December 31

King Kelly (1857)

Tom Connolly (1870)

Bobby Byrne (1884)

Syl Johnson (1900)

Tommy Byrne (1919)

Guy LaValliere (1931)

Alfredo Meli (1944)

Joe Simpson (1951)

Jim Tracy (1955)

Rick Aguilera (1961)

Esteban Loaiza (1971)

Brian Moehler (1971)

Julio De Paula (1982)

Alex Colome (1988)

Kelvin Herrera (1989)

Adam McCreery (1992)

Tom Connolly was a major league umpire for many years.  He umpired the first World Series game in 1903.  He once went ten years without ejecting a player.

It does not appear that Bobby Byrne and Tommy Byrne are related.

Minor league catcher Guy LaValliere is the father of major league catcher Mike LaValliere.

Alfredo Meli is a member of the Italian Baseball Hall of Fame.  He was the first man to win Italian championships as a player, a manager, and a general manager.  He also founded the Italian Baseball Federation for the Blind.

Adam McCreery was drafted by the Twins in the fourteenth round in 2011 but did not sign.

Nobody ever makes a fuss about the last baby of the old year.

Right-hander Richard Warren Aguilera was with the Twins for at least part of 11 seasons. He was born in San Gabriel, California and went to high school in West Covina, California. He then attended Brigham Young University and was drafted by the Mets in the third round in 1983. A starter in the minors, he pitched quite well for a little over two seasons, getting called up to the Mets in June of 1985. Placed in the starting rotation, he again did quite well, and did well again in 1986, his first full season in the majors. The Mets had a pretty strong rotation then; even though Aguilera was doing fine, he was always considered the fifth starter, and when he stumbled a little at the start of 1987 he was sent back to the minors for a couple of months. Aguilera was injured much of 1988. In 1989, he was shifted to the bullpen, where he was having a very good year when he was traded to Minnesota at the end of July along with Tim Drummond, Kevin Tapani, David West, and a player to be named later (Jack Savage) for Frank Viola. Aguilera was placed in the rotation for the rest of 1989 and, once again, pitched very well. In 1990, however, he became the Twins' closer, a job he held (with an interruption) through May of 1999. He took to the job immediately, making the all-star team three consecutive years (1991-1993) and receiving MVP consideration in 1991. In July of 1995, with the Twins out of playoff contention, Aguilera was traded to Boston for Frankie Rodriguez and a player to be named later (J. J. Johnson). He was a free agent after the season, and came back to Minnesota for 1996 with the promise that he would be allowed to start, something Aguilera had wanted to do again for some time. It did not go well--Aguilera was injured part of the season, did not pitch well when healthy, and his replacement as closer, Dave Stevens, was not up to the job. Aguilera went back to closing in 1997, and remained the Twins closer until May of 1999, when he was traded to the Cubs with Scott Downs for Kyle Lohse and Jason Ryan. He remained with the Cubs through 2000, then retired. As a Twin, Rick Aguilera was 40-47 with a 3.50 ERA and 254 saves.  He was the head baseball coach at Santa Fe Christian School in Solana Beach, California through 2008, when it appears he retired from that position.  He continued to live in Rancho Santa Fe, California at last report and is available for personal appearances and/or endorsements. Rick Aguilera was inducted into the Twins' Hall of Fame in 2008.

Right-hander Julio Cesar De Paula pitched in 16 games for Minnesota in 2007. Born in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, DePaula signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1999. He remained in the Dominican for a few years, not making his debut in the Gulf Coast League until 2002. He was converted to relief in 2003 and had a tremendous year for Elizabethton, when despite his experience he was still only twenty years old. He continued pitching well through the minors but was brought along slowly, not reaching AA until 2006 and not reaching AAA until 2007. He had a very good year for Rochester in 2007 and was with the Twins for about six weeks that season. In twenty innings, he was 0-1, 8.55. Those numbers look worse than they really were--they are skewed by three really bad outings in which he gave up 15 of his 19 earned runs. Back in Rochester in 2008, DePaula did not pitch well and was let go after the season. He signed with Tampa Bay for 2009 and spent the entire season at AAA Durham. He was a minor-league free agent at the end of the season and went to Korea for 2010, where he did not pitch all that well.  He played briefly for independent St. Paul in 2011.  In 2012 he pitched for independent Bridgeport and for two teams in the Mexican League.  He had a fine year pitching for York of the Atlantic League in 2013 and was doing well for them in 2014 when he was signed by Baltimore in late June.  Sent to AA, he did not pitch well there and became a free agent after the season.  He signed with Arizona for 2015 but pitched poorly in three AAA appearances and was released.  He finished the season pitching in Mexico, where he did fairly well.  He pitched in the Atlantic League and in Mexico in 2016 and did not do well.  He pitched in the Atlantic League again in 2017 and did okay, but nothing special.  He had a poor year in the Atlantic League in 2018, bringing his playing career to an end.  Instagram says he's running the De Paula Pitching Academy, but it could not quickly be discovered where it is.

Right-handed reliever Alexander Manuel Colome played for the Twins in 2021.  He was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and signed with Tampa Bay in 2007.  He was a starter throughout his minor league career, and while he was not awesome he did reasonably well.  He reached the majors for three starts in 2013, made five major league appearances in 2014, and got to the majors to stay in May of 2015.  He made a handful of starts that season, but was mostly used in relief, and after that season he left starting behind him for good.  He was a fine reliever for the Rays for three seasons.  He became the closer in 2016 and made the all-star team that year.  He led the league in saves in 2017, but struggled at the start of 2018 and was traded to Seattle in late May in a trade that involved ex-Twin Denard Span.  The Mariners traded him to the White Sox before the 2019 season and he had two excellent seasons for them.  A free agent, he signed with the Twins for 2021.  The Twins installed him as their closer and it did not go well, as he pitched to an ERA of over eight in April.  He lost the closer job at that point but was back as closer in August when Taylor Rogers went down.  He pitched significantly better after April, but still went 4-4, 4.15, 1.40 WHIP.  He had seventeen saves, but also had seven blown saves.  He was again a free agent after the season and signed with Colorado.  As Twins fans could have predicted, he went 2-7, 5.74, 1.68 WHIP.  In fairness, he pitched very well in May and June, but struggled in July and completely imploded in the last two months of the season.  A free agent again, he signed with Washington for 2023, was released during spring training, and signed with the White Sox.  He spent most of the year in AAA, making four major league appearances, and was released in early August.  He turns thirty-five today and is playing winter ball.  We wish him well, but he hasn't had a good season since the COVID year of 2020.  Teams are always looking for pitching, so he might get another chance, but it also may be time for Alex Colome to move on to the next phase of his life.

December 30

Connie Day (1897)

Frank Torre (1931)

Sandy Koufax (1935)

Jose Morales (1944)

Tom Murphy (1945)

Travis Baptist (1971)

A. J. Pierzynski (1976)

Brad Voyles (1976)

Grant Balfour (1977)

Jim Hoey (1982)

The original Jose Morales, Jose Manuel Morales Hernandez was a designated hitter for the Twins from 1978-1980. He was born in Frederiksted in the Virgin Islands, one of eighteen players from the Virgin Islands to make the major leagues. He signed with San Francisco as a free agent in 1963. It took Morales a long time to get a shot at the majors. First, he was in the Giants' system for five years, two in Class A and three in AA. There was a reason for that--he really didn't have a good year in AA until his last one, in 1968. That off-season, Oakland chose Morales in the minor-league draft. The Athletics moved him up to AAA, where he would stay for most of the next five years. He had a fine year in 1970 at AAA Iowa, hitting .306 with a .524 slugging percentage, but not only did he not get a September call-up, he was returned to AAA the next year. He had a down year in 1971, moved to the Mets' organization in 1972, and was back in AAA with Oakland in 1973. He hit .293 in 1972 and .355 in 1973, which finally got him a brief trial in the majors. Part of the problem was that he was without a defensive position--nominally a catcher, he was not considered good enough to play that position in the majors, and while he was a good batter, he lacked power, so teams were reluctant to make him a DH. He was sold to Montreal in in mid-September of 1973, and he was finally brought up to the big leagues to stay in mid-1974. Morales played for the Expos from 1975-1977 and was used primarily as a pinch-hitter, seeing only occasional duty in the field. He hit very well in that role his first two years, batting .308 in 321 at-bats. In 1977, however, he slumped to .203 in 74 at-bats, and was sold to Minnesota just before the 1978 season. Morales had three solid years for the Twins, hitting .297 with 12 homers and 101 RBIs in 674 at-bats. Morales became a free agent after the 1980 campaign and signed with Baltimore. He stayed with the Orioles for a little over a year, but was seldom used. In late April, 1982, he was traded to the Dodgers. He had two good years as a pinch-hitter, but then was released in June of 1984. Montreal signed him and sent him to AAA, but Morales was never brought back to the majors and retired after the season. After his playing career ended, Morales worked as a hitting coach for several years and was highly respected; however, he grew tired of the sometimes political nature of the job and retired, although he still occasionally works on hitting with professional ball players.  At last report, Jose Morales was living in the Orlando area.

