December 3

Billy McLean (1835)

Clarence Smith (1896)

Bennie Tate (1901)

Joe Collins (1922)

Suitcase Simpson (1925)

Ray Bellino (1932)

Minnie Mendoza (1934)

Clay Dalrymple (1936)

Chico Salmon (1940)

Jerry Johnson (1943)

Wayne Garrett (1947)

Pat Putnam (1953)

Gene Nelson (1960)

Damon Berryhill (1963)

Darryl Hamilton (1964)

Paul Byrd (1970)

Chad Durbin (1977)

Andy Oliver (1987)

J. T. Chargois (1990)

Billy McLean was the umpire in the first National League game ever, April 22, 1876.  He umpired in the National League through 1890.

Shortstop Ray Bellino played and managed in the Twins minor league system and also was a scout for them.

Andy Oliver was drafted by Minnesota in the seventeenth round in 2006, but did not sign.

Infielder Cristobal Rigoberto (Carreras) Mendoza played 2,240 games in the minor leagues and 16 games in the majors, all with the Twins in 1970. He was born in Cieba Del Agua, Cuba, went to high school in Havana, and was signed by Cincinnati as a free agent in 1954. Five of his first six years were spent in Class C and B leagues. He was released by Cincinnati before the 1958 season, and signed with the Washington Senators. In 1959, he hit .357 with Class C Missoula, which finally got him promoted to Class A. He spent two years with Charlotte, posting solid averages, although with little power. Promoted to AAA Vancouver in 1962, his first full year of AAA at age 28, he hit .260, but with few walks and again little power. He then went back to Charlotte, which was by then a AA city. He stayed there for six years. He hit .291 over that stretch, but never even got another cup of coffee at AAA until he was promoted there in 1969, at age 35. He hit .333 that year, and in 1970, at age 36, Minnie Mendoza made his major league debut with the Twins. He stayed for about two months, being used strictly as a pinch-hitter/pinch runner/defensive replacement. He played in 16 games, got 16 at-bats, and hit .188. Mendoza spent the rest of the season with AAA Evansville, went back to Charlotte for two years, and then retired at age 38. He then became a long-time coach and manager. Most recently, Minnie Mendoza was the Latin American field coordinator for the Cleveland Indians and then became an advisor to the Cleveland Guardians.  Minnie Mendoza passed away September 9, 2024 in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.

First baseman Patrick Edward Putnam played briefly with the Twins in 1984, at the end of his major league career. Born in Bethel, Vermont, he attended high school in Ft. Myers, Florida, where his family had moved when he was eight. He went to Miami Dade North Community College, then transferred to the University of South Alabama, and was drafted by Texas in the first round of the secondary phase of the 1975 draft. He had a big year in 1976 at Class A Asheville, hitting .361 with 24 homers and 33 doubles. After the season, his manager, Wayne Terwilliger, said Putnam was the best hitter he had ever seen. He was then jumped to AAA, where he hit over .300 each of the next two seasons, with a total of 36 home runs and 56 doubles. He played briefly in the majors each of those two years, but made the majors to stay in 1979. While he was not terrible, he never really became the major league player it looked like he would be. In fact, in his four years with the Rangers, he seemed to get a little worse every year. He went from hitting .277 with 18 homers in 1979 (finishing fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting) to .266 with 8 homers in 1981. In 1982, Putnam was hitting only .210 with two home runs when he was sent to AAA in late May. He again hit well in AAA, but when he returned in September he did not hit particularly better for the Rangers. Texas gave up on him after that season, trading him to Seattle. Putnam was decent in 1983, hitting .269 with 19 homers, but slumped in 1984. The Twins picked him up in late August for their pennant drive, sending Carson Carroll to Seattle. Putnam failed to contribute, however, going 3-for-38 (.079) as a Twin with no home runs and four RBIs before tearing a ligament in his finger. A free agent after the season, Putnam signed with Kansas City, but after a mediocre 1985 in AAA Omaha he signed with the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan. He played two seasons there, played in 1989 in the Seniors league, and then retired from baseball for good. After his playing career ended, Pat Putnam returned to Ft. Myers, where he owned the Home Environment Center, a business which specialized in air and water purification.

