December 17

Cy Falkenberg (1879)

Ted Trent (1903)

Ray Jablonski (1926)

Cal Ripken (1935)

Jerry Adair (1936)

Leo Cardenas (1938)

Bob Ojeda (1957)

Marvell Wynne (1959)

Curtis Pride (1968)

Alex Cintron (1978)

Chase Utley (1978)

Fernando Abad (1985)

Donovan Solano (1987)

Taylor Rogers (1990)

Tyler Rogers (1990)

Brent Headrick (1997)

Cal Ripken was in the Orioles organization for many years, managing in the minors from 1961-1974, coaching in the majors from 1976-1986 and 1989-1992, and managing the big club from 1987-1988.  He had a son, also named Cal, who had a fairly decent major league career.

We apologize that we did not have time to write a biography for Donovan Solano.  Sorry about that, Donovan.  Maybe next year.

Shortstop Leonardo Lazaro (Alfonso) Cardenas was with the Twins from 1969-1971. Born in Matanzas, Cuba, Cardenas began his professional career in 1956 as a 17-year-old in the independent Arizona-Mexico League. He then went into the Cincinnati Reds' organization. He was in Class A Savannah for two years, then Class AAA Havana for a year and a half before getting called up to the majors in late July of 1960. He was installed as the starting shortstop at the age of 21, but did not hit and was reduced to part-time status. He started 1961 as the starter as well, but again went to the bench after a lack of offense. Given another chance at the starting job in late July, Cardenas went on a tear and ended the season hitting .308, the only year of his career he hit over .300. He remained Cincinnati's starting shortstop through the 1968 season. He hit .261 in his years with the Reds, which is much better than it sounds given the offensive context of his time, especially for a shortstop. He made the all-star team every year from 1964 through 1968 except for 1967, when he was injured part of the season. He also won a Gold Glove in 1965 and finished 21st in MVP voting. Cardenas also led the league in intentional walks in 1965 and 1966. After the 1968 season, Cardenas was traded to Minnesota for Jim Merritt. He gave the Twins three solid seasons, finishing 12th in MVP voting in 1969 and 21st in 1971, when he again made the all-star team. As a Twin, Cardenas hit .263/.325/.394 for an OPS+ of 98, and also provided fine defense. After the 1971 campaign, the Twins traded Cardenas to the Angels for Dave LaRoche. 1972 would be his last as a big league regular, as he hit just .223. Just before the 1973 season started, the Angels traded him to Cleveland, where he was used as a reserve. Cardenas moved on to Texas for 1974 and 1975, and then his career was over. At last report, Leo Cardenas was living in Cincinnati and making regular appearances at Reds promotional events.  He is a member of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

Left-hander Fernando Antonio Abad was with the Twins for the first four months of 2016.  He was born in La Romana in the Dominican Republic and signed with Houston as a free agent in 2002.  B-r.com does not have any stats for him until 2006, when he was in the Dominican Summer League with the Astros.  He advanced pretty slowly, not reaching AA until 2009, and only pitching in five games of AAA in 2010, but then suddenly shot up to the majors at the end of July of 2010.  He did very well there, too, posting an ERA of 2.84 and a WHIP of 1.00 in 19 innings.  He apparently was used as  LOOGY, as nine of his twenty-two appearances were for less than an inning.  He was used similarly in 2011, but a few bad outings made his ERA skyrocket (it's hard to get your ERA down very fast when you only pitch a third of an inning at a time) and he missed the second half of the season due to injury.  He came back in 2012 and pitched fairly well for four months, but fell apart at the end of the season.  He's been a pretty good reliever since then, though, going to Washington in 2013, traded to Oakland before the 2014 season, and signing with the Twins in 2016.  He did quite well for the Twins, going 1-4, 2.65, 1.21 WHIP in 39 appearances (34 innings).  The Twins traded him to Boston on August 1 of 2016 for Pat Light.  His numbers for the Red Sox the rest of the season were not very good, but he came back in 2017 to have a fine year for them.  One would've thought that he would certainly be in a major league bullpen in 2018, but that's not what happened.  He signed with Philadelphia, was released in spring training, signed with the Mets, and then was suspended for use of a banned substance.  The Mets immediately released him and he pitched for Long Island in the Atlantic League.  He signed with the Giants for 2019, came back to the majors in mid-August, and pitched pretty well for the rest of the season.  He signed with Washington for 2020, but was released shortly before the season started.  He signed with the Yankees a few days later but did not pitch for them and was again a free agent after the season.  He signed with Baltimore for 2021 and did not have a good season in AAA, but got called up in mid-August anyway.  He started out very poorly but did better in September.  A free agent again, he signed with Seattle in May of 2022 and actually had a good season in AAA, but did not get called up to the majors.  He signed with Colorado for 2023, came up for three games in May, was released, signed with Colorado again six days later, came up for three games in July, was released again, and signed with Milwaukee, finishing the season in AAA.  He played in the Mexican League in 2024-2025 and is currently playing in winter ball.  He turns forty today.  It's very doubtful that we'll see him back in the majors, but again, we're all for someone playing as long as they can find a team that will let them play.

