outfielder his first couple of years with the Twins, he was converted to catching in 1983 because a scar in his eye, the result of a childhood accident, made it difficult for him to see fly balls in the Metrodome. His bat responded to the move, as he had what was easily his best season, batting .305. The next year, however, he dropped to .266 (although he made the all-star team that year), and he never came close to batting .300 again. He also developed a problem throwing the ball back to the pitcher, limiting his ability to catch. Engle remained with the Twins until January of 1986, when he was traded to Detroit for Chris Pittaro and Alejandro Sanchez. The Tigers used him mostly at first base, but seldom used him at all; he had only 86 at-bats when he was released in August. He was with Montreal for a couple of years and Milwaukee for one, not seeing much playing time with either team. He went into coaching in 1990, although he still played a little in the minors through 1991. He remained active as a minor league manager and coach at least through 2000 and was the Mets hitting coach from at least 2001-2002.  At last report, Dave Engle was a scout for the Baltimore Orioles and was living in Arizona.

Right-hander Stephen Mack Shields came to Minnesota in 1989, at the end of his major league career. Born and raised in Gadsden, Alabama, he was drafted by Boston in the tenth round in 1977. His minor league record is a rather mixed bag, as was his usage, as he was sometimes a starter, sometimes a reliever. He did not get to AAA until his seventh minor league season, in 1983. He was a free agent after that season and signed with the Braves. He was in their organization for three seasons, reaching the majors for the first time in 1985 and spending parts of that and the next season with Atlanta. 1985 was the only year he was used as a spot starter; the rest of his career was in the bullpen. He was traded to Kansas City at the end of 1986, and was traded again that off-season to Seattle. Shields again split the year between the majors and AAA in 1987, became a free agent, and signed with the Yankees for 1988. He came the closest he would come to a full season in the majors that year, coming to New York May 1 and staying there the rest of the year. He pitched 82 innings that year, the most he had in a major league season. The Yankees traded him to Minnesota in March of 1989 for Balvino Galvez. Shields spent about a month with the Twins that season, from mid-May to mid-June. He made eleven appearances, pitching 17.1 innings and posting a 7.79 ERA. He was with AAA Portland the rest of the season, did not do particularly well there either, and was released after the season ended, bringing his playing career to a close. At last report, Steve Shields had returned to Gadsden and was the Environmental Services Supervisor for the city.

Right-hander Robert Alan Tewksbury was with the Twins from 1997-1998, at the end of a fairly substantial career. Born in Concord, New Hampshire, he attended Merrimack Valley High School in Penacook, New Hampshire. He went to both Rutgers and Saint Leo University and was drafted by the Yankees in the 19th round in 1981. He pitched very well throughout his minor league career, making his major league debut with the Yankees in April of 1986. He pitched well for them in 20 starts that year, but got off to a poor start in 1987 and was traded to the Cubs as part of a package for Steve Trout. Tewksbury was apparently injured much of 1988, as he made only 11 appearances, ten of them in the minor leagues. He pitched well in those appearances, but became a free agent at the end of the year. Tewksbury signed with the Cardinals and pitched well again in AAA in 1989, posting a 2.43 ERA in 28 starts. That convinced the Cardinals, and Tewksbury was in their starting rotation for the next five years. Control had never been a problem for him, but he became an extreme control pitcher in those years, twice leading the league in fewest walks per nine innings with 0.8 and twice leading the league in strikeout/walk ratio despite striking out fewer than 100 batters. He made the all-star team in 1992, when he won 16 games, led the league in winning percentage, and finished third in Cy Young voting. He had a poor year in 1994, however, and was allowed to become a free agent. He did not sign until early April, when he joined the Texas Rangers. He was fairly average for the Rangers, and was fairly average the next year with San Diego. Tewksbury was again a free agent after the 1996 season, and signed with Minnesota. He was a Twin for two years, and was fairly average for them, too. In two seasons for bad Twins teams, Bob Tewksbury was 15-26 with a 4.49 ERA and an ERA+ of 104. The Twins would likely have brought him back in 1999 had he chosen to continue his career, but he had shoulder problems and elected retirement instead.  He then went back to school and got a masters' degree in psychology at Boston University. He has done commentary on Red Sox games, worked for the Red Sox as a sports psychologist, and was a mental skills coach for the Chicago Cubs.  He continues to work as a psychologist and mental skills coach, and can be contacted through bobtewksbury.com.  He also does a lot of charitable work, primarily with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He was inducted into the Saint Leo Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.