Right-hander Jon Thomas Chargois appeared in twenty-five games for the Twins in 2016.  Born and raised in Sulphur, Louisiana, he attended Rice University and was drafted by Minnesota in 2012.  He pitched well for Elizabethton in 2012, but missed all of 2013 and 2014 due to Tommy John surgery.  He had a fine 2015 season split between Fort Myers and Chattanooga.  He started 2016 in Chattanooga, went up to Rochester, made one terrible appearance in Minnesota in June, and came up to the Twins for the remainder of the season in mid-August.  His numbers don't look very good:  1-1, 4.70, 1.61 WHIP.  But if you throw out that one outing in June, his numbers are 1-1, 2.82, 1.43 WHIP.  He made two appearances for Rochester in 2017 and then missed the rest of the season due to an elbow injury.  The Twins gave up on him and waived him in February of 2018.  The Dodgers claimed him and he was in the majors for about two-thirds of the season, going 2-4, 3.34, 1.27 WHIP in 39 appearances (32.1 innings).  He started the 2019 season in the majors but he wasn't there long, sent back to AAA after two appearances.  He pitched well in AAA and came back to the Dodgers in late June, but continued to struggle at the major league level and went back down in mid-August.  He was released after the 2019 season and played in Japan in 2020.  He came back to the United States in 2021, signing with Seattle, and was doing quite well for them when he was traded to Tampa Bay at the July deadline.  He had a fine season and a half with the Rays, then was traded to Miami after the 2022 season.  He had another good season with them in 2023.   He was injured at the start of 2024, but was having another good season with the Marlins when he was traded to Seattle at the July deadline, for whom he continued to pitch well.  He signed with Texas for 2025, but pitched poorly in five AAA games and was released in mid-April.  We assume he was injured again, but could find no confirmation of that.  In any event, he did not sign with anyone else.  Since 2021, he has appeared in 159 games.  In those games, he has posted an ERA of 2.73 and a WHIP of 1.03.  He turns thirty-five today.  His playing career may be over, but if he's healthy there's no reason to think he couldn't still pitch in the major leagues.

December 2

Deacon White (1847)

Andre Rodgers (1934)

Pedro Borbon (1946)

Wayne Simpson (1948)

Julio Cruz (1954)

Chip Hale (1964)

Darryl Kile (1968)

Mark Kotsay (1975)

Peter Moylan (1978)

Gary Sanchez (1992)

Nearly all of infielder Walter William "Chip" Hale's major league playing career came with the Twins. He was born in San Jose, attended the University of Arizona, and was drafted by the Twins in the 17th round in 1987. A left-handed batter, he posted solid batting averages in the minors and showed the ability to draw walks. He was with the Twins for about a month in 1989 and played one game in 1990, but did not really reach the majors until 1993. Hale came to the Twins in June of that year, and with the exception of a couple of weeks in 1995 he stayed with the big club through 1996. Hale was used as a bench player throughout that time: he played a little second, a little third, a little DH, and was used as a pinch-hitter from time to time. He was actually pretty good in that role. He had neither power nor speed, and was not considered particularly good defensively, but he provided a decent batting average and a decent OBP off the bench. As a Twin, Chip Hale hit .281/.349/.369 in 563 at-bats, with 7 homers and 78 RBIs. Hale became a free agent after the 1996 season and signed with the Dodgers. He started the season in Los Angeles, but was used exclusively as a pinch-hitter, going 1-for-12 with two walks in that role over the first month of the season. Hale was demoted to AAA Albuquerque after that, and never played in the majors again. He was released by the Dodgers after the 1997 campaign and signed with the Angels, but was traded to St. Louis at the end of spring training. He was with AAA Memphis for the entire season, and then his playing career came to an end. Hale then went into managing and coaching. He was a coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2007-2009, then became the third base coach for the New York Mets in 2010. He was in the running for the manager’s job for 2011, but when it went to Terry Collins, Hale was retained as third-base coach.  After the season, however, Hale left the Mets to take a job as bench coach for the Oakland Athletics for 2013-2014.  Chip Hale was been the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2015-16.  He was let go after the season and was the third base coach for Oakland in 2017.  He was the bench coach for the Washington Nationals in 2018-2020.  He was the Detroit Tigers' third base coach at the start of 2021, but in July he became the head baseball coach at the University of Arizona, a position he continues to hold.