Left-hander Taylor Allen Rogers was with the Twins from 2016-2021.  Born and raised in Littleton, Colorado, he attended the University of Kentucky and was drafted by Minnesota in the eleventh round of 2012.  A starter through his minor league career, he pitched well throughout the low minors and had a solid season in AA in 2014.  He was okay, but nothing more, in AAA in 2015 but was very good in six starts in the Arizona Fall League after that season.  He began 2016 in Rochester, made one appearance with the Twins in April, then came up to stay in mid-May, pitching out of the bullpen.  He struggled in September but did all right overall.  He had a solid 2017 for the Twins and did even better in 2018.  Three years ago, we said, "He's never been given a chance to be a closer--only two major league saves--but his numbers don't show any reason he couldn't be one."  Well, he was one in 2019 and it went pretty well--2.61 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 90 strikeouts in 69 innings, 30 saves.  It did not go so well in the short 2020 season, and the Twins made Alex Colome the closer at the start of the 2021 season, but before long Rogers was back to closing and was pitching well until an injury stopped his season in late July.  He was expected to be the Twins' closer in 2022, but just before the season started he was traded to San Diego with Brent Rooker for Chris Paddack, Emilio Pagan, and a player to be named later (Brayan Medina).  As a Twin, Taylor Rogers was 17-18, 3.15, 1.15 WHIP, 50 saves.  It did not go well for him in San Diego, although it appears some of that may have simply been bad luck.  He was traded to Milwaukee on August 1, and things got worse for him.  He signed with San Francisco for 2023, uniting him with his twin brother Tyler, and while he was not the closer he came back to have two very good years for them.  He was traded to Cincinnati before the 2025 season, traded to Pittsburgh in late July, and traded to the Cubs the next day.  He pitched very well for Cincinnati but not so well for Chicago and became a free agent after the season.  He turns thirty-five today and presumably will be in someone's bullpen in 2026.

Left-hander Brent Wayne Headrick pitched for the Twins in parts of 2023-2024.  He was born in Braidwood, Illinois, attended Illinois State, and was drafted by Minnesota in the ninth round in 2019.  He was a starter in college and through most of his minor league career.  His ERA in college was 4.55, which is part of the reason he wasn't drafted until the ninth round.  He was really nothing special throughout much of his minor league career.  He did have an excellent half-season in Cedar Rapids in 2022, but he was a twenty-four-year-old playing in high A.  He struggled when promoted to Wichita that season and was mediocre in St. Paul in 2023, although he did strike out a lot of batters in both places.  He had several stints with the Twins in 2023, totaling fourteen games, all in relief.  He gave up runs in eight of those games and more than one run in six, for an ERA of 6.31 in 25.2 innings.  He was injured most of 2024, making one appearance with the Twins.  The Twins waived him after the season and he was claimed by the Yankees.  He split the season between AAA and the majors, pitching surprisingly well in both places.  He turns twenty-eight today and remains with the Yankees.  We hope he's figured something out and will go on to have a good major league career.

December 16

Sammy Strang (1876)

Tony Kaufmann (1900)

Neil Chrisley (1931)

Adolfo Phillips (1941)

Mike Flanagan (1951)

Rick Sofield (1956)

Tom Gorman (1957)

Billy Ripken (1964)

Jeff Granger (1971)

Charles Gipson (1972)

Matt Kinney (1976)

Alcides Escobar (1986)

Hector Santiago (1987)

Tyler Chatwood (1989)

The reason Neil Chrisley is listed is because his given name is Barbra O’Neil Chrisley. No explanation for this name could be found, but it seems reasonable to assume that he’s the only man to play major league baseball whose given first name was Barbra.  So far.

Jeff Granger was drafted by Minnesota in the fourteenth round in 1990, but did not sign.