Left-hander Gary Anthony Wayne was with the Twins from 1989-1992. A native of Dearborn, Michigan, Wayne attended the University of Michigan and then was drafted by Montreal in the fourth round. He was a starter early in his minor league career and struggled in that role. Switched to relief in 1986, he had consecutive strong years, first in Class A, then in AA. He suffered a broken foot in 1988, making only eight appearances, and was left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft. Minnesota selected him, and he was with the Twins at least part of the next four seasons, spending all of 1989 in Minnesota and splitting 1990-1992 between the Twins and AAA. For the most part, he did a solid job for the Twins. In 147 appearances, he posted an ERA of 3.44, an ERA+ of 120, and a WHIP of 1.31. In March of 1993, the Twins traded Wayne along with Rob Wassenaar to Colorado for Brett Merriman. His career went downhill after that; he had a poor year for the Rockies in 1993, became a free agent, signed with the Dodgers, was sent to the minors in early June of 1994, and never made it back to the majors. Gary Wayne's career ended after the 1994 season. At last report, Gary Wayne was the managing director of Integrity Debt Solutions in Denver and was also a licensed investment advisor for Infinity Wealth Management.

Outfielder Matthew Lawton played for the Twins from 1995-2001. He is variously listed as Matthew Lawton Jr. and Matthew Lawton III. Lawton was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, attended Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, and was drafted by the Twins in the 13th round in 1991. He had some solid, though unspectacular, years in the minor leagues, advancing a level per season. He made a brief appearance with the Twins in September of 1995, was a part-time player in 1996, and won a starting spot in the Twins' outfield in 1997. In 1998, he hit .278 with 21 homers, and the Twins promoted him as a rising superstar. Possibly trying to live up to that, Lawton hit only .259 with 7 homers in 1999. The next year, 2000, was Lawton's best as a Twin--he topped .300 for the only time in his career and made his first all-star appearance. He was having another solid season in 2001 when the Twins traded him to the Mets at the end of July for Rick Reed. Lawton finished out the year with the Mets, then was traded to Cleveland, where he stayed for three seasons. He was a part-time player his first two years, partly due to injuries, and hit for more power (15 homers each season) but a lower average. A regular again in 2004, he responded with a fine season, hitting .277 with 20 homers and making his second all-star appearance. The Indians traded Lawton to Pittsburgh after the season, and he began bouncing around. He was traded to the Cubs at the end of July of 2005 and moved to the Yankees at the end of August. A free agent after the season, he was suspended for ten games in November for using steroids, a charge which he admitted. Lawton signed with Seattle for 2006, but was seldom used and was released at the end of May, bringing his playing career to a close. As a Twin, Lawton hit .277/.379/.428 with 72 homers and an OPS+ of 107. At last report, Matt Lawton had returned to his his hometown of Gulfport.  In April of 2013, he was arrested in what apparently was some sort of domestic dispute, although details are hard to come by.  It appears, though, that either the charges were dropped or it was never that serious to begin with, because in 2015 he coached his son's 11-12-year-old team to the Southwest Regional in Cal Ripken Baseball.  No further information about what Matt Lawton has done since leaving baseball was readily available.