Left-hander Travis Steven Baptist made 13 relief appearances for the Twins in 1998. He was born in Forest Grove, Oregon, attended high school in Hillsboro, Oregon, and was drafted by Toronto in the 45th round in 1990. A starter for most of his minor league career, he went through the Blue Jays' system at a rate of one level a year, reaching AAA in 1994. Then, however, he stalled, staying at AAA Syracuse for three mediocre seasons. He was chosen by Minnesota in the 1996 Rule 5 draft. Apparently, something was worked out with Toronto, because Baptist was in the minors in 1997. He had a very good year there, the first good year he'd had since 1992. He had another strong year at AAA Salt Lake in 1998, and made the majors for the last two months of the season. He pitched 27 innings for the Twins, going 0-1, 5.67 with a 1.67 WHIP. That was to be the high point of his career. Baptist got off to a poor start in 1999, went to the Boston organization, continued to pitch poorly, and was with the Pirates chain in 2000. In 2001 he went to the White Sox' system, and then pitched in independent leagues for two years before his career came to an end after the 2003 season. At last report, Travis Baptist was living in Jacksonville, Florida and doing color commentary on Jacksonville University baseball games.  He was also the president of Christ the King Athletic Association Baseball, a youth baseball program in Jacksonville sponsored by Christ the King Catholic Church.

Right-hander Bradley Roy Voyles did not play for the Twins, but he went to spring training with them in 2007. He was born in Green Bay, went to high school in Casco, Wisconsin, and attended Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, one of four major league players to attend that school. He was drafted by Atlanta in the 45th round in 1998. A reliever from the beginning, he pitched very well in the minors. In late July of 2001 he was traded to Kansas City, and after 11 scoreless appearances in AA he got a September call-up. He pitched well in 9.1 innings, started 2002 in AAA, but was called back to the majors in late April. He spent about half the season there, but did not do well in 22 appearances. He also split 2003 between AAA and the majors, pitching pretty well in AAA but not so well in the big leagues. He made some starts that season and was a starter in 2004. He was not pitching fairly well, but was released in mid-June anyway. Voyles pitched in AAA for the Yankees in 2005. He made three solid starts in AAA for St. Louis in 2006, but was released again in late May. Out of baseball the rest of the season, Voyles signed with Minnesota in early January of 2007 but did not make the Twins and pitched for the New Jersey Jackals. He pitched in the Northern League and in the Mexican League in 2008, then his playing career was over. His major league number are 0-4, 6.45, 1.86 WHIP in 40 appearances (68.1 innings), which may not sound like much but is better than most 45th round draft choices do. A few years ago, Brad Voyles was an instructor at the Dave Griffin Baseball School of Griffith, Indiana, coaching youth  baseball.  He does not, however, currently appear on that school's website, so information on what he is doing now was not readily available.

Catcher Anthony John “A. J.” Pierzynski played for the Twins from 1998-2003 and was the Twins' regular catcher for the last three of those years. Born in Bridgehampton, New York, he attended high school in Orlando, Florida. Pierzynski was drafted in the third round in 1994 by Minnesota. He hit for a good average throughout the low minors, although with little power and few walks. He struggled somewhat in his first couple of tries at AAA, hitting in the .250s, but took a big step forward in 2000, hitting .335 in 155 at-bats at Salt Lake. Pierzynski received brief call-ups in 1998-2000, getting a total of 120 at-bats, but became the regular catcher for the Twins from 2001-2003. He did in the majors pretty much what he had done in the minors, although he did also hit a good number of doubles. As a Twin, Pierzynski hit .301/.341/.447 for an OPS+ of 105 and made the all-star team once, in 2002. After the 2003 season, he was traded to San Francisco for Boof Bonser, Francisco Liriano, and Joe Nathan. He played one lackluster season for the Giants and then was released, signing with the White Sox. He has been the starting catcher for Chicago from 2005-2012, making another all-star team in 2006, the same year he received a tenth-place vote for MVP. He also hit double-digit home runs for seven consecutive seasons from 2003-2009. In 2012, at age 35, he had what may have been the best offensive season of his career, setting career highs in home runs (27), slugging percentage (.501) and OPS (.827) while winning a Silver Slugger award.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Texas.  He did not repeat his 2012 season, but was still a valuable player.  A free agent again, he signed with Boston for 2014 but was released in mid-July, signing with St. Louis for the rest of the season.  Once again a free agent, he signed with Atlanta for 2015, was their mostly-regular catcher, and had his best season since 2012, batting .300.  He could not repeat that in 2016, however, as he had the worst season of his career.  That brought his playing career to an end.  It was a good career, though.  His similarity scores at b-r.com show two Hall of Famers, Ernie Lombardi and Gabby Hartnett, plus guys like Benito Santiago, Yadier Molina, and Bill Freehan, which is pretty good company.  A. J. Pierzynski has been an analyst for Fox Sports since 2017.

Right-hander Grant Robert Balfour began his career with the Twins. Born in Sydney, Australia, he attended high school in Glenwood, Australia, and then signed with Minnesota as a free agent. A starter early in his minor league career, he was shifted to the bullpen in 2000. It took him a bit to make the transition, but he had a fine year in 2001 with AA New Britain, making two appearances with Minnesota that season. He struggled initially on his promotion to AAA, but had a good year there in 2003 as a sometime starter, sometime reliever, and spent about two months in the majors. He was with the Twins all of 2004, but battled injuries and pitched only 39.1 innings. He would miss most of the next two years with various injuries. The Twins gave up on him after the 2005 season, and Balfour became a free agent. He signed with Cincinnati, but appeared in only nine minor league games. Milwaukee selected him off waivers after the season, but while he pitched very well in the Brewers' minor league system, he made only three relief appearances for Milwaukee before being traded to Tampa Bay in late July of 2007. Balfour had a tremendous season in relief for the Devil Rays in 2008; he did not repeat that in 2009 (although he was still decent), but had another strong campaign in 2010. A free agent after the season, he signed with Oakland and turned in three more very good seasons from 2011-2013, becoming the Athletics' closer in 2011.  A free agent in 2014, he signed with Tampa Bay but had a poor year.  He started 2015 with the Rays, was released in late April, re-signed about a week later, and released again in late May, bringing his playing career to an end.  It was a pretty good career, though.  He appears to be something of a hero in his native Australia, having been inducted into the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame in February of 2015.  It appears that he currently divides his time between Tampa, Florida, and New South Wales, Australia.

Right-hander James Urban Hoey appeared in twenty-six games for the Twins in 2011. He was born in Trenton, New Jersey, attended Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and was drafted by Baltimore in the 13th round in 2003. He pitched well in rookie ball but then started to have injury problems, making only two appearances in 2004 and nine in 2005. He was a starter through 2004, then switched to relieving. He pitched very well in Class A in 2006, not as well in AA, but was promoted to Baltimore in late August, where he did not do well in twelve appearances. He made forty excellent minor league appearances in 2007, twenty in AA and twenty in AAA, and came up to the majors for about two months, where he again did not do well. He missed all of 2008 with injury and struggled in AA in 2009, but pitched quite well in a 2010 split between AA and AAA. After the season, he was traded to Minnesota along with Brett Jacobson for J. J. Hardy, Brendan Harris, and cash.  Hoey started 2011 with Minnesota but pitched poorly and was sent back to AAA in late June.  He had a couple of decent months in Rochester and got a September call-up, pitching somewhat better but not all that impressively.  The Twins placed him on waivers after the season and he was claimed by Toronto.  He had a poor year at AAA Las Vegas, became a free agent, and signed with Milwaukee for 2013.  He pitched poorly in three AAA outings, was released, and spent the rest of the summer pitching for Somerset in the Atlantic League.  Control had not been a particular problem for Hoey prior to his 2008 injury, but it was after he came back.  He announced his retirement in February of 2014.  At last report, Jim Hoey was living in the San Francisco area and was a vice president and head of marketing for Logitech G, "the global leader in PC and console gaming gear".  He also hosts an annual golf tournament to benefit the Wounded Warriors Project.