Outfielder Richard Michael Sofield played for the Twins from 1979-1981. Born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, he attended high school in Morristown, New Jersey and was drafted by the Twins with the 13th pick in the 1975 draft, turning down a football scholarship at Michigan. He struggled early, but broke through in 1977, hitting .325 with 27 homers for Class A Visalia. Sofield never had a year like that again; his next highest minor-league average was .281 in 1978 with AA Orlando, and his next highest minor-league home run total was five. Still, he began 1979 as the Twins' starting right fielder. He did not keep the job--in mid-May he was hitting .241, had only one extra base hit, and was sent to AAA. He was called back in September, though, and hit .400 (14-for-35), which was enough for him to regain the starting right fielder job for the Twins in 1980. It was not only his only full year as a big-league regular, it was his only full year in the big leagues. He hit .247 with nine homers. He started 1981 in Minnesota, but did poorly and went back to Toledo, never to return. He began 1982 with Toledo, finished in Denver in the Texas system, and then was done, out of baseball at age 25. After leaving baseball, he enrolled at the University of South Carolina intending to play football, but was declared ineligible after it was revealed that he had briefly attended the University of Minnesota in 1975. He instead became an assistant baseball coach for South Carolina, was head coach at Utah from 1988-1994, and then went into coaching at the professional level with a variety of organizations. In 2007, Rick Sofield was hired as the first baseball coach of the University of South Carolina--Beaufort, a position he held through 2011.  He managed Class A West Virginia in the Pittsburgh organization in 2012 and was a coach for the major league club from 2013-2016, but was let go after the 2016 season.  He was apparently out of baseball in 2017, became the head baseball coach at Hilton Head Preparatory School in South Carolina in 2018, but left that position after just one season.  At last report, Rick Sofield was living in Okatie, South Carolina.  He is one of two major league players whose last name begins with "Sof" (Ray Soff, Cardinals pitcher in the 1980s).

Left-hander Thomas Patrick Gorman did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 1987. He was born in Portland, Oregon, attended Gonzaga University, and was drafted by Montreal in the fourth round in 1980. Pitching mostly in relief, he was started in AA and had two fine seasons in Memphis, making his major league debut as a September call-up in 1981. He struggled in AAA in 1982 when he was converted to starting, and was traded to the Mets in mid-August. He righted himself in 1983, and after a strong start at Tidewater came up to the Mets in late June. He was excellent out of the Mets bullpen through 1984, but struggled in 1985 and was released at the end of 1986 spring training. Philadelphia signed him and he pitched very well in AAA Portland, but not so well when brought to the majors for a month. He was released again after the season and signed with San Diego for 1987, but when he continued to struggle he was traded to Minnesota in June for right-hander Dave Blakely. He did well in limited innings, going 1-4, 3.02, 1.39 WHIP in 44.2 innings. The Twins let him go after the season. He made one appearance in AAA with Oakland in 1988, then his playing career was over.  The third most famous Tom Gorman in baseball history (behind the former umpire and the 1950s relief pitcher), at last report this Tom Gorman was a high school pitching coach in Oregon, Ohio.  That last report, however, is several years old now.

Right-handed pitcher Matthew John Kinney began his major-league career with the Twins, pitching for them in 2000 and 2002. He was born in Bangor, Maine, and went to high school there. He was drafted by Boston in the sixth round in 1995. He pitched well in the low minors, but was still in Class A on July 31, 1998 when he was traded to Minnesota with Joe Thomas and John Barnes for Orlando Merced and Greg Swindell. He flopped in a promotion to AA in 1999, but did better there in 2000. Kinney also pitched fairly well when promoted to AAA in 2000, and reached the Twins briefly that year, making eight starts at the end of the season. He had a bad year at AAA Edmonton in 2001, but was still placed in the starting rotation for a couple of months in the beginning of 2002. It did not go well, and it did not go well for him in the minors that year, either, although he appears to have been injured part of the year. That off-season, Kinney was traded with Javier Valentin to Milwaukee for Gerry Oakes and Matt Yeatman. He was in the Brewers rotation all of 2003 despite not pitching very well, was sent to the bullpen in 2004, continued to not pitch well, and was placed on waivers in August. Kansas City selected him, he finished out the year there, and then became a free agent. Kinney signed with San Francisco and was in the starting rotation for AAA Fresno for the next three years, getting a September call-up in 2005 but not in 2006 or 2007. He pitched in Japan in 2008, but came back to the United States in 2009, again with Fresno. He was injured much of 2010, making only seven appearances for Fresno. Near the end of the season, he received a fifty-game suspension for testing positive for adderall, an amphetamine. Kinney stated it was a drug he had taken since 2005 to treat his ADHD, but he had not filed the proper paperwork to get permission to use it in 2010. As a Twin, Matt Kinney was 4-9 with a 4.82 ERA in 22 games, 20 of them starts.  His playing career ended with the 2010 suspension.  At last report, Matt Kinney was the baseball coach of Hermon High School in Bangor, Maine and also sold insurance through the The Kinney Agency.