Right-hander Peter Michael Moylan never played for the Twins, but he was originally signed by them. A native of Attadale, Australia, Moylan signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1996. He was in rookie ball for two years, posting ERAs right around four, and then was released in April of 1998. He returned to Australia and worked as a pharmaceutical salesman while playing ball for Blackburn. He was a member of the Australian WBC team in 2006 and pitched well. Back problems had resulted in conversion to a sidearm delivery, and with this motion, his fastball became ten miles per hour faster. Impressed by his WBC work, Atlanta signed Moylan in March of 2006. He did not pitch well at AAA Richmond, nor did he pitch well in 15 games in the majors, but Atlanta obviously saw something in him. The Braves were rewarded, as Moylan was a solid member of their bullpen three of the next six seasons (he was injured much of 2008 with Tommy John surgery and 2011 with a torn rotator cuff).  He was still injured much of the 2012 season, but did very well in eight major league appearances. In 295 appearances for Atlanta, Moylan posted an ERA of 2.59 and a WHIP of 1.29.  A free agent, after the season, he signed with the Dodgers for 2013.  He spent most of the season in AAA Albuquerque and did very well there.  His spent about two months in the majors and his numbers don't look good, but eight of the eleven runs he allowed came in two appearances.  If you throw those out, his ERA is 2.25.  Including them, it goes to 6.46.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Houston for 2014 but tore a ligament and was released during spring training.  He missed all of that season, but signed back with the Braves in 2015.  He was in AAA most of the season but came up in mid-August and pitched very well.  He was apparently used as a ROOGY, making 22 appearances but pitching only 10.1 innings and in twelve of his appearances he faced only one batter.  He signed with Kansas City for 2016, came up to the majors in mid-May, and had a fine season, appearing in fifty games and going 2-0, 3.43, 1.30 WHIP.  He remained with Kansas City in 2017, remained healthy, and again had a fine season.  He led the league in appearances with seventy-nine and went 0-0, 3.49, 1.10 WHIP in 59.1 innings.  He signed with Atlanta in  2018 but it did not go nearly as well, as he posted an ERA of 4.45 and a WHIP of 1.77.  He pitched briefly in the Czech Republic in 2019, but then became a pre- and post-game analyst for the Atlanta Braves on Fox Sports South.  He was named manager of the Melbourne Aces for the 2021-2022 season, but it was cancelled, so he managed his first game for the Aces in the 2022-2023.  He became their pitching coach in 2023/2024, but does not appear to currently hold that position.  He was inducted in the Baseball Western Australia Hall of Fame in 2024.

Catcher Gary Sanchez Herrera played for the Twins in 2022.  He was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and signed with the Yankees as a free agent in July of 2009.  His minor league numbers are good, not great, but he was always quite young for his league.  He reached AA in 2013 at age twenty and AAA in 2015 at age twenty-two.  He made his major league debut at the end of 2015 and came up to stay in early August of 2016, batting .299 with an OPS of 1.032 the rest of the way.  He had a solid 2017 batting .278 with thirty-three homers, but then injuries slowed him down and poor defense cut his playing time.  His best year since has been 2019, when he batted just .232 but hit thirty-four home runs.  He batted only .204 in 2021, although with twenty-three home runs.  After that season, the Yankees traded him to Minnesota with Gio Urshela for Josh Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Ben Rortvedt.  He started the 2022 season sharing time with Ryan Jeffers, but when Jeffers was injured he became the regular.  He batted .205 with an OPS of .659, hitting sixteen home runs, and became a free agent after the season.  He did not sign until April 1, when the Giants signed him.  He was released after a poor month in AAA, signed with the Mets in early May, was waived in late May, and signed with San Diego.  He played better than one might have expected for them, batting .218 but hitting nineteen home runs in 234 at-bats for an OPS of .792.  A free agent again, he signed with Milwaukee for 2024 and had a pretty typical Gary Sanchez season as a part-time catcher.  He moved on to Baltimore for 2025 and pretty much duplicated his 2024 season.  He is once again a free agent.  It seems like he's been around forever, but he's only thirty-three today.  One suspects Gary Sanchez will sign with someone for 2026.