December 29

Hank DeBerry (1894)

Bill Knickerbocker (1911)

Ted Del Guercio (1927)

Ken Rudolph (1946)

Jim Wilson (1960)

Devon White (1962)

Craig Grebeck (1964)

James Mouton (1968)

Tomas Perez (1973)

Emil Brown (1974)

Richie Sexson (1974)

Jaret Wright (1975)

Jack Wilson (1977)

Chase De Jong (1993)

Brian Navaretto (1994)

Ted Del Guercio was part of the largest trade in baseball history. He was traded by the New York Yankees along with Don Larsen, Billy Hunter, Bob Turley, Kal Segrist, Bill Miller and Don Leppert to the Baltimore Orioles for Gene Woodling, Harry Byrd, Jim McDonald, Hal Smith, Gus Triandos, Willy Miranda, Mike Blyzka, Darrell Johnson, Jim Fridley and Dick Kryhoski in the off-season following the 1953 campaign. Del Guercio was the only person involved in the trade not to play in the majors.

James Mouton was drafted by Minnesota in the eighth round in 1990, but did not sign.

First baseman James George Wilson did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for much of 1987. He was born in Corvallis, Oregon, went to Oregon State (where he lettered in baseball and football), and was drafted by Cleveland in the second round in 1982. He showed power throughout his minor league career, hitting 14 homers in Class A in 1982, 26 in AA in 1983, 15 in AAA in 1984, and 26 in AAA in 1985. He had good batting averages to go with those power numbers. He was a September call-up in 1985, going 5-for-14, and doubtless big things were expected. They didn’t happen. In 1986 Wilson slumped to only 9 homers and a .232 average in AAA Maine, and was released by the Indians after the season. Minnesota signed him in mid-May and sent him to Portland, where he hit .268 with 3 homers in just 157 at-bats. He signed with Seattle for 1988 and spent the year in AA. In 1989, however, he had a big year in AAA Calgary, hitting .314 with 26 homers and getting another September call-up. He went 0-for-8, however, and would never get another shot at the majors. He was in AAA with Montreal in 1990 and with San Francisco in 1991, hitting .300 with 21 homers in Phoenix. It did him no good; he was out of baseball in 1992, played briefly with Calgary in 1993, was with independent Winnipeg in 1994, and then his playing career was over. While his minor league records are incomplete, it appears that he struck out a lot, which may be why teams were reluctant to give him a shot. Still, he hit over 20 homers in four minor league seasons and over .300 in three minor league seasons; it seems like he deserved a chance to see what he could do at the major league level. After his playing days were over, Jim Wilson coached high school and American Legion baseball in Vancouver, Washington.  He now lives in Corvallis, Oregon, and at last report was a broadcaster for Oregon State football.  He is a member of the Oregon State Sports Hall of Fame.

Right-hander Chase Louis De Jong appeared in five games for the Twins from 2018-2019.  Born and raised in Long Beach, California, he was drafted by Toronto in the second round in 2012.  He did well in the low minors but progressed quite slowly, not reaching AA until 2016.  He was then jumped from AA to the majors at the start of the 2017 season.  He was no longer with the Blue Jays by then--they traded him to the Dodgers in July of 2015, and they traded him to Seattle in March of 2017, so it was as a Mariner that he made his major league debut.  He couldn't handle it, going 0-3, 6.35 in 28.1 innings (7 games, 4 starts).  He didn't do very well in the minors that year, either.  He was doing well in AA in 2018 when the Twins acquired him at the July trade deadline along with Ryan Costello in exchange for Zach Duke and cash.  They sent him to AAA and then gave him four starts in a September call-up.  He did okay, going 1-1, 3.57, 1.36 WHIP.  He made on appearance for the Twins in early April of 2019, pitching one inning, then went to AAA, where he pitched very poorly and was released in mid-July.  He finished out the season pitching for SugarLand in the Atlantic League.  He didn't do very well there, either, but did much better in 2020 and signed with Houston in August.  He appeared in three games for them and was hit hard each time.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Pittsburgh and made ten starts for the Pirates from late May through mid-July, pitching exactly five innings in eight of them.  He was not particularly good, however, posting an ERA well over five. The Pirates retained him for 2022, though, and he responded with an outstanding season out of the bullpen, going 6-3, 2.64, 1.14 WHIP in 42 games (71.2 innings).  He could not repeat that in 2023, however, as he appeared in just six major league games and had an ERA of 13.50 in 11.1 innings.  He was better than that at AAA, but still was not all that good.  He turns thirty today and is a free agent.  One would think he'll sign with someone based on his 2022 season, but he's going to have to do considerably better than last year if he's going to continue his playing career much longer.

Catcher Brian Eduardo Navaretto did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system from 2013-2019.  He was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, went to high school in Jacksonville, Florida, and was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in 2013.  He established very quickly that he was not going to hit:  he batted .226 in the Gulf Coast League and followed that with a .194 average in the Appalachian League.  He did not get better as he went along:  his .683 OPS in the Gulf Coast League is the best he's done so far.  We assume he's considered an excellent defender, simply because if he wasn't he wouldn't still be around.  He reached AA in 2017 and was still there in 2019 when he was sold to the Yankees in late July.  He remained at AA the rest of the season, became a free agent, and signed with Miami for 2020.  There was no minor league season in 2020, of course, but he made his major league debut on August 23 and, amazingly, went 2-for-3.  He appeared in one more game, going 0-for-2, and then went back to the practice squad.  So, his career batting average is .400, and there aren't too many people who can say that.  He was still in the Marlins' system in 2021 and again did not hit.  He signed with Milwaukee for 2022, spent the summer in AAA.  He did hit a little better, but still had an OPS below .700.  His was again in AAA with Milwaukee in 2023 and had a similar OPS, with a lower batting average and a little more power.  He's twenty-nine today and apparently remains in the Brewers' system at this writing.  He'll never hit, but there are guys who've had long careers as AAA catchers/major league backups.  Maybe he can be one of them.

December 28

Count Sensenderfer (1847)

Ted Lyons (1900)

Tommy Bridges (1906)

Bill Lee (1946)

Aurelio Rodriguez (1947)

John Milner (1949)

Ray Knight (1952)

Zane Smith (1960)

Carl Willis (1960)

Benny Agbayani (1971)

Melvin Nieves (1971)

Einar Diaz (1972)

B. J. Ryan (1975)

Bill Hall (1979)

Count Sensenderfer (given name John Phillips Jenkins Sensenderfer) played for the Philadelphia Athletics in the National Association from 1871-1874.  He holds the record for most at-bats without drawing a walk, 234.

Right-hander Carl Blake Willis was a reliever for the Twins from 1991-1995. Born in Danville, Virginia, he attended Piedmont Academy in Providence, Virginia, and then went to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He was drafted by Detroit in the 23rd round in 1983. A reliever from the start, he was in the Tigers' organization for almost two years, spending about a month with the big club in 1984 before being traded to Cincinnati on the first of September. He ended his 1984 season with the Reds and spent the next two years going back and forth between Cincinnati and AAA (he had been chosen by California in the 1985 Rule 5 draft, but was returned to the Reds before the season started). Stuck in AAA all of 1987, he had a decent year there, but was traded to the White Sox after the season. He had a mediocre season in AAA for Chicago in 1988 (getting about two weeks in the majors), and was unprotected again after the season. Willis was again selected by California, this time in the minor league draft. He again spent the whole year in AAA, making ten starts along with 26 relief appearances. A free agent after the season, Willis signed with Cleveland for 1990 and had a bad year in AAA. A free agent again after the season, it appeared his career might be over, but the Twins signed him and, after three good appearances in AAA Portland, brought him to the majors. Surprisingly, given his track record, Willis gave the Twins three solid seasons out of the bullpen and was instrumental in the 1991 World Championship. From 1991-1993, he was 18-6, 2.79 with a WHIP of 1.11. He had a poor year in 1994, and when he got off to a bad start in 1995, Willis was released. He was again signed by California a couple of months later, but he once again did not get out of AAA with the Angels, and his career ended after the season. As a Twin, Carl Willis was 20-10, 3.65 in 204 relief appearances, totaling 286.1 innings. After his playing days ended, Willis got into coaching, and was the pitching coach for the Cleveland Indians. Let go after the 2009 season, Carl Willis was named minor league pitching coordinator for the Seattle Mariners and became the major league team’s pitching coach in August, a position he held through the 2013 season.  He was let go after the season.  He was a special adviser for the Cleveland Indians in 2014, but in 2015 was back as a pitching coach, this time with Boston.  He stayed there through 2017, then has been back as the pitching coach for the Cleveland Indians/Guardians since 2018.  It seems like he's been around forever, but he's only sixty-three, so there's no apparent reason he couldn't be a pitching coach for several more years yet.