Right-hander James Richard Harden did not pitch for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 2013 and was on their disabled list for a while.  Born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, he attended Central Arizona College and was drafted by Oakland in the seventeenth round in 2000.  A starter his entire career, he reached AA in 2002 and AAA in 2003.  He got to the majors in late July of 2003 and was there to stay with the exception of rehab starts, of which he had at least one every year.  He was not the most durable of pitchers, but he was always effective when healthy.  His best year for Oakland was 2005, when he went 10-5, 2.53 with a 1.06 WHIP in 128 innings.  He then made only thirteen starts over the next two seasons.  He came back in 2008 and was doing very well when he was traded to the Cubs in mid-season.  2008 was the best year of his career; he went a combined 10-2, 2.07, 1.06 WHIP in 25 starts.  He only pitched 148 innings, but he struck out 181 men in those innings.  He was still decent in 2009, but slid to 9-9, 4.09, 1.34 WHIP.  It was all downhill for Harden after that.  A free agent, he signed with Texas for 2010 but had a poor year.  A free agent again, he went back to Oakland for 2011 but could not get much done for them, either.  He missed all of 2012 while recovering from shoulder surgery, but signed with Minnesota for 2013.  Unfortunately, it did not go well for him.  He did not throw a pitch in either the majors or the minors and was released around the first of August, ending his playing career.  At last report, Rich Harden was living in the Phoenix area and was helping coach youth baseball there.

November 29

Tom Hughes (1878)

Irv Noren (1924)

Minnie Minoso (1925)

Vin Scully (1927)

George Thomas (1937)

Dick McAuliffe (1939)

Bill Freehan (1941)

Otto Velez (1950)

Mike Easler (1950)

Rick Anderson (1956)

Joe Price (1956)

Dennis Burtt (1957)

Howard Johnson (1960)

Bob Hamelin (1967)

Mariano Rivera (1969)

Brian Wolfe (1980)

Guillermo Quiroz (1981)

Craig Gentry (1983)

Outfielder George Edward Thomas played for the Twins for the second half of 1971. He was born in Minneapolis, went to high school in Bloomington, and went to the University of Minnesota. He was signed by Detroit as a free agent in 1957 and was classified as a “bonus baby”, which meant he had to be on the major league roster all that season. It was a wasted year for Thomas, as he got only one at-bat. Sent back to the minors in 1958, he hit decently, but not outstandingly for the next few seasons. In 1960, he hit .275 with 13 homers in AA Birmingham. That was enough to get him to the majors with the Tigers in 1961 but he was used almost exclusively as a pinch-runner, appearing in seventeen games through late June but getting only six at-bats. At that point, he was sold to the Los Angeles Angels, where for the next two years he saw a decent amount of playing time as a fourth outfielder. He hit .280 in that role in 1961, but nowhere close to that in the rest of his time with the Angels. In mid-June of 1963 he was traded back to Detroit in a trade that involved future Twin Frank Kostro. Continuing in a reserve role, he had a good year in 1964, hitting .286 with 12 homers, but slumped in 1965 and was traded to Boston after the season. He was used primarily as a pinch-hitter and had a couple of outstanding years in that role, hitting .347 from 1969-1970 in 150 at-bats. When he started at 1-for-13 in 1971, however, Thomas was released by the Red Sox in late June. The Twins signed him and continued him in the pinch-hitting role, as he played in 23 games but got only 30 at-bats. He hit .267/.300/.353, not bad for a pinch-hitter, but after the season, in his words, “they asked me not to come to spring training”. He remained involved in baseball for a while, and was the head coach at the University of Minnesota from 1979-1981.  Later, he went into business selling audio/video software packaging.  At last report, George Thomas was spending his summers in Wisconsin, about an hour from the Twin Cities, and spending his winters in Florida.

Right-hander Richard Arlen Anderson never played for the Twins, but was a minor league pitching coach for them for several years and was their major league pitching coach from 2002-2014. He was born in Everett, Washington and went to high school there. He then attended the University of Washington and was drafted by the Mets in the 24th round in 1978. It would be interesting to hear him talk about his playing days; he had good numbers throughout his minor league career, but got very few chances in the majors. Anderson was at AAA for the Mets for over five years, never posting an ERA over four and twice posting an ERA under three, before getting a chance in the majors. He was with the Mets for about two months in 1986 and did well, going 2-1 with a 2.72 ERA in 49.2 innings. In March of 1987, however, the Mets traded Anderson to Kansas City. Anderson started the season with the Royals, but was soon sent back to AAA. This must be when he decided that pitching to contact was key--he struck out 12 in 13 innings for Kansas City, but had an ERA of 13.75. In 1988 he was again mostly in AAA, getting just over a month with the Royals. His playing career ended after the season, and he was immediately hired by the Twins as their pitching coach in the Gulf Coast League. Anderson worked his way up the Twins' minor league system, becoming their major league pitching coach in 2002.  He held the job through 2014.  His reputation grew as the Twins pitching staff prospered and diminished as the staff struggled, but of course it is difficult to know how much of either the successes or the failures of the Twins pitchers were the result by Rick Anderson's coaching.  He left with Ron Gardenhire after the 2014 season, stayed out of baseball for three years, then returned with Ron Gardenhire as the pitching coach of the Detroit Tigers beginning in 2018.  He finished out the 2020 season after Gardy retired, but did not return in 2021.  It appears that he has retired, but it's possible that he'd be willing to return to coaching if the right offer came along.