December 1

Ed Reulbach (1882)

Willie Mitchell (1889)

Walter Alston (1911)

Calvin Griffith (1911)

Cookie Lavagetto (1912)

Marty Marion (1917)

Cal McLish (1925)

George Foster (1948)

Dan Schatzeder (1954)

Greg Harris (1963)

Larry Walker (1966)

Reggie Sanders (1967)

Kirk Rueter (1970)

Javier Baez (1992)

Kai-Wei Teng (1998)

Christian Encarnacion-Strand (1999)

As everyone reading this knows, Calvin Griffith was the long-time owner of the Minnesota Twins.  He had served in a variety of positions for the Washington Senators, including batboy, minor league player-manager, and working in the front office.  His managing career lasted from 1937-1941.  He also played for Class B Charlotte from 1939-1941.  No records of his playing career are available from 1939-1940, but in 1941 he got a hit in his only at-bat.

As you may know, Cal McLish's full name is Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish.

Harry Arthur "Cookie" Lavagetto was the first manager of the Minnesota Twins in 1961. He was born in Oakland, and attended Oakland Technical School. His first professional season was 1933, when he hit .312 in the Pacific Coast League at age 20. An infielder, Lavagetto got to the big leagues in 1934, playing three seasons in Pittsburgh. He was used as a part-time player, primarily at second base, getting about 200-300 at bats per year. After the 1936 season, he was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers, which is where he became a star. He was the Dodgers' starting second baseman in 1937, then started at third for four years. His numbers as a Dodger are good, but not all that impressive: he hit .300 once, his highest home run total was 10, and he never stole more than 15 bases. Still, he made the all-star team every year from 1938-1941, and twice received MVP votes. Lavagetto lost four years to World War II, as he enlisted in the Navy. When he came back as a thirty-three-year-old in 1946, he was reduced to part-time status. Released by the Dodgers in May of 1948, he went back home to Oakland, playing three more years in the Pacific Coast League. He then went into coaching, spending three years with Brooklyn (1951-1953) and one with Oakland (1954) before joining Washington in 1955. He became manager in 1957 and came to Minnesota with the club in 1961. He was let go after 59 games that season with a record of 23-36. He became a coach for the original Mets and was thought to be the logical choice to succeed Casey Stengel as Mets manager, but a false diagnosis of lung cancer led him to take a coaching job with the Giants in 1964 so he could be closer to home. He retired in 1967 and assisted his wife in her therapy equipment business. Lavagetto is best remembered today for a pinch-hit double he hit with two out in the ninth inning of game four of the 1947 World Series, a hit which broke up a no-hit bid by Bill Bevens and won the game for the Dodgers. Cookie Lavagetto passed away from a heart attack on August 10, 1990 in Orinda, California.