Outfielder Melvin (Ramos) Nieves did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 1999. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, went to high school in Santa Rosa, Puerto Rico, and signed with Atlanta as a free agent in 1988. He did all right in the low minors, but really came on in 1992, hitting .287 with 26 homers in a year spent mostly in AA. He made his big league debut that year, reaching Atlanta as a September call-up. He was playing well in AAA in 1993 when he was traded to San Diego in a trade that sent Fred McGriff to the Braves. He got a September call-up again that year and was in San Diego for about three weeks in 1994, hitting .308 with 25 homers in AAA that year. His first full year in the majors was 1995, when he was a reserve outfielder. He hit 14 homers in 262 at-bats, but he batted only .205. In March of 1996 he was traded to Detroit, where he stayed for two seasons. He was a semi-regular right fielder there and showed some power, hitting 44 homers over two seasons, but batted just .238. He was traded to Cincinnati for 1998 and was there most of the season, but was used primarily as a pinch-hitter. He hit .252 with 2 homers in 119 at-bats, and that turned out to be his major league swan song. He did not know it at the time, of course, and kept playing for quite a while after that. The Twins signed him as a free agent, but sold him to the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks on March 20, 1999. He was in Japan through 2000, played briefly in AAA for the Rockies in 2001, went to Mexico for 2002, was in the Atlantic League in 2003, was out of baseball in 2004, came back in the Washington organization in 2005, went back to Mexico later in 2005 and in 2006, and played briefly in Mexico again in 2008. His brother, Wil Nieves, was a major league player, as was his uncle, ex-Twin Jose Morales. At last report, Melvin Nieves was living in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

December 27

Marlin Carter (1912)

Bob Evans (1912)

Jim Tobin (1912)

Connie Johnson (1922)

Phil Gagliano (1941)

Roy White (1943)

Craig Reynolds (1952)

Jim Leyritz (1963)

Dean Palmer (1968)

Jeff D’Amico (1975)

Jason Repko (1980)

David Aardsma (1981)

Michael Bourn (1982)

Chris Gimenez (1982)

Cole Hamels (1983)

Rick Porcello (1988)

Addison Reed (1988)

Tyler Duffey (1990)

Stuart Turner (1991)

Outfielder Jason Edward Repko was a reserve for the Twins in 2010. He was born in East Chicago, Indiana, went to high school in Richland, Washington, and was drafted in the first round by the Dodgers in 1999. He was up and down in the minors, but got it going in 2004 when he hit .303 with 13 homers in a year split between AA and AAA, actually hitting a little better in AAA that year. As a result, he spent almost all of 2005 and most of 2006 in the majors with the Dodgers. The latter was his best year in the majors so far, as he hit .254 with an OPS of .722 in 130 at-bats. He missed all of 2007 with an ankle injury and was back in the minors for most of 2008 and 2009. He hit well there, combining for an average of .281 and an OPS of .812, but got only cups of coffee in the majors, getting a total of 23 big league at bats. The Dodgers released him at the end of March of 2010, and he signed with the Twins a week later. He did fairly well in Rochester and came up to the Twins in late June. He got off to a hot start but then struggled, hitting just .171 after August 8. He was with Minnesota almost all of 2011 as a reserve outfielder but did nothing offensively.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Boston for 2012, but spent almost the entire season in AAA, getting only five games in the majors.  A free agent again, he played with York in the Atlantic League in 2013 and didn't do a whole lot.  He retired in 2013, but came back to play for York again in 2014  He was batting .196 when he was hurt in July.  He came back in 2015 with Sioux Falls in the American Assocation and had a fine season, batting .291 with an OPS of .858.  He was with York in the Atlantic League in 2016 and had another solid season, but did not play after that.  As a Twin, Jason Repko hit .227/.297/.315 in 260 at-bats.  Those numbers are pretty much in line with his career major league numbers.  At last report, he had returned to the West Richland, Washington area.

Catcher/first baseman/outfielder/pitcher Christopher Paul Gimenez played for the Twins from 2017-2018.  Born and raised in Gilroy, California, he attended the University of Nevada-Reno and was drafted by Cleveland in the nineteenth round in 2004.  He batted .300 for short-season Mahoning Valley that year, but his batting statistics are then unimpressive until 2008, when he batted .304 with an OPS of .873 in a season split between AA and AAA.  It should be noted that his AA numbers that year were substantially better than his AAA numbers.  He reached the majors in June of 2009, and became pretty much the definition of a replacement level backup catcher.  He spent time in both the majors and the minors in every season from 2009-2016, never getting as many as 200 at-bats in the majors and only coming close to that once, in 2010.  With those small sample sizes, he had the occasional season in which he looked like a competent batter,  most notably 2015 when he batted .255 with an OPS of .820.  He was with the Indians through 2010, with Seattle in 2011, Tampa Bay in 2012-2013, Texas and Cleveland again in 2014, Texas again in 2015, and Cleveland again in 2016.  In addition to catching, he made occasional appearances at first or the outfield in those years, and was used as a mop-up pitcher three times.  The Twins signed him as a free agent and he got his first full season in the majors in 2017 at age thirty-four.  In 186 at-bats, he batted .220/.350/.382, numbers that are actually a little better than his career numbers.  A free agent after the season, he spent most of the 2018 season in the minors, getting twenty-eight at-bats with the Cubs.  At the end of August he was traded back to Minnesota for Bobby Wilson in an exchange of replacement-level backup catchers.  He went 8-for-29 the rest of the season, making his numbers as a Twin .228/.350/.400.  He also pitched in seven games as a Twin, with a record of 0-0, 13.50, 2.17 WHIP in six innings.  He called it quits after the season and was hired by the Dodgers as a "game planning coach" in 2019, a position he held through 2021.  Chris Gimenez lives in Reno and is currently is a commentator for MLB network radio.

Right-hander Addison Devon Reed pitched for the Twins in 2018.  He was born in Montclair, California, went to high school in Rancho Cucamonga, California, attended San Diego State, and was drafted in the third round by the White Sox in 2010.  A reliever throughout his professional career, he shot through the White Sox system, got a September call-up in 2011, and was in the majors to stay.  He had a fine season in 2013 and then was traded to Arizona.  He did not do as well for the Diamondbacks, went to the minors for a few weeks, and then was traded to the Mets at the August deadline.  Something clicked for him with the Mets--through 2017 he had an ERA of 2.09 and a WHIP of 1.01.  He was traded to Boston at the July deadline in 2017 and continued to pitch well.  The Twins signed him for 2018 and some thought that he might end up being their closer.  He started the season well, but then ran into injury problems and was largely ineffective after the first two months of the season.  He tried to come back in 2019 but continued to have injuries and was ineffective in five games in Rochester.  The Twins released him in May and his playing career came to an end.  No information about what Addison Reed has done since then was readily available.

Right-hander Tyler Blinn Duffey has pitched for the Twins off and on since 2015.  Born and raised in Houston, he attended Rice University (also in Houston) and was drafted by the Twins in the fifth round in 2012.  He was used in relief in Elizabethton that year and was dominant in twelve appearances, but became a starter in 2013.  He pitched very well in Cedar Rapids that year, but not as well when moved up to Fort Myers.  He began 2014 in Fort Myers but was quickly moved up to AA and also made three starts in Rochester.  He started 2015 back in AA but was promoted to Rochester after eight starts.  He pitched very well in both places and made it to the Twins in early August.  In ten starts he went 5-1, 3.10, 1.31 WHIP with 53 strikeouts in 58 innings.  If you throw out a really bad first start his numbers were even better:  5-0, 2.25, 1.23 WHIP.  He obviously wasn't going to do that long-term, but it gave Twins fans reason to hope he'd be a reliable starter.  It didn't happen:  in 2016, he was 9-12, 6.43, 1.59 WHIP.  He moved to the bullpen in 2017 and was better, but still not really good--2-3, 4.94, 1.37 WHIP.  He split 2018 between AAA and the majors, pitching very well in Rochester but not well at all in Minnesota.  At that time, we said, "We wish him well, but if he doesn't get going pretty soon he's going to run out of chances."  Well, he got going.  He had an excellent year in 2019 and did even better in 2020.  Then, however, he started going the other way.  He was fairly good in 2021, but not as good as he had been, and he had a poor 2022.  The Twins released him in early August, he signed with Texas but was released again twelve days later, he signed with the Yankees but never got past AAA with them, and became a free agent after the season.  He signed with the Cubs for 2023 and had a good year in AAA, but made only one appearance in the majors.  He turns thirty-three today and is again a free agent.  One would think he'll sign with someone for 2024, but Tyler Duffey may be just about out of chances.