Right-hander Dennis Allen Burtt was with the Twins for all of his major league career, which consisted of eight games in 1985-1986. He was born in San Diego, attended Santa Ana College, and was drafted by Boston in the second round of the January draft of 1976. Mostly used as a starter in the minors, he largely topped out at AA. He posted an ERA of around five with a WHIP over 1.5 in three years at AAA for Boston. Burtt became a free agent after the 1984 season, and was signed by Minnesota. He did not pitch a lot better at Toledo in 1985, but he won 14 games, so he got a September call-up. He actually pitched pretty well in 28.1 innings, going 2-2 with a 3.81 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. Burtt started 1986 with the Twins, but after three appearances was sent back to AAA. Minnesota released him after the season, and he signed on with the Dodgers, pitching for their AAA team for three years. He pitched for Detroit's AAA team in 1990, and then retired, although he pitched briefly in an independent league in 1996. As a Twin, Dennis Burtt was 2-2 with a 5.64 ERA in 30.1 innings. He was a minor league pitching coach for a while, then left baseball and went into the financial services industry.  He is currently working for WealthWave, a company whose vision is to create a world where "everyone is financially literate and has access to the tools and support they need to create a better life for themselves and their children".

Right-hander Brian Thomas Wolfe never appeared for the Twins, but was in their organization for several years. Born in Fullerton, California, he attended high school in Anaheim and was drafted by the Twins in the sixth round in 1999. Initially a starting pitcher, he was converted to relieving in 2003. He had his ups and downs in the minors, with the record revealing more downs than ups. He flopped at AA in 2003, was hurt much of 2004, and was not pitching well at AA in 2005 when the Twins released him in May. He signed with Milwaukee, and pitched well in A and AA the rest of the season. The next January, however, the Brewers traded Wolfe to Toronto for Corey Koskie. He pitched poorly in 2006, but seemed to put something together in 2007, posting an ERA of 1.04 and a WHIP of 0.92 in 26 innings for AAA Syracuse. Wolfe was brought up the big leagues at the end of May, and was with the Blue Jays for the rest of 2007 and about half of 2008. He pitched much better for them than they had any right to expect, although in limited duty. He posted an ERA under three and a WHIP of around one in 67.1 innings. In 2009, however, he lost whatever he had found; he pitched poorly in AAA and worse in a couple of months in the big leagues. He moved on to Japan in 2010, playing for the Nippon Ham Fighters, for whom he pitched well through 2013.  He was pitching well in 2014 for Softbank, but in June he underwent Tommy John surgery.  He made a couple of appearances for Softbank in 2015 and made four starts for the Seibu Lions in 2016, pitching quite well--4-0, 3.04, 1.27 WHIP.  He came back with Seibu in 2017 and 2018, but declined each season.  His playing career came to an end after the 2018 season.  No information about what Brian Wolfe has done since then was readily available.

November 28

Heinie Pietz (1870)

Frank O'Rourke (1894)

Jerry Gardner (1920)

Wes Westrum (1922)

Sixto Lezcano (1953)

Dave Righetti (1958)

Walt Weiss (1963)

John Burkett (1964)

Matt Williams (1965)

Pedro Astacio (1969)

Robb Nen (1969)

Jose Parra (1972)

Carlos Villaneuva (1983)

Miguel Diaz (1994)

Jerry Gardner spent most of his life in baseball as a minor-league player and manager and as a scout.