Left-hander Daniel Ernest Schatzeder was with the Twins in 1987-1988. His time as a Twin was brief, but he managed to get a World Series ring in the process. A left-hander, Schatzeder was born in Elmhurst, Illinois, and attended the University of Denver. He was drafted by Montreal in the third round in 1976. He pitched well in two minor league seasons, reaching the majors in September of 1977 and coming to stay in May of 1978. He put in a couple of solid years for the Expos as a swing man, but then was traded to Detroit in December of 1979. After one decent and one poor year for the Tigers, Schatzeder was traded again in December of 1981 to San Francisco. He started poorly in 1982, and was sold to Montreal. His stints with the Expos were the best years of Schatzeder's career. He shifted more to the bullpen from 1982-1986, although he still made 36 starts over that span. He was still pitching well for Montreal in July of 1986 when he was traded to Philadelphia. He was with the Phillies for nearly a year, and in June of 1987 he was traded to Minnesota for Tom Schwarz and Danny Clay. Schatzeder did not pitch well for the Twins, but did throw 4.1 scoreless innings in the League Championship Series. Released by the Twins after the season, he was signed by Cleveland, but when the Indians released him in June the Twins took him back again for the rest of the 1988 season. The second time around, he was used mostly in the starting rotation at AAA Portland, coming back to Minnesota for ten relief appearances in September. Schatzeder was a free agent after the season: as a Twin, he had an ERA of 5.50 in 54 innings spread over 40 appearances. After leaving the Twins, he went to Houston, the Mets, and Kansas City; his last big-league appearance was as a Royal in 1991. Released by Kansas City in late May of 1991, he signed with the Mets and played at AAA for a couple of weeks, but then his career was over. Dan Schatzeder was a physical education teacher at Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora, Illinois until his retirement in 2015.

The Greg Harris we are dealing with is Gregory Wade Harris, not Greg Allen Harris, the ambidextrous pitcher whose career covered roughly the same years. Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, Greg W. Harris attended Elon University and was drafted by San Diego in the tenth round in 1985. A starter throughout his minor league career, he advanced a level each season. His numbers at AA and AAA were not all that impressive, but he got a September callup in 1988 and was in the Padres bullpen in 1989 and 1990. He did a fine job for San Diego in those years as a setup man, and pitched well for them in 1991 as well when he made twenty starts. Harris remained an unspectacular but solid starter for the Padres through July of 1993, when he was traded to Colorado. He may have moved north and east, but his career went straight south. In a year and a half with the Rockies, Harris was four and twenty, which may work for blackbirds in a pie but not for major league pitchers. His ERA in that time was 6.60. Released by the Rockies, Harris signed with Minnesota in April of 1995. He was with the Twins for a little over a month, making seven appearances, six of them starts. It did not go well: he was 0-5 with an 8.82 ERA. Harris was sent to AAA and then was released in August. The Padres gave him a last shot in 1996, but he pitched poorly at Class A and his career was over. His career ERA for the Padres, 2.95, is second on the Padres' career list to Trevor Hoffman. Arm problems were at least partly responsible for his rapid decline; he sued his surgeon over botched operations on his pitching arm and shoulder, receiving a judgment of six million dollars. He also was the victim of some investment scams, for which he received a judgment of ten million dollars. At last report, Greg Harris was a coach with Prospects NC and was living in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Right-hander Kai-Wei Teng did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system from 2018-2019.  He was born in Taichung, Taiwan and signed as a free agent with the Twins in October of 2017.  He was having a strong 2019 season in Class A when he was traded to San Francisco with Prelander Berroa and Jaylin Davis for Sam Dyson at the July deadline.  He missed the 2020 COVID season and struggled when promoted to higher levels.  He kept getting promoted, however, reaching AA in 2022 and AAA in 2023.  He started 2024 in San Francisco and appeared in four games, going 0-0, 9.82, with a 2.09 WHIP.  Sent back to AAA, he went 3-6, 8.60, 1.81 WHIP.  He was back in AAA in 2025 and had a much better season, but did not accomplish much when brought back to the majors toward the end of the year.  He turns twenty-seven today.  He strikes out a lot of batters, but he also walks a lot of batters.  If he can learn to throw strikes, he might be a decent major league pitcher, but there have been hundreds of pitchers of whom that could be said.

Infielder Christian Lee Encarnacion-Strand did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 2021-2022.  He was born in Walnut Creek, California, attended Yavapai College and Oklahoma State, and was drafted by Minnesota in the fourth round in 2021.  He tore up the Florida State League that year, batting .391/.424/.598, although in just 87 at-bats.  He proved it was no fluke the next season, posting an OPS of .968 in Cedar Rapids and over a thousand in AA before being traded to Cincinnati with Steve Hajjar and Spencer Steer for Tyler Mahle.  It's a trade that is not likely to go down as Derek Falvey's finest hour.  Encarnacion-Strand spent the first half of 2023 tearing up the International League and the second half playing quite well in the majors.  Playing mostly at first or DH, he overcame a slow start to bat .270/.328/.477 with 13 home runs in 222 at-bats.  He was off to a slow start again in 2024, but was injured in early May and missed the rest of the season.  He had a poor first half of the season in 2025 and was sent back to AAA, where he did fairly well.  He turns twenty-six today.  We certainly wouldn't give up on him, but other than a half-season in 2023 he still hasn't accomplished much in the majors yet.  He needs to get something going pretty soon.