Catcher Randy Stuart Turner did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system from 2013-2016.  Born and raised in Eunice, Louisiana, he attended the University of Mississippi and was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 2013.  He simply could not hit.  His best offensive season was 2013, when he batted .264/.340/.380 in 121 at-bats as a twenty-one-year-old in Rookie ball.  He never had an OPS over .700 after that.  The Twins apparently believed in him--they promoted him to Class A in 2014, to AA in 2015, sent him to the Arizona Fall League (despite the fact that he had batted just .223 in AA), and put him in AA in 2016.  They understandably left him off the forty-man roster after the season, and Cincinnati chose him in the Rule 5 draft.  The Reds dutifully kept him around as a backup catcher, and he batted about like you'd expect him to--.134/.182/.244 in 82 at-bats.  He appears to have been injured much of 2018.  He played twenty-eight games in AAA in 2019 and batted .156 in 102 plate appearances.  He became a free agent after the season and did not sign with anyone, bringing his playing career to an end.  At last report, Stuart Turner was working with the Barnes Academy in Alexandria, Louisiana.

December 26

Morgan Bulkeley (1837)

Judy Johnson (1899)

Stu Miller (1927)

Al Jackson (1935)

Wayne Causey (1936)

Ray Sadecki (1940)

Carlton Fisk (1947)

Chris Chambliss (1948)

Dave Rader (1948)

Mario Mendoza (1950)

Ozzie Smith (1954)

Mike Sodders (1958)

Storm Davis (1961)

Jeff King (1964)

Esteban Beltre (1967)

Omar Infante (1981)

Yohan Pino (1983)

Mike Minor (1987)

Morgan Bulkeley was the first president of the National League.

Mike Sodders was a first-round draft choice for the Twins in 1981. A star third baseman at Arizona State, he never could adjust to wooden bats, never hit, and never made the major leagues.

Infielder Esteban Beltre did not play for the Twins, but he was in their farm system in 1998. Born and raised in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, he signed with Montreal as a free agent in 1984. He really showed nothing offensively for several years in the minors, but he was fast, athletic, and considered a good defender, and so got promoted up the ladder anyway. Despite never having hit more than .242 in any season, he was promoted to AAA in 1990. After he predictably hit .226 in Indianapolis, he became a free agent after the season. He signed with Milwaukee for 1991 but was traded to the White Sox in late May. He hit .271 in Vancouver and got a September call-up. He was in Chicago for over half the 1992 season as a reserve shortstop, but hit just .191 in 110 at-bats. Beltre was back in the minors for 1993 and was traded to Texas in late March of 1994. He was a reserve infielder for the Rangers in 1994 and 1995, his only two full seasons in the majors. He actually had a decent year in 1994, hitting .282 (although with no power and few walks). He slumped to .217 in 1995, though, and became a free agent after the season. He signed with Boston for 1996 but was released in mid-June, ending his major league career. He did not know that, of course, and kept trying to get back. He signed with Philadelphia in early August, was released three days later, and finished the season in AAA with Atlanta. He signed with Pittsburgh for 1997, was released in spring training, and was out of baseball that year, with exception of one appearance as a pitcher for the St. Paul Saints. The Twins signed him for 1998 and sent him to AAA Salt Lake. He was the regular shortstop for the Buzz, hitting .278/.327/.353. It wasn’t enough, and he was a free agent again after the season. He kept plugging away, moving to the Baltimore organization, back to the White Sox chain, and finally to the Arizona organization before ending his playing career after the 2000 season. Oddly, his last year was his best, as he topped .300 for the only time in his career, majors or minors. His lone major league homerun came in 1992, against Minnesota, in a wild game the White Sox won 19-11. At last report, Esteban Beltre was working for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, but that last report was some time ago.

Right-hander Yohan Jose (Alana) Pino made eleven starts for the Twins in 2014.  He was born in Turmero, Aragua, Venezuela and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 2004.  He pitched well in the low minors but struggled when he reached AA New Britain in 2007.  He pitched well in 2009 in both New Britain and Rochester but was traded to Cleveland in late August as the player to be named later in the Carl Pavano trade.  He did not do particularly well in 2010 in AAA for Cleveland and in early 2011 he was sold to Toronto.  He spent most of his time in the Blue Jay organization in AA, pitching very well there, but became a free agent after the 2012 season and signed with Cincinnati. He had a fine season in AAA for the Reds, but by this time he was twenty-nine years old, so Cincinnati management was not terribly impressed.  A free agent again after the 2013 season, he signed with Minnesota.  He was sent to Rochester and few thought that he would go any higher, but he pitched so well (10-2, 2.47, 0.93 WHIP) that he essentially forced them to call him up, which the Twins did in mid-June.  It would make a better story if he had continued to pitch well when he got to Minnesota, but unfortunately life doesn't always follow what would make a good story.  He had some good games, but on balance he went 2-5, 5.07, although with a WHIP of 1.33, in 60.1 innings.  He was a free agent again after the season and signed with Kansas City.  He made the team as a long reliever in 2015 and actually pitched quite well, but was seldom used and went to Omaha in mid-May, returning only for an emergency start in June.  He went to Korea in 2016 and came back to the Twins' minor league system in 2017.  He pitched in Italy in 2018 and played winter ball through the 2021-2022 season.  He was the pitching coach for DSL Miami at last report.

December 25

Pud Galvin (1856)

Barry McCormick (1874)

Walter Holke (1892)

Lloyd Brown (1904)

Ben Chapman (1908)

Jo-Jo Moore (1908)

Quincy Trouppe (1912)

Ned Garver (1925)

Nellie Fox (1927)

Gene Lamont (1946)

Manny Trillo (1950)

Luis Quintana (1951)

Jeff Little (1954)

Wallace Johnson (1956)

Charlie Lea (1956)

Rickey Henderson (1958)

Rich Renteria (1961)

Marty Pevey (1962)

There have been 35 major league players with the first name “Jesus”, including ex-Twins Jesus Vega and Jesus “Bombo” Rivera and one whose birthday is today, Manny Trillo.  There have been no major league players with the last name “Christ", although there have been two minor leaguers with that last name:  John Christ, who was in the Cleveland organization from 1999-2001, and Mike Christ, who was in the Seattle organization from 1984-1988.  There have been 24 players whose first name was “Christian” (honorable mention to Cristian Guzman), 24 players whose middle name was “Christian” (including ex-Twins Marcus Jensen, David Lamb, and Kevin Maas), and two players whose last name was “Christian”.  We would be remiss if we did not also mention 1980s journeyman catcher Steve Christmas, as well as Matt Holliday.  Radaris.com says there are at least 280 people in the United States named Mary Christmas.

The staff of Happy Birthday would like to wish everyone a very merry and blessed Christmas.

Left-hander Donald Jeffrey “Jeff” Little was with the Twins in the second half of the 1982 season. His father, Donald Little, was a minor league pitcher in the 1950s. Jeff Little was born in Fremont, Ohio, went to high school in Elmore, Ohio, and was drafted by San Francisco in the third round in 1973. A starting pitcher initially, he did well his first couple of years, but then seemed to top out at Class A. After some undistinguished years in AA and AAA, Little was released in April of 1980. He was quickly signed by St. Louis and was sent to AAA Springfield. Converted to relief, Little had another fairly undistinguished year, despite which he was given a September call-up. He was returned to Springfield for 1981 and did a little better, but not incredibly so, and after the season Little was traded to Minnesota for Mike Kinnunen. For some reason, or perhaps for no reason, Little had a tremendous first half in 1982, posting a 1.33 ERA in nine appearances at AA Orlando and a 1.76 ERA in 25 appearances with AAA Toledo. The pitching-poor Twins called him up to the majors at the beginning of July, and he didn't do too badly. In 36.1 innings spread over 33 appearances, Little was 2-0, 4.21, although with a 1.65 WHIP. Back in Toledo in 1983, Little's carriage turned back into a pumpkin--he had a 7.91 ERA and a 2.39 WHIP in 33 innings, and was released after the season. He signed with Pittsburgh and posted good numbers in ten outings at AA, but no one is impressed with a 29-year-old who's still in AA no matter how well he does there, and so his career ended after the season.  Jeff Little was living in Genoa, Ohio at last report.