Right-hander Jose Miguel Parra pitched for the Twins in 1995 and 1996. He may not have spent a lot of time in the majors, but he stretched that time over several years. Born in Jacagua, Dominican Republic, Parra was signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in 1989 at age 16. He had a good year in 1990 in the Gulf Coast League, but struggled quite a bit after that. Despite posting an ERA near five in just over a season at AAA, the Dodgers gave him about a month in the big leagues in June of 1995. At the end of July, Parra was traded to the Twins along with Ron Coomer, Greg Hansell, and Chris Latham for Mark Guthrie and Kevin Tapani. Parra was in the Twins' starting rotation through the end of 1995, and was in Minnesota for the bulk of 1996, beginning the year in the rotation and going to the bullpen after five starts. His time in Minnesota did not go well: he posted a 6.77 ERA in 131.2 innings. He was no better in AAA Salt Lake in 1997, and the Twins released him after that season. Parra did not give up, however; he went to Korea for a year, and was in Japan for another year. In 2000, he found himself back in the majors with Pittsburgh. It would be wonderful to report that he went on to big league success, but in reality he pitched about the same for the Pirates as he had for Minnesota, and was back in the minors a month later. He spent 2001 in the Mexican League, but in 2002 was back in the big leagues, getting a month with Arizona. He posted a 3.21 ERA in 16 relief appearances, but had a WHIP of 1.71. Returned to the minors, he went back to Mexico for 2003, but came back again in 2004, getting another month in the majors with the Mets. Parra again had a 3.21 ERA, but again had a high WHIP, and went back to AAA. He was back in Japan for 2005, and then ended his playing career. It took a long time, but he pitched in 82 major league games, which is something a lot of people wish they could say. He also is tied for an all-time batting record: most walks in a career without an official at-bat (2, tied with Ernie Rudolph). Jose Parra was the pitching coach for the DSL Tigers from 2008-2018 and was the pitching coach for the GCL Tigers in 2019, but was let go after the season.  One would think that, with that much experience, he could get another job in baseball, but if he did we didn't find it.  So, as we say, no information about what Jose Parra is doing now was readily available.

Right-hander Miguel Angel Diaz did not play for the Twins, but was in their organization for part of December 8, 2016.  He was born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic and signed by the Milwaukee Brewers in December of 2011.  He spent two years in the Dominican Summer League and two years in the Arizona Summer League, in both cases doing substantially better in his second year.  He spent 2016 with Class A Wisconsin, going 1-8, but posting an ERA of 3.71 and a WHIP of 1.18.  He was left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft and was claimed by Minnesota, but was traded to San Diego that same day for Justin Haley.  He started the season in the majors with the Padres, presumably because of the Rule 5 rules, but apparently was injured in late June.  He came back in September when the rosters expanded.  He clearly wasn't ready to be in the majors, posting an ERA of 7.34 in 41.2 innings.  He had a strong 2018 in AA El Paso, however, and while he didn't exactly shine when brought up to the majors he was a lot better, going 1-0, 4.82 in 18.2 innings.  He was apparently injured much of 2019, as he appeared in just fifteen games, five of them with the Padres in June.  He again didn't do much in the majors.  He signed with the Padres again for 2020 but did not play for them.  He remained with them for 2021, however, and split the season between AAA and the majors, spending a little over half the season with the big club. He did well, going 3-1, 3.64, 1.19 WHIP with 46 strikeouts in 42 innings.  Despite that, he was allowed to become a free agent after the season.  He signed with Detroit and had a rather mediocre year in AAA, although he pitched quite well in three major league outings at the end of the season.  His career major league numbers don't look good, but if you start from 2021 he's 3-1, 3.55, 1.16 WHIP in 45.2 innings (28 games).  He turns twenty-eight today.  The odds are against him, but if he could catch the right person's eye and get a chance, there's still a possibility that he could be a useful major league pitcher.