Left-hander Hector Felipe Santiago pitched for the Twins in 2016-2017.  He was born in Newark, went to high school in Bloomfield, New Jersey, attended Okaloosa-Walton College in Niceville, Florida (one of nine major leaguers the school has produced), and was drafted by the White Sox in the thirtieth round in 2006.  His numbers in the minors are okay, but nothing really eye-popping.  He was a relief pitcher throughout his minor league career other than 2011, when he made 23 starts.  He made his major league debut that year, appearing in two games of relief, and came up to stay as a reliever for the White Sox in 2012.  He went back to starting in 2013 and did well enough.  After the season he went to the Angels in a three-team deal.  He was a starter for the Angels for two and a half seasons, then was traded to the Twins on August 1, 2016 with Alan Busenitz for Alex Meyer, Ricky Nolasco, and cash.  He stayed with the Twins through 2017 but did not pitch after July 2 due to a shoulder injury.  He had some good starts but struggled overall, going 7-14, 5.61, 1.43 WHIP in 26 appearances (25 starts).  He was allowed to be a free agent after the 2017 season, and while it was nothing personal no one was all that sad to see him go.  He signed with the White Sox for 2018 and was arguably somewhat better but not much, going 6-3, 4.41, 1.58 WHIP in 49 appearances (7 starts).  He signed with the Mets for 2019, pitched poorly, was released in mid-June, signed with the White Sox two days later, continued to pitch poorly, and became a free agent after the season.  He signed with Detroit for 2020, but was released shortly before the season started.  We thought his career might be over, but he signed with Seattle and pitched fairly well in thirteen appearances in 2021.  He played winter ball after that season, did not play in 2022, but played in the Mexican League in 2023 and has played winter ball in Puerto Rico the last three seasons.  He turns thirty-eight today.  It's extremely unlikely we'll see him in the majors again, but we're all for someone playing as long as someone will let him play.

December 15

Nig Clarke (1882)

Eddie Robinson (1920)

Ray Herbert (1929)

Haywood Sullivan (1930)

Sammy Esposito (1931)

Stan Bahnsen (1944)

Art Howe (1946)

Mike Proly (1950)

Bud Bulling (1952)

Mo Vaughn (1967)

Rick Helling (1970)

Kevin Cameron (1979)

Ryan Pressly (1988)

Trevor Hildenberger (1990)

Ryan Eades (1991)

Two of the six Twins players with the first name "Ryan" were born on this day.  They have also had three players with the last name "Ryan", although none had the first name "Nolan".  They also, of course, had long-time general manager Terry Ryan.

Right-hander Michael James Proly did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 1977. He was born in Jamaica, New York, went to high school in Mineola, New York, attended St. John’s, and was drafted by St. Louis in the ninth round in 1972. He was mostly a relief pitcher in the minors and did pretty well other than a stumble in 1975, his first season in AAA. He did not strike out very many, however, and while he made his major league debut in 1976, appearing in 14 games, the Cardinals left him unprotected after the season. Minnesota selected him in the rule 5 draft, and while the records don’t mention a trade, something was obviously worked out, because Proly pitched for AAA Tacoma in 1977. He did not pitch well, going 9-12, 4.57, 1.55 WHIP. A free agent after the season, he signed with the White Sox and apparently figured something out. He had a strong half-season in AAA for the Sox, then came up to the majors and continued to pitch well. He was a solid pitcher for the White Sox through 1980, then was traded to Philadelphia just before the 1981 season. He pitched pretty well in relief for them, too, but was released just before the 1982 season. The Cubs signed him, and he was a solid contributor to their bullpen for two years. Despite that, the Cubs released him early in the 1984 season. He signed with Toronto, was sent to AAA, pitched poorly, and his career was suddenly over. He pitched in seven major league seasons, appeared in 267 games, had an ERA of 3.23, and never had an ERA over four, yet was released twice and given up on entirely after 21 poor innings in AAA.  At last report, Mike Proly was a financial advisor for MetLife Financial Services in Greenville, South Carolina, although he is semi-retired.

Catcher Terry Charles "Bud" Bulling was in the Twins' minor league system at the beginning of his career, playing in fifteen games for them in 1977. Born in Linwood, California, Bulling went to California State--Los Angeles and was drafted by the Twins in the 14th round in 1974. In 1976, he hit .310 at Class A. He followed that up by hitting .285 at AA Orlando in 1977 and got his first call-up to the big leagues, playing in 15 games. It would be four years before got there again. In 1978, he only hit .247 at Orlando, and at the end of spring training in 1979 Bulling was sold to Seattle. He had two good years in AAA Spokane, and then was the Mariners' reserve catcher in 1981 and 1982, getting 154 at-bats both years. He became Gaylord Perry's personal catcher and caught Perry's 300th win. He began 1983 with Seattle, but after playing five games he was sent to AAA, never to return to the majors. He finished out the season in Salt Lake City and then ended his career. As a Twin, Bulling hit .156 in 32 at-bats. Terry "Bud" Bulling passed away on March 8, 2014 in Salem, Oregon after a long battle with prostate cancer.