Right-hander Charles William Lea came to Minnesota in 1988, at the end of his major league career. He was born in Orleans, France, one of eight major league players to be born in France. His family moved to Memphis, Tennessee when he was a few months old. He attended high school in Memphis and attended the University of Memphis. Lea was then drafted by Montreal in the tenth round in 1978. He got off to a tremendous start in 1980 for AA Memphis, going 9-0 in nine starts with seven complete games and an ERA of 0.84. He made two starts in Denver, working to a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings, and then was in the majors to stay. Lea was fairly average in his first couple of years in the majors, but was a solid starter from 1982-1984. He averaged over 200 innings per year in those three seasons with an ERA of exactly 3.00 and a WHIP of 1.20. He made the all-star team in 1984 for the only time in his career. Unfortunately, that was as good as it got for him. Lea missed the next two seasons due to a shoulder injury and was never the same again. He came back in 1987 and had a mediocre year in the minors, making one last start for the Expos in September. Minnesota signed him for 1988. He stayed with the Twins all year, and while he wasn't dreadful, he wasn't very good, either. As a Twin, Charlie Lea was 7-7 with a 4.85 ERA in 24 games, 23 of them starts. The Twins offered him the chance to pitch again in 1989, but he decided to call it a career. After his retirement, Lea returned to college, obtaining a degree in business administration from Memphis State. Charlie Lea was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. He was a radio broadcaster for the Memphis Redbirds and coached youth baseball coach in Memphis.  Sadly, Charlie Lea passed away from a heart attack on November 11, 2011.

Catcher Marty Ashley Pevey did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them. He was born in Savannah, Georgia and went to high school there. Pevey then attended Georgia Southern University and was drafted by Minnesota in the 19th round in 1982. The Twins sent him to Elizabethton, where he hit .284 with a .356 OBP in 91 plate appearances. The Twins apparently didn't think much of that, as they released him after the season. Pevey signed with St. Louis. He spent the next three years in Class A with the Cardinals, despite the fact that he compiled a .304 batting average in those years. Finally promoted to AA in 1986, he hit .326 in 172 at-bats for Arkansas. He struggled at AAA, however, and was traded to Montreal after the 1987 season. He put in a couple of mediocre seasons at AAA with the Expos, spending about six weeks in the majors in 1989. Pevey missed all of 1990 with an injury, and though he played several more years, he never made it back to the majors. He was in the Blue Jays' organization in 1991, in the Tigers' system in 1992 and 1993, went back to the Blue Jays' system in 1994, and split 1995 between the Detroit and Seattle chains before ending his playing career. Pevey immediately was hired by Toronto as a minor league manager. Later, he was the Blue Jays' first base coach, a job he held until June of 2008, when he was let go along with manager John Gibbons. He managed the Peoria Chiefs in 2009, then became the catching coordinator for the Chicago Cubs, and in 2013 became manager of AAA Iowa in the Cubs organization, a position he continues to hold. Marty Pevey was inducted into the Effingham County Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

December 24

Joe Quinn (1862)

Henry Mathewson (1886)

Tex Burnett (1899)

Chico Garcia (1924)

Frank Taveras (1949)

John D'Acquisto (1951)

Tim Drummond (1964)

Mo Sanford (1966)

Kevin Millwood (1974)

Jamey Wright (1974)

Gregor Blanco (1983)

Andrew Romine (1985)

Fernando Romero (1994)

Henry Mathewson is the younger brother of Christy Mathewson.  He appeared in two games for the Giants in 1906 and one in 1907.

Chico Garcia played professional baseball from 1944-1970, mostly in Mexico.  He played thirty-nine games in the majors in 1954 with Baltimore.  He also was a manager in Mexico for fifteen seasons.

Right-hander Timothy Darnell Drummond was with the Twins from 1989-1990. Born in LaPlata, Maryland, he was drafted by Pittsburgh in the twelfth round in 1983. Drummond was in the Pirates' system for five years, the first three as a starter, the last two as a reliever. His numbers in both roles were decent, but not particularly impressive. He did get a September call-up in 1987, pitching six innings for the Pirates. In March of 1988, Drummond was traded to the Mets. The change seemed to help him, or maybe it was just maturity and experience. In any event, he did better at AAA Tidewater, although his numbers were still not eye-popping. At the end of July, 1989, Drummond was traded to Minnesota with Rick Aguilera, Kevin Tapani, David West, and a player to be named later (Jack Savage) for Frank Viola. He did well in ten outings for Portland, came to Minnesota at the end of August, and made the Twins out of spring training in 1990. It was his first full season in the majors. He made 39 appearances, four of them starts, and went 3-5 with a 4.35 ERA. Unfortunately, it was also his last full season in the majors, and in fact was his last season in the majors at all. Drummond was back in Portland in 1991, went to the Baltimore and Cincinnati organizations for 1992, and then his playing career was over. As a Twin, Tim Drummond was 3-5, 4.28 with a WHIP of 1.53 in 43 games, four of them starts. At last report, Tim Drummond was the Parks and Grounds Manager for Charles County, Maryland and located in LaPlata.

Right-hander Meredith Leroy "Mo" Sanford was with the Twins for about six weeks in 1995. A big man (6'6", 220), Sanford was born in Americus, Georgia, attended high school in Starkville, Mississippi and then went to the University of Alabama. He was drafted by Cincinnati in the 32nd round in 1988. He pitched quite well in his first four years in the minors, and did okay in five starts with the Reds in August of 1991, posting a 3.86 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP in 28 innings. He had a poor year for AAA Nashville in 1992, however, and was left off the Reds' forty-man roster. Colorado selected him in the Rule 5 draft. Some arrangement must have been worked out with Cincinnati, because Sanford started the season at AAA Colorado Springs, not coming up to the Rockies until the end of July. He did not have a very good year with either team, and became a free agent after the season. The Twins signed him and sent him to AAA Salt Lake for 1994, where he had another poor year. He wasn't pitching any better at the start of 1995, but the Twins brought him up to the majors at the end of April. Sanford made 11 relief appearances for Minnesota, pitching 18.2 innings, and did about what they should have expected: no record, a 5.30 ERA, and a 1.71 WHIP. The Twins let him go, and he went on to Texas for 1996. He did better in AAA for the Rangers, but not well enough to convince them to give him another shot at the majors. Sanford kept trying, pitching in Taiwan in 1997, in Mexico in 1998, and for independent teams in the United States in 1999 and 2000 before ending his playing career. Mo Sanford was an assistant to the general manager for the Kansas City Royals, and he has been involved in various baseball instructional programs.  No information about what he is doing now, however, was readily available.

Right-hander Fernando Ernesto Romero has pitched for the Twins since 2018.  He was born in San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic and signed with the Twins as a free agent in 2011.  He had a lot of injury problems early in his career, including undergoing Tommy John surgery, and really didn't get his minor league career going until 2016.  He had a tremendous season that year, split between Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers.  He had a solid season in AA in 2017 and was pitching well in AAA Rochester when he was called up to the Twins in early May of 2018.  He was very good in his first five starts, posting an ERA of 1.88, but then had a disastrous start against Kansas City, allowing eight runs in 1.2 innings.  He made five more starts for the Twins in 2018 but spent the rest of the season in AAA.  In 2019 he did not pitch particularly well in AAA and was simply bad in the majors, going 0-1, 7.07, 2.14 WHIP in fifteen games (fourteen innings).  Wildness, which had not been a problem early in his career, was a major problem in 2019--he walked 4.5 batters per nine innings in AAA and 7.1 per nine in the majors.  At that time, we wrote, "If he's going to have a career with the Twins, he's going to need to take a step forward pretty soon."  Well, he didn't, as he did not pitch for them in 2020 and was released after the season.  He went to Japan and pitched for Yokohama in 2021-2022 and was okay, but that's all.  Surprisingly, he signed with the Angels for 2023 but was injured most of the season, making just four minor league appearances.  He turns twenty-nine today, and what we said last year still applies.  We're all for someone playing as long as someone will let them play, but it may be time for Fernando Romero to move on to the next phase of his life.

December 23

Mike Grady (1869)

Sam Leever (1871)

Tommy Thomas (1899)

Jabbo Andrews (1907)

Jerry Koosman (1942)

Dave May (1943)

Raul Cano (1945)

Jerry Manuel (1953)

Keith Comstock (1955)

Tim Leary (1958)

Frank Eufemia (1959)

Rick White (1968)

Brad Lidge (1976)

Jesus Colome (1977)

Victor Martinez (1978)

Cody Ross (1980)

Hanley Ramirez (1983)

Tyler Robertson (1987)

Roberto Perez (1988)

Dalton Guthrie (1995)

 Raul Cano had a long career in the Mexican League as a player, manager, and general manager.

Dalton Guthrie was drafted by Minnesota in the fortieth round in 2014 but did not sign.