November 27

Bullet Joe Bush (1892)

Johnny Schmitz (1920)

Billy Moran (1933)

Jose Tartabull (1938)

Dave Giusti (1939)

Dan Spillner (1951)

Mike Scioscia (1958)

Randy Milligan (1961)

Tim Laker (1969)

Ivan Rodriguez (1971)

Willie Bloomquist (1977)

Jimmy Rollins (1978)

No players with connections to the Minnesota Twins appear to have been born on this day. The closest we come is Billy Moran, who was part of a three-team trade involving Minnesota, Cleveland, and the Los Angeles Angels. Minnesota acquired Frank Kostro and Jerry Kindall and sent Lenny Green and Vic Power to Los Angeles. Billy Moran was sent from the Angels to Cleveland in that trade.

November 26

Hugh Duffy (1866)

Fred Tenney (1871)

Bob Johnson (1905)

Lefty Gomez (1908)

Howard Easterling (1911)

Bob Elliott (1916)

Eddie Miller (1916)

Jeff Torborg (1941)

Larry Gura (1947)

Richie Hebner (1947)

Jorge Orta (1950)

Jay Howell (1955)

Bob Walk (1956)

Mike Moore (1959)

Harold Reynolds (1960)

Chuck Finley (1962)

Brian Schneider (1976)

Matt Garza (1983)

Matt Carpenter (1985)

Infielder Howard Easterling was a star in the Negro Leagues in the 1930s and 1940s.

Right-hander Matthew Scott Garza appeared in 26 games for the Twins in 2006-2007.  He was born in Selma, California, went to high school in Washington Union, California, went to Cal State-Fresno, and was drafted by Minnesota in the first round in 2005.  He played at every level in the Twins’ minor league system, but did not stay anywhere very long, as he was promoted rapidly.  He reached the majors in mid-August of 2006 and went 3-6, 5.76, numbers which are made to look much worse by a terrible first outing (his ERA drops by a run if you throw it out).  He started 2007 back in AAA, but was in the Twins’ rotation by mid-season and did okay.  As a Twin, he was 8-13, 4.47, although with a 1.60 WHIP.  It appeared that he might be in the Twins’ rotation for some time, but instead he was traded to Tampa Bay with Eduardo Morlan and Jason Bartlett for Brendan Harris, Jason Pridie, and Delmon Young.  Garza was immediately installed into the Rays’ rotation and was a solid starter for three seasons, posting ERAs in the high threes and WHIPs around 1.25.  After the 2010 season, he was traded again, this time to the Cubs.  He again had a solid season as a member of their starting rotation in 2011, and was doing so in 2012 until he suffered an elbow injury in late July that forced him to miss the rest of the season.  He came back in 2013 and was pitching well for the Cubs when he was traded to Texas in late July, for whom he pitched not quite as well but still decently.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Milwaukee and had another good year for them in 2014.  He stumbled badly in 2015, however, having by far the worst season of his career and missing significant time due to a shoulder injury.  He came back in 2016 and did better, but nothing special.  He took a small step backward in 2017, not pitching particularly well in twenty-two starts.  For his career, Matt Garza was 93-106, 4.09, 1.32 WHIP.  He had surgery to repair a torn labrum in January of 2018, and that ended his playing career.  It appears that Matt Garza is currently living in the Fresno area and is the majority owner of Authetic 559, which offers "an incredible selection of cannabis products from top name brands".

November 25

Bert Cunningham (1865)

Jakie May (1895)

Charles Baron (1913)

Joe DiMaggio (1914)

Mike Ryan (1941)

Bucky Dent (1951)

Dave Baker (1956)

Chico Walker (1958)

Mark Whiten (1966)

Octavio Dotel (1973)

Nick Swisher (1980)