Right-handed pitcher Ricky Allen Helling never pitched for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for a brief time in 2004. He was born in Devils Lake, North Dakota, went to high school in Fargo, and then attended Stanford. He was drafted in the first round by Texas in 1992. He had a very good year in AA in 1993, then spent the next three years bouncing back and forth between the majors and AAA. In the first two of those years, he did not pitch particularly well in either place, but he had an excellent year in 1996 for Oklahoma City. In September of that year, Helling was traded to Florida. The following year, 1997, was Helling's first full year in the majors. He was in the bullpen most of the year with the Marlins, but in mid-August he was traded back to Texas and returned to the starting rotation. He stayed with the Rangers through 2001, putting in four solid years. He made 33 to 35 starts each year and always pitched between 215 and 220 innings. He won 20 games in 1998. He became a free agent and moved to Arizona for 2002, where he again was a solid member of the rotation. Again a free agent after the season, Helling signed with Baltimore, but he had a poor year and was released in August. Florida signed him and sent him to the bullpen, where he did a fine job in 11 appearances. The Twins signed him for 2004, but he battled injuries, made six minor-league starts, and was released in early June. He was signed by Texas, was in their minor-league system for a month, and was released again. He then went to Milwaukee, going back and forth between AAA and the majors for two more years before ending his career after the 2006 season. He was never a star, but he made 30 or more starts five years in a row, which is a pretty useful pitcher. He is in the Texas Rangers' all-time top ten in wins, starts, innings, and strikeouts. At last report, Rick Helling was a special assistant to the Major League Baseball Players Association.  He was also a youth football coach in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

Right-handed pitcher Kevin John Cameron never played for the Twins, but he was drafted by them. A native of Joliet, Ill., he attended Joliet Catholic Academy and then went to Georgia Tech. He was drafted by the Twins in the 13th round in 2001. A relief pitcher throughout his minor league career, Cameron had a very good year in the Appalachian League in 2001, but then was injured and missed all of the 2002 campaign. He came back to pitch quite well for four years in the Twins' minor league system, posting ERAs under three each year from 2004 through 2006. He was left off the Twins' forty-man roster, however, and was selected by San Diego in the 2006 Rule 5 draft. He stayed with the Padres all of 2007, posting an encouraging 2.79 ERA but walking 36 in 58 innings. He started 2008 in San Diego, but control continued to be a problem, and he was sent down to the minors in early May. He remained in the minors the rest of the year while battling injuries. A free agent after the season, Cameron moved to Oakland, again splitting the year between the majors and AAA. That seems to have been the end of his career; he was a free agent after the season, signed with San Francisco, but did not make the team and his playing career came to an end. At last report, Kevin Cameron was a vice president and lead credit portfolio consultant for commercial banking for Wells Fargo in Scottsdale, Arizona area.

Right-hander Thomas Ryan Pressly was with the Twins from 2013-2018.  He was born in Dallas, went to high school in Flower Mound, Texas, and was drafted by Boston in the eleventh round in 2007.  He was a starter until 2012 and did okay in the low minors, but less well in high A.  He began to make the conversion to reliever in 2012 and had a fourteen very good relief appearances in AA that season.  Still, he was twenty-four and did not have much record of success above low A, so the Red Sox left him unprotected and Minnesota claimed him in the Rule 5 draft.  He stuck with the Twins for all of 2013 and did fairly well.  He started 2014 in Rochester, but came back to Minnesota in late July and did fairly well again.  He started 2015 in Minnesota and again pitched fairly well, but was injured in early July and missed the rest of the season.  He came back in 2016 and again did--fairly well.  In 2017 he was quite inconsistent, mixing dominating performances with dreadful ones.  in 2018 with the Twins, he returned to his 2016 form--again fairly good, but nothing to be excited about.  In late July, the Twins traded him to Houston for Jorge Alcala and Gilberto Celestino.  He caught fire as an Astro, posting an ERA of 0.77 and a WHIP of 0.60 in 23.1 innings.  He couldn't do that for a full season, of course, but pitched very well for Houston, posting an ERA of 2.81 and a WHIP of 1.16 with 111 saves and 411 strikeouts in 342 games (333 innings).  He was traded to Cubs after the 2024 season and it did not go well at all.  He posted an ERA of 4.35, a WHIP of 1.52, and was released on the first of August.  He has not signed with anyone since then.  As a Twin, he was 17-16, 3.75, 1.30 WHIP with 282 strikeouts in 317 innings (281 appearances).  He turns thirty-seven today.  As desperate as everyone is for pitching, it would seem like someone would take him to spring training, at least, in 2026.