Left-hander Jerome Martin Koosman pitched for the Twins from 1979-1981, winning twenty games for them in 1979. He was born in Appleton, Minnesota, and attended high school in Morris, Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota—Morris and the North Dakota State College of Science, then was signed by the Mets as a free agent in 1964. Koosman struggled his first couple of years, but had a terrific year in 1966 at Class A Auburn. He jumped straight from Class A to the majors in 1967, but was not ready yet and was sent back to AAA in mid-May. He pitched very well at AAA Jacksonville, was back in New York in September, and never went to the minors again. Koosman was a member of the Mets' rotation for eleven consecutive years, posting an ERA just over three and averaging over 220 innings per season. He was second to Johnny Bench in Rookie of the Year balloting in 1968, when he won 19 games and had an ERA just over two. He made the all-star team in 1968 and 1969, got consideration for the MVP award three times, and was second in Cy Young voting (to Randy Jones) in 1976. In 1977-78, Koosman managed to go 11-35 despite an ERA of 3.62 a WHIP of 1.26. He also led the league in strikeouts per nine innings in 1977. After the 1978 season, he was traded to Minnesota for Greg Field and a player to be named later, which turned out to be Jesse Orosco. Finally given a little run support again, Koosman won 36 games over the next two seasons, twenty of them in 1979. At the end of August, 1981, he was traded to the White Sox for Ivan Mesa, Ronnie Perry, "not the" Randy Johnson, and cash. He pitched well for Chicago for the rest of 1981 and in 1982, but slipped a little in 1983 at age 40, although he still won 11 games and had a WHIP of 1.35. The White Sox sent Koosman to Philadelphia, where he pitched the final two seasons of his career before retiring at age 42. As a Twin, Jerry Koosman was 39-35 with a 3.77 ERA in 94 games, 83 of them starts. After retiring, he was a minor league pitching coach in the Mets' organization for a time. He was inducted into the Mets' Hall of Fame in 1989 and had his number retired in 2021. Sadly, he pled guilty to income tax evasion in May of 2009. He was sentenced in September and served a six-month prison sentence, from which he was released in June of 2010. For a while after that, Jerry Koosman was "retired but working" for Mesa Technologies, an Oklahoma City-based company which provides information technology services to businesses.  Now, however, he is fully retired, and we wish him well.

Left-hander Keith Comstock began his major league career with the Twins in 1984. Born in San Francisco, Comstock was drafted by California in the fifth round in 1976. He struggled early in his minor league career, and was released by the Angels after a poor 1979 season at AA El Paso. Oakland signed him and kept him at AA West Haven for three years. He pitched pretty well there, but the Athletics clearly had no plans for him, and sold him to Detroit after the 1982 campaign. The Tigers also placed him in AA, and he had a fine year there, going 12-3 with a 3.21 ERA. All it got Comstock was his release. The Twins picked him up and started him in the big leagues in 1984, but sent him to AAA after only four relief appearances, in which he pitched 6.1 innings and gave up six runs. He had another excellent minor league season, going 12-6 with a 2.79 ERA, but again he only got a release out of it. Deciding he was never going to get a chance in the majors, Comstock went to Japan for two years. He came back to the United States in 1987, splitting the next three years between AAA and the majors. He was with the Giants at the start of 1987, went to San Diego in July, stayed there until his release in June of 1989, and then went to Seattle. In 1990, Comstock got his only full season in the majors and he made the most of it: in 60 relief appearances, he was 7-4 with a 2.89 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. As always, the excellent season did him no good. He spent almost the entire 1991 season at AAA, making only one appearance in the majors. That appearance would be his last, as his playing career ended after that season. He then went into coaching, and managed in the Giants' minor-league system from 1998-2001.  At last report, Keith Comstock was the rehabilitation coach for the Texas Rangers.

Right-hander Frank Anthony Eufemia played his only major league season with the Twins in 1985. Born in the Bronx, he attended Ramapo College of New Jersey, one of two major league players that school has produced (the other is Mark Leiter). Eufemia was drafted by the Twins in the 18th round in 1982. A reliever throughout his career, Eufemia moved up the Twins farm system at a good pace and, after posting a 1.49 ERA in AAA Toledo in 36.1 innings, he was promoted to the majors in mid-May of 1985. He had a good season: in 61.2 innings spread over 39 games, Eufemia went 4-2 with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. That was as good as it would get, however, and after a poor 1986 season in Toledo, Eufemia was out of organized baseball at age 26. He tried to come back with the Mets, pitching for AAA Tidewater in 1992. His numbers weren't bad, but they led him nowhere. Eufemia was one of the replacement players during the 1995 players' strike. He also pitched for New Jersey in the independent Northeast League in 1998; then his playing career ended for good. One wonders if he might have pitched in Japan or someplace at least part of that time, but this could not be confirmed. Frank Eufemia taught physical education at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, New Jersey for twenty-five years until his retirement in June of 2023.  He is a member of the Ramapo College Hall of Fame.

Left-hander Tyler Patrick Robertson pitched for the Twins in 2012 and briefly in 2013.  He was born in Simi Valley, California, went to high school in Fair Oaks. California, and was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 2006.  He was a starter early in his career and pitched well in that role through 2009, but struggled when promoted to New Britain in 2010.  He shifted to the bullpen in 2011 and had a fine year for the Rock Cats.  He started 2012 in Rochester, did fairly well, and was promoted to Minnesota in late June.  He struck out the first three batters he faced, but there was nowhere for him to go but down, and he did.  Used as a LOOGY, he appeared in 40 games but pitched only 25 innings, going 2-2, 5.40, 1.40 WHIP.  He started 2013 in Minnesota but was sent to Rochester after only two appearances.  He struggled with his control there and was placed on waivers in early June and claimed by Washington.  Sent to AAA, his control got better but he also was hit harder.  He re-signed with Washington for 2014 but was apparently injured much of the year, making only twelve AAA appearances.  He signed with Miami for 2015, but did not pitch at all that year and his playing career came to an end.  He had a beard, but does not appear to be related to the Robertson family that was on "Duck Dynasty".  There are various "Tyler Robertsons" who are involved in baseball, but none appears to be "our" Tyler Robertson.  Therefore, no information about what Tyler Robertson has been doing recently was readily available.

December 22

Connie Mack (1862)
Matty Alou (1938)
Elrod Hendricks (1940)
Steve Carlton (1944)
Hiroyuki Yamazaki (1946)
Charley Taylor (1947)
Steve Garvey (1948)
Tom Underwood (1953)
Ken Landreaux (1954)
Lonnie Smith (1955)
Glenn Wilson (1958)
George Wright (1958)
Jeff A (1958)
Andy Allanson (1961)
Mike Jackson (1964)
Jason Lane (1976)
Zack Britton (1987)

Second baseman Hiroyuki Yamazaki was a five-time all-star in Japan over a twenty-year career.

Charley Taylor was a minor-league pitching coach for over thirty years in the Houston Astros organization.

Steve Garvey was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 1966, but did not sign.

Left-hander Steven Norman Carlton pitched for the Twins in 1987 and 1988.  He is a very deserving Hall of Famer, but there was little chance he would go in wearing a Twins hat.  He was born in Miami and attended North Miami High School.  Carlton was then signed as a free agent by St. Louis in 1963.  He pitched very well in the Cardinals system in 1963 and 1964.  He reached the majors for the first time in 1965, but pitched only 25 innings in 15 games.  He appears to have been injured that season, as he went two months in the middle of the season without pitching.  Even though he pitched well in limited duty, he was sent back to the minors for most of 1966, not getting back to St. Louis until the end of July.  In 1967, however, Carlton began the year as a rotation starter at the age of 22.  He would remain one for many years.  Carlton remained with the Cardinals through 1971, making the all-star team three times.  His best season as a Cardinal was 1969, when he went 17-11 with an ERA of 2.17.  He won 20 games for the first time in 1971.  In February of 1972, he was traded to Philadelphia for Rick Wise, and while Rick Wise was a fine pitcher, it's safe to say St. Louis came out on the short end of the trade.  Carlton was the ace of the Phillies rotation for the next thirteen years.  His best year in Philadelphia was probably his first one, when he went 27-10 with a 1.97 ERA, winning his first Cy Young award.  He had many other fine years as a Phillie:  he led the league in wins four times won twenty games five times, led the league in complete games three times (in his first eleven seasons in Philadelphia, he averaged sixteen complete games per season), led the league in innings and strikeouts five times, won the Cy Young award four times and was in the top four two other times, finished in the top five in MVP voting three times, in the top ten two more times, and in the top fifteen once more, and made seven all-star teams.  Just for good measure, he also won a Gold Glove.  He was still pitching well in 1985, at age 40:  he had an ERA of just 3.33, but a record of 1-8 due to lack of run support, when he was injured in mid-June.  He never really came back from that.  After a poor start in 1986, the Phillies released Carlton in June.  He signed with the Giants in early July, but was released again in early August.  He finished out the season with the White Sox and actually pitched pretty well in ten starts, becoming a free agent after the season.  Carlton then went to Cleveland and was traded to Minnesota at the end of July, 1987 for Jeff Perry.  He made nine appearances as a Twin, seven of them starts, and went 1-5.  He began 1988 with Minnesota but pitched poorly in four outings and was released, ending his playing career.  As a Twin, Steve Carlton was 1-6 with an 8.54 ERA.  For his career, however, Carlton won 329 games, pitched 254 complete games, had an ERA of 3.22, and was an easy choice for the Hall of Fame.  Carlton is a private person, refusing to talk to the media for much of his career.  That privacy continues to this day.  Despite his fame, there is little information about his current life.  The biographies one finds all end with the close of his playing career.  Even his website does not give any details, other than providing a recap of his playing career, some pictures of his playing days, the chance to buy some autographed merchandise, and a number to call to arrange personal appearances.  At last report, Steve Carlton was living in Durango, Colorado.