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

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

November 24

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

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

Catcher/outfielder Christopher Ryan Herrmann was with the Twins off and on from 2012-2015.  He was born and raised in Tomball, Texas and is one of two big-league players to come out of Tomball High School (Troy Patton).  He attended the University of Miami and was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in 2009.  He hit well in Elizabethton that season, struggled in Fort Myers in 2010, but did well when he started the season in Fort Myers in 2011.  He was promoted to New Britain fairly early in the 2011 campaign and was there again for all of 2012, with the exception of his September call-up.  He was okay in New Britain, but was nothing special, batting .268 with an OPS of .754.  Promoted to Rochester for 2013, he did not do particularly well there, batting .227, but was in Minnesota for about half of 2013 anyway.  He hit about like you'd expect him to, going .204/.286./.325.  He was in Minnesota for about half of 2014, too, and while he hit better in the half spent in Rochester that did not translate into better numbers at the major league level.  He was in Minnesota for nearly all of 2015 despite batting a sub-Buteran .146/.214/.272.  After the 2015, the Twins traded Herrmann to Arizona for Daniel Palka.  He was the reserve catcher for the Diamondbacks for 2016, with the exception of time on the disabled list.  His April was typical Chris Herrmann, but in May he suddenly started to hit and kept hitting the rest of the season.  It was only 148 at-bats, but he hit .284/.352/.493, numbers that were far above anything anyone had any reason to expect.  In 2017 he came back to earth, batting .181, although he did hit ten home runs in 226 at-bats.  The Diamondbacks released him in spring training of 2018, but he signed with Seattle.  He started the season in AAA but came up to the majors for about two-thirds of the season.  Despite that, he got only seventy-six at-bats, batting .237.  He was waived after the season and was claimed by Houston, but was released less than a month later.  He then signed with Oakland for 2019, was in the majors for about two months, and did about what you'd expect him to do, batting .202 in eighty-four at-bats.  He was released in mid-September.  He signed with Tampa Bay for 2020, was released shortly before the season started, and signed with San Francisco but did not play for them in 2020.  He signed with Boston for 2021 and spent the season in AAA.  A free agent again, he signed with Washington for 2022, was a reserve catcher in AAA, and was released in August.  He turns thirty-five today.  I didn't see anything that said he had retired, and teams always need lots of catchers in spring training, so who knows?  Maybe Chris Herrmann will sign with someone for 2023.

November 23

This is a great day for names:

Chief Zimmer (1860)

Hi Church (1863)

Socks Seybold (1870)

George Stovall (1877)

Jimmy Sheckard (1878)

Runt Marr (1891)

Freddy Leach (1897)

Beans Reardon (1897)

Bubber Jonnard (1897)

Prince Hal Schumacher (1910)

Bill Gates (1918)

Charles Osgood (1926)

John Anderson (1929)

Jack McKeon (1930)

Luis Tiant (1940)

Tom Hall (1947)

Ken Schrom (1954)

Brook Jacoby (1959)

Dale Sveum (1963)

David McCarty (1969)

Adam Eaton (1977)

Jonathan Papelbon (1980)

Justin Turner (1984)

Lewis Thorpe (1995)

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

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

Bubber Jonnard was a long-time coach and scout.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Left-hander Lewis James Thorpe appeared in twelve games for the Twins in 2019.  He was born in Melbourne, Australia.  He signed with the Twins as a free agent in 2012 at age sixteen.  He pitched very well in the low minors through 2014, but then had Tommy John surgery and missed the next two seasons.  He came back to have a fine season in Fort Myers in 2017 and also did well in Chattanooga in 2018.  2019 did not go as well--he was 5-4, 4.58 in Rochester, although with a WHIP of 1.20.  He had a few stints with the Twins that year, pitching mostly in long relief, and was not very good, going 3-2, 6.18, 1.74 WHIP.  2020 was pretty much a lost year for him--he made only seven appearances with the Twins and had similar numbers to those of 2019.  2021 wasn't much better, as he battled injuries and appeared in just eight minor league and five major league games.  He made one really bad start in AAA in 2022 and was released in late April.  He then pitched for the independent Kansas City Monarchs and did okay, but nothing impressive.  He turns twenty-seven today and his major league numbers are 3-5, 5.76, 1.74 WHIP in 59.1 innings (24 games, seven of them starts).  He can probably play in independent ball again if he wants to, and as a left-hander he even has a chance to go to spring training with somebody.  We wish him well, but his future as a baseball player does not look particularly promising.