Right-hander Trevor Sean Hildenberger was with the Twins from 2017-2019.  He was born in San Jose, California, attended the University of California in Berkeley, and was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 2014.  A reliever his entire career, he has pitched extremely well at every level.  In rookie ball in 2014 (GCL Twins and Elizabethton) he went 1-4, 10 saves, 2.48, 1.10 WHIP with 32 strikeouts in 29 innings.  In Class A in 2015 (Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers) he went 3-2, 17 saves, 1.55, 0.72 WHIP with 80 strikeouts in 64 innings.  In 2016 he made 6 appearances in Class A, then was promoted to AA:  he went 3-4, 19 saves, 0.75, 0.79 WHIP with 53 strikeouts in 48 innings.  In 2017 with Rochester he was 2-1, 6 saves, 2.05, 1.14 WHIP with 35 strikeouts in 30.2 innings.  Promoted to the Twins, he went 3-3, 1 save, 3.21, 1.05 WHIP with 44 strikeouts in 42 innings.  He looked like a future closer, but turned in a very inconsistent 2018, having stretches where he was unhittable and other stretches when he was extremely hittable.  Either way, Paul Molitor kept sending him out there--he made seventy-three appearances for the Twins, leading the club.  He started the 2019 season in the majors and pitched well in April, but fell apart in May and was sent back to Rochester in the middle of the month, where he battled injuries and did not returning to the big leagues until September.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Boston, but did not play for them in 2020.  He became a free agent again and signed with the Mets for 2021.  He made two appearances for them, was waived in mid-May, and was claimed by San Francisco, spending the rest of the season in AAA.  He remained with the Giants through April of 2023, but was able to pitch in only eleven minor league games.  He apparently was significantly involved in the drive to unionize minor league players. As a Twin, he was 9-11, 5.35, 1.39 WHIP with 9 saves.  No information about what Trevor Hildenberger is doing now was readily available.

Right-hander Ryan Nelson Eades made two appearances for the Twins in 2019.  Born and raised in Slidell, Louisiana, he attended Louisiana State and was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 2013.  He didn't do much for his first couple of years but had a solid season in 2015 for Fort Myers.  He struggled at AA in 2016 but did well there in 2017 and also was solid in the Arizona Fall League following that season.  That's pretty much where the good news ends for him, though.  He struggled at AA in 2018 and had a poor season in AAA in 2019.  Despite that the Twins, probably needing a fresh arm for the bullpen, brought him up for two games in June.  He did well in those games, giving up four hits and two walks but no runs in 3.2 innings and striking out five.  As a Twin he was 0-0, 0.00, 1.64 WHIP.  The Twins waived him in mid-August and he was claimed by Baltimore.  He appeared in six more games for them.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with the Astros in early May of 2021.  He made six AAA appearances and was released in late August, finishing the season with independent Lancaster, for whom he pitched well.  That, however, brought his playing career to an end.  At last report, Ryan Eades had returned to Slidell and was the owner of a food truck called Deep Roots Juicery.

December 14

John Anderson (1873)

Lefty Tyler (1889)

Bob Weiland (1905)

Eddie Smith (1913)

Rusty Peters (1914)

Bobby Adams (1921)

Sam Jones (1925)

Bob Clear (1927)

Pete Whisenant (1929)

Jim Roland (1942)

Jerry May (1943)

Greg Goossen (1945)

Bill Buckner (1949)

Craig Biggio (1965)

Ken Hill (1965)

Scott Hatteberg (1969)

Dave Nilsson (1969)

Marcus Jensen (1972)

Billy Koch (1974)

Rodrigo Lopez (1975)

Dave Gassner (1978)

Adam Frazier (1991)

Bob Clear was in baseball from 1945-1987 as a minor league player and manager, major league coach, and as a scout.