Outfielder Kenneth Francis Landreaux played for the Twins in 1979 and 1980 and made his only all-star appearances as a member of the Minnesota Twins.  A cousin of Enos Cabell, Landreaux was born in Los Angeles and went to high school in Compton, California.  He then attended Arizona State and was drafted by the Angels with the sixth pick of the 1976 draft.  He never played lower than AA, hit .357 in a 1977 season split between AA and AAA, and was in the majors by the end of the season, never to return to the minors until the end of his career.  In his first full season, 1978, Landreaux was a reserve, used all over the outfield, and did not hit well, batting .223.  That off-season, he was traded to Minnesota with Dave Engle, Paul Hartzell, and Brad Havens for Rod Carew.  Landreaux responded to the trade with possibly his best season as a big leaguer:  he hit .305 with fifteen homers and twenty-seven doubles, putting together a 31-game hitting streak.  The next year, 1980, Landreaux made the all-star team for the only time in his career.  In March of 1981, he was traded again, going to the Dodgers for Kelly Snider, Matt Reeves, and Mickey Hatcher.  Landreaux would sepend the remainder of his major league career with Los Angeles.  He played well for the Dodgers for six years, never a star, but always a decent player.  In 1986, Landreaux missed a month due to injury.  The next year, he slumped to .203 and was reduced to part-time status.  He was done as a major league after that.  He played two more seasons at AAA, one with Baltimore and one with the Dodgers, but could not work his way back to the big leagues.  Landreaux retired after the 1989 season.  As a Twin, he hit .294/.341/.435 in two season.  Landreau has done some minor-league coaching, most recently with the Syracuse Sky Chiefs in 2001-2002.  At last report, Ken Landreaux was an instructor with Major League Baseball's Urban Youth Academy in Compton, California.

Second baseman Jeff A has been a Minnesota Twins fan all his life.  Born in Armour, South Dakota, he attended high school in Delmont, South Dakota.  He began his playing career in 1966 with the Delmont Peewees.  He struggled initially, batting .000 his first season.  There was nowhere to go but up and he did, raising his average to .396 by 1969.  Promoted to the Delmont Midgets the next season, he hit his only home run in 1970, tying Al Newman, Jason Tyner, and Tom Kelly on the all-time list.  He reached the Delmont Teeners in 1972 and was a solid contributor to two district championship teams.  He went to the Delmont Legion team in 1976 and slipped into a reserve role.  He compensated for a lack of athletic ability by developing skills which don't require any, such as drawing walks and bunting.  He was particularly adept at the suicide squeeze, winning a couple of games with pinch-hit suicide squeeze bunts.  He also was a sure-handed fielder.  He had limited range, but caught whatever he could reach.  He retired as an active player after the 1977 season, but stayed active in baseball in other ways.  He was an umpire in the Sunshine League in 1978-1979 and was the public address announcer of the University of South Dakota Coyotes baseball team in 1981 while attending school there.  He was out of baseball for a few years while getting his law degree, but got back into the game in 1986 as the manager of the Sooper Dooper women's softball team in Pierre, South Dakota from 1986-1988, leading the team to the league title in 1987.  In 1993, he returned to public address announcing, becoming the voice of the Wessington Springs Owls from 1993-2008.  In 2008, he moved to the McCook Lake Area of North Sioux City, South Dakota and became the voice of the Dakota Valley Panthers baseball teams, a position he held through the spring of 2011.  In 2010, he was also the voice of the Dakota Valley girls' volleyball team.  In the summer of 2011, he moved to Gettysburg, South Dakota, where he does public address announcing for the Potter County Battlers football, track and field, and wrestling teams, does livestream broadcasts for the Battlers in volleyball and basketball, and also does public address announcing for the Sully Buttes Chargers track and field teams.   He reports on Twins minor league teams and selected winter league teams.  In the past he provided recaps of prior great Twins seasons in an annual "rewind" feature during the off-season.  He hopes to revive that features at some point, but has put it on hold for now. Jeff A is also the pastor of the Wheatland Parish, which consists of the United Methodist churches of Gettysburg, Onida, and Agar.

Right-handed reliever Michael Ray Jackson came to Minnesota in 2002, near the end of a long and fairly successful major league career.  A native of Houston, he attended high school there and was drafted by Philadelphia in the second round of the secondary phase of the January draft in 1984.  A starting pitcher his first two years in the minors, he switched to the bullpen in 1986 and took to it immediately.  Jackson posted a 2.18 ERA in a 1986 season split between AA and AAA, reacing the Phillies by mid-August.  He was with Philadelphia all of 1987 but struggled with his control.  That off-season, Jackson was traded to Seattle.  He was a valuable set-up man for the Mariners for four season, picking up a handful of saves each year.  His only bad year with Seattle was 1990, when control trouble again bothered him.  After the 1991 season, Jackson was traded to San Francisco, where he again served as a very good set-up man for three season, leading the league in appearances in 1993.  A free agent after the 1994 campaign, he went to Cincinnati for 1995, to Seattle for 1996, and then to Cleveland for 1997.  It was in Cleveland, at the age of 33, that Jackson got his first chance to be a closer.  He made the most of it, posting 40 saves with a 1.55 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP in 1998.  He had 39 saves in 1999, but was allowed to become a free agent after the season and went back to Philadelphia.  Jackson was injured for all of the 200 season, however, and was again a free agent after the season.  He went to Houston for 2001, where he returned to a set-up role.  Jackson became a free agent again after the season and signed with Minnesota for 2002.  He pitched quite well for the Twins, putting up a 3.27 ERA and a WHIP of 1.31 in 55 innings spread over 58 appearances.  After the season, Jackson once more became a free agnet, siging with Arizona, but was released at the end of spring training and did not play in 2003.  He made a comeback with the White Sox in 2004 but did not pitch well and was released in early September, bringing an end to a playing career in which he appeared in over 1000 games.  It is difficult to find current information about him; an internet search reveals that he shares his name with a man who was apparently once a singer of some note.  His son, also named Mike, pitched for Penn State and pitched for some independent teams.  At last report, Mike Jackson was an instructor for FulFielding Dreams, a baseball and softball instructional facility in the Houston area.

Outfielder/pitcher Jason Dean Lane did not play for the Twins but went to spring training with them in 2013.  Born and raised in Santa Rosa, California, he went to Santa Rosa Junior College, then attended the University of Southern California before being drafted in the sixth round by Houston in 1999.  He was drafted as an outfielder and hit well throughout the minors, reaching the majors in 2002.  He was back in the minors most of 2003 but was in the majors from 2004-2006.  He mostly played right field.  He was a reserve in 2004 but was the Astros' regular right fielder in 2005, his only year as a regular.  He had a good year for them, hitting .267 with twenty-six home runs.  He was the regular right fielder at the start of 2006 but his hitting collapsed.  He lost the starting job half-way through the season and batted only .201, although he did hit fifteen home runs.  He was still a reserve for much of 2007 but was sold to San Diego shortly before the end of the season.  He then stayed in the minors and moved around a lot, playing for the Yankees and Boston organizations in 2008, Toronto in 2009, Toronto and Florida in 2010, back to Toronto in 2011, and Arizona in 2012.  He had made occasional pitching appearances throughout his minor league career, but while with Arizona he became a pitcher full-time.  A starter, he did not do very well for AAA Reno but did very well with independent Sugar Land, whom he joined in June.  The Twins signed him over the off-season, but released him near the end of spring training in 2013.  He went back to Sugar Land, continued to pitch well, and signed with San Diego near the end of the season.  He was in AAA and wasn't terrible, but wasn't particularly good, either.  Despite that, he was called up to the Padres for three appearances in June, his first major league games in seven years.  He actually pitched very well for them.  He pitched 4.1 scoreless innings of relief over two games and also made one start, allowing just one run on six hits and no walks in six innings.  He signed with San Diego for 2015, but pitched poorly for AAA El Paso and his playing career came to an end.  Jason Lane has been a coach for the Milwaukee Brewers since 2016, serving as assistant batting coach from 2019-2021 and becoming the third base coach in 2022.