November 30

Mordecai Davidson (1845)

Frank Killen (1870)

Josh Billings (1891)

Firpo Marberry (1898)

Clyde Sukeforth (1901)

Dick Seay (1904)

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)

Chase Anderson (1987)

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 and another son, Andrew, played baseball for Mesabi Range Technical College.  At last report, Juan Berenguer was working for a Lincoln car dealership and for a Spanish-language television station in Minnesota.  Given his age, however, it's possible that he has retired.

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 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. After baseball, Steve Shields returned to Gadsden and was the Environmental Services Supervisor for the city until his retirement.  At last report, he was living in Hokes Bluff, Alabama.

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 a licensed investment advisor for Infinity Wealth Management in Denver.

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.  He is a member of the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

November 29

Tom Hughes (1878)

Minnie Minoso (1923)

Irv Noren (1924)

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 then retired himself.  He is a member of the Snohomish County Sports Hall of Fame and the Everett Community College Athletics Hall of Fame.

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.  At last report, he was 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", and was living in Stockton, California.

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.  He apparently moved to Boise, Idaho after that, got involved in youth baseball, and at last report was an instructor with Sawtooth Sports Training in Caldwell, Idaho.  He was also the pitching coach for the Sawtooth Sockeyes, a summer collegiate team.

November 28

Heinie Pietz (1870)

Frank O'Rourke (1894)

Johnny Wright (1916)

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.  2023 was similar--he had a poor year in AAA, but did very well in a September call-up to the majors.  He was waived anyway and claimed by Houston for 2024.  He pitched poorly again in AAA, was released in late May, and signed back with Detroit for whom, for a change, he pitched very well in AAA.  He signed with the Giants for 2025 and had another good year in AAA, but did not get called up to the majors.  His career major league numbers don't look all that impressive, but if you start from 2021 he's 4-1, 2.82, 1.09 WHIP with 65 strikeouts in 60.2 innings (41 games).  He turns thirty-one today and is a free agent.  He'll never be a star or anything, but if you're looking for relief help you could do worse than to give him a shot.

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)

Kody Funderburk (1996)

Billy Moran 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. Moran was sent from the Angels to Cleveland in that trade.

Left-handed reliever Kody Funderburk has been with the Twins since 2023.  He was born in Mesa, Arizona, attended Dallas Baptist University, and was drafted by Minnesota in the fifteenth round in 2018.  He actually had a very poor year in his last year in college, going 1-3, 6.84, 1.72 WHIP in fifty innings.  He did strike out fifty-three batters, which is probably why the Twins took a chance on him.  A starter in college and for much of his minor league career, he was not impressive in the low minors in 2018 or 2019.  He did not pitch in the COVID year of 2020, but he came back strong in 2021, posting a 2.55 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP in a season split between high-A and AA.  He had a good year in AA in 2022, when he began a shift to the bullpen.  He pitched very well in relief for St. Paul in 2023 and came up to the Twins in late August.  He gave up a run in his second appearance, but no more the rest of the season (nine games).  A year ago, we said, "we assume a spot in the Twins' bullpen in 2024 is his to lose."  Well, he lost it, pitching well in April but very poorly in May.  He was sent down in late May and made only brief appearances in the majors after that.  He did not do very well in AAA, either.  Given another chance in 2025, however, he pitched much better and spent most of the season in Minnesota.  He turns twenty-nine today, and has a major league record of 7-1, 4.31, 2 saves, 1.47 WHIP with 91 strikeouts in 87.2 innings.  Given the Twins' lack of relief pitchers, we assume he will be in their bullpen in 2026.