Outfielder Thomas Peter Whisenant was one of the original Minnesota Twins, although he didn't stay long. He was born in Asheville, North Carolina, and signed with the Boston Braves as a free agent in 1947. He began his professional career as a 17-year-old, and naturally needed a few years to get going. In 1950, however, he had a big year for Class A Denver, hitting .312 with 24 home runs. Whisenant did not play at all in 1951 due to military service. He split 1952 between Boston and AAA, although he did not particularly excel at either level. Whisenant was in AAA through May of 1955, but when he hit .333 with 13 homers in two months at Toledo, he was traded to St. Louis. The Cardinals promoted him to the big leagues, but he struggled and was traded again after the season, this time to the Cubs. Whisenant got by far the most playing time of his career that season--it was the only time he played in over 90 games (103) or had more than 210 at-bats (314). He didn't do much with it, though, hitting .239 (the highest season average of his career) with 11 homers, and after the year he was on the move again, this time traded to Cincinnati. He stayed with the Reds through April of 1960, was sold to Cleveland, and two weeks later was traded to the Washington Senators for Ken Aspromonte. He came to Minnesota with the Twins in 1961. He played in ten games for them, going 0-for-6 with a walk, and was released in mid-May of 1961. He was signed by Cincinnati, batted 15 times in three months, and then was released, his career over. Looking at his stats, it's hard to figure out how he hung around so long; not only does he not seem to have any one outstanding skill, he really doesn't even appear to have been average at anything. That's probably too harsh, because there has to be some reason he got nearly 1000 at-bats in the big leagues, but that reason is not readily apparent. After his retirement he became a coach for the Reds for a while; nearly twenty years later, he came back to baseball, managing in the Oakland system in the early 1980s. Pete Whisenant passed away in Port Charlotte, Florida on March 22, 1996.

Left-handed pitcher James Ivan Roland played for Minnesota in the 1960s. Born in Franklin, North Carolina, Roland went to high school in Raleigh and signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1961. A starting pitcher in the minors, Roland had a couple of fine years with Class B Wilson, getting a September call up in 1962, when he pitched two scoreless innings. He was with the Twins for all of 1963 and 1964, but probably suffered some injuries both years, as he went for long stretches without being used both years. Despite pitching well enough when he did pitch, Roland was sent to AAA Denver for all of 1965 and nearly all of 1966. He had a poor year in 1966, losing 19 games and posting a 4.80 ERA with a 1.59 WHIP. Roland again apparently battled injuries at the beginning of 1967, and when he returned he was in the Minnesota bullpen. He pitched well there for two years, posting ERAs in the low to mid threes and WHIPs of 1.3 to 1.4. In February of 1969, Roland was sold to Oakland. He was in the Athletics bullpen for a little over three years and did even better, with an ERA of 2.51 and a WHIP of 1.21. In late April of 1972 he was again sold, this time to the Yankees. He pitched poorly in limited duty over four months in New York, was traded to Texas in late August, and was out of baseball after the season. As a Twin, Jim Roland was 10-9 with a 3.42 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in 244.2 innings. Following his playing career he worked for E. C. Frazier & Associates, a sporting goods wholesaler. Jim Roland passed away from cancer on March 6, 2010 in Shelby, North Carolina.

Catcher Jerry Lee May did not play for the Twins, but he went to spring training with them in 1974. He was born in Staunton, Virginia, and signed with Pittsburgh as a free agent in 1961. He had a couple of very good years in Class D ball, but never hit very much when he advanced to higher levels. He was reputed to be a very good defensive catcher, which is how he managed to have a substantial major league career despite a weak bat. He got a September call-up in 1964, another in 1965, and then was in the majors to stay. He was the third catcher for the Pirates in 1966, behind Jim Pagliaroni and Jesse Gonder, but became the mostly regular in 1967, when he had his best year at bat, hitting .271. He got the most playing time of his career in 1968, but slumped to .219 and was never a regular catcher again. He played for several more years, though, backing up Manny Sanguillen in 1969 and 1970, then getting traded to Kansas City, where he shared catching duties with several players. He was sold to the Mets in May of 1973, was released in July, and was picked up by Pittsburgh for the remainder of the season. Most of that season was spent in AAA, however, and he was let go after the campaign was over. Minnesota signed him for 1974, but he could not beat out such luminaries as Glenn Borgmann, Phil Roof, and an aging Randy Hundley. He failed to make the team, and his playing career was over. Jerry May apparently retired to his home state of Virginia. He passed away in Swoope, Virginia, in 1996 at age 52 as the result of a farming accident.