November 22

Harry Rice (1901)

Dick Bartell (1907)

Lew Burdette (1926)

Wade Blasingame (1943)

Rich Chiles (1946)

Greg Luzinski (1950)

Lyman Bostock (1950)

Wayne Tolleson (1955)

Lee Guetterman (1958)

Mike Benjamin (1965)

Jay Payton (1972)

Ricky Ledee (1973)

Joe Nathan (1974)

Jonny Gomes (1980)

Yusmeiro Petit (1984)

Adam Ottovino (1985)

Drew Pomeranz (1988)

Griffin Jax (1994)

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

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

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

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

Right-hander James Griffin Jax appeared in eighteen games for the Twins in 2021.  He was born in Phoenix, attended high school in Greenwood Village, Colorado, attended the Air Force Academy, and was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 2016.  He missed most of 2017 due to injury, was in Class A in 2018, and had a strong season in AA in 2019, also making three starts in AAA that season.  He did not pitch in 2020, but did well in eight AAA starts in 2021 and was promoted to the Twins in June and joined the rotation in late July.  He did well at times--he had five starts with a game score over fifty, and two with a game score over sixty--but at the end of the season he was 4-5, 6.37, although with a 1.35 WHIP.  Moved to the bullpen for 2022, he responded with an excellent season, going 7-4, 3.36, 1 save, 1.05 WHIP.  He turns twenty-eight today, so while he hasn't been around long he is not a young player.  He will, however, be an important part of the Twins' bullpen in 2023.

November 21

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

Bobby Mathews (1851)

Charlie Bennett (1854)

Billy Clingman (1869)

Andy High (1897)

Freddie Lindstrom (1905)

Paul Richards (1908)

Stan Musial (1920)

Warren Hacker (1924)

Tom McCraw (1940)

Bill Almon (1952)

Rick Peters (1955)

Mike Mason (1958)

Mark Eichhorn (1960)

Dick Schofield (1962)

Ken Griffey (1969)

Todd Erdos (1973)

Brian Meadows (1975)

Hank Blalock (1980)

Ryan LeMarre (1988)

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

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

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

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

Outfielder Ryan M. LeMarre appeared in fifty-seven games for the Twins from 2018-2019.  He was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, went to high school in Jackson, Michigan, attended the University of Michigan, and was drafted by Cincinnati in the second round in 2010.  He really didn't do anything in the minors to distinguish himself--he was never terrible, but he was never particularly good, either.  He'd usually have a batting average around .270 with an OPS around .700 to .750.  He did show some speed, stealing fifty-five bases in 2011 and thirty in 2012.  He made his major league debut with Cincinnati in late August of 2015.  He's never gotten a full season in the majors, but has managed to get there for at least a few games in every season since except the shortened 2020 season.  He was a free agent after the 2015 season and signed with Boston for 2016  He got about a week with the Red Sox that year.  He signed with the Angels for 2017 but was traded to Oakland in late April.  He was with the Athletics for three games, went to the minors, and was released in late June.  He signed with Minnesota for 2018, had a tremendous spring training, and made the club, staying in the majors as a reserve outfielder for most of the first half of the season.  The Twins waived him in early July and he was claimed by the White Sox.  After the season he signed with Atlanta.  He had spent all of 2019 in the minors, but in early September the Twins found themselves short of outfielders and purchased him on September 8.  As a Twin, he has batted .254/.319/.344 in 135 plate appearances, numbers which are slightly better than his career numbers.  He signed with Tampa Bay for 2020, was released shortly before the season started, and signed with the Cubs a few days later.  He did not play for them, however, and was released in September.  A year ago, we said, "He's perfectly acceptable AAA roster filler, and if you have injuries he's someone you can bring up who'll not look totally out of place in a big league outfield."  And that's pretty much what he was, signing with the Yankees and having a solid year in AAA while batting .190 in 21 at-bats in the majors.  He turns thirty-three today, and what we wrote a year ago still applies.

November 20

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

Joe Sommer (1958)

Kenesaw Landis (1866)

Clark Griffith (1869)

George McBride (1880)

Leon Cadore (1890)

Larry Benton (1897)

Jay Ritchie (1936)

Herm Starrette (1938)

Jay Johnstone (1945)

Rick Monday (1945)

Ron Cash (1949)

Alex Arias (1967)

Gabe White (1971)

J. D. Drew (1975)

Sam Fuld (1981)

Brock Peterson (1983)

Greg Holland (1985)

Cody Allen (1988)

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

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

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

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

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

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