Catcher Marcus Christian Jensen was with the Twins for the first four months of the 2000 season. A native of Oakland, he went to high school there and was drafted by San Francisco in the first round in 1990. He spent a year in rookie ball and four years in A ball before being promoted to AA in 1995 and AAA in 1996. He played briefly (nine games) in the big leagues in 1996, and for six years after that he spent part of each year in the majors and part in AAA. He was with a lot of organizations during that time. Jensen was traded to Detroit in July of 1997, was released six days later, was re-signed four days after that. He was released by the Tigers again in March of 1998 and signed with Milwaukee for that season. He moved on to St. Louis in 1999, became a free agent after the season, and signed with Minnesota for 2000. He was with the Twins through the end of July, hitting .209/.325/.338 in 139 at-bats. It was the most he would ever play in a major league season. He was then sent back to AAA Salt Lake, and once again became a free agent at the end of the year. He played for the 2000 Olympic team, and went to spring training with Dodgers, but failed to make the team. Boston picked him up, then waived him in mid-June. He was selected by Texas finished 2001 there, and then went to Milwaukee for 2002. He got 64 more big-league at-bats during that time, four for Boston, 25 for Texas, and 35 for the Brewers. Jensen moved on to the Phillies organization for 2003, but was traded to the Yankees' organization before the season started. He played in the Mexican League in 2004 and then spent two years with independent teams before finally hanging up his spikes. He had 343 major league at-bats spread over seven seasons, with a lifetime batting average of .184. Marcus Jensen managed the AZL Athletics in the Arizona League from 2009-2013, was the minor league batting coordinator for the Athletics in 2014, and has been a coach in the majors for Oakland since 2015.  He was their bullpen coach from 2021-2022 and is currently their quality control coach.

Left-hander David Kenneth Gassner made two starts with the Twins in 2005. Born in Hortonville, Wisconsin, he went to Purdue, getting a degree in education. He was drafted by Toronto in the 24th round in 2001. He pitched pretty well in the Blue Jays' organization for three years, reaching AA in 2003 and also making two starts at AAA. After that year, he was sent to the Twins as the player to be named later in the deal that also sent Shannon Stewart to Minnesota for Bobby Kielty. He had a very good season for Rochester in 2004, going 16-8, 3.41 with a 1.18 WHIP. His two starts in 2005 came in April; he pitched very well against Cleveland, then was blasted by Kansas City. Gassner was 1-0, 5.87 in 7.2 innings in what were his only major league games. Things went downhill for him after that: he had a poor year at Rochester in 2005, was out much of 2006 with a left elbow strain, had another poor year in 2007, and was allowed to become a free agent. Gassner signed with Cincinnati for 2008, but was released in spring training. He pitched seven games for the independent York Revolution before the Red Sox' organization picked him up in early June. He did not do well for AA Portland, however, and was released again. He once again pitched for York in 2009, but a muscle strain in his neck limited his effectiveness, and he announced his retirement after the season and returned to Wisconsin. At last report, Dave Gassner was a physical education teacher and baseball coach at Appleton West High School in Appleton, Wisconsin for some years, and at last report was a pitching coach for XLR8  Sports Training in Menasha, Wisconsin.

December 13

Jack Taylor (1873)

Hank Majeski (1916)

Larry Doby (1923)

Shotgun Shuba (1924)

Carl Erskine (1926)

Billy Loes (1929)

Bubba Morton (1931)

Lindy McDaniel (1935)

J. C. Martin (1936)

Ron Taylor (1937)

Ferguson Jenkins (1942)

Paul Boris (1955)

Dale Berra (1956)

Mike Mordecai (1967)

Matthew LeCroy (1975)

Ricky Nolasco (1982)

Johan Camargo (1993)

Right-handed pitcher Paul Stanley Boris appeared in twenty-three games for Minnesota in 1982, which was all of his major league career. He was born in Irvington, New Jersey, went to Rutgers, and was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in 1978. A reliever, he pitched very well in four years in the Yankees farm system, spending two years in Class A and one each in AA and AAA. Boris was taken by the Twins in the Rule 5 draft in December of 1981, but was returned on April 2. A week later, Boris was traded to Minnesota, along with Ron Davis and Greg Gagne, for Roy Smalley. Boris was sent to AAA Toledo, did okay, and was promoted to the Twins in late May. He was used in long relief, and by Twins standards of 1982 he was actually pretty decent: a 3.99 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in 49.2 innings. Something happened to him after that, though. He failed to make the team in 1983, pitched poorly in Toledo, was sent to AA, continued to pitch poorly, and was released after the season. He signed with Atlanta for 1984, but pitched only seven games for AAA Richmond before being released again, his career over. It seems likely that an injury was involved, but this could not be confirmed. At last report, Paul Boris was a manager for Chubb in Zurich, Switzerland.

Catcher/DH Matthew Hanks LeCroy was with Minnesota from 2000-2005 and again in 2007, which was nearly all of his major league career. He was born in Belton, South Carolina and went to high school there. He then attended Clemson and was drafted by the Twins in the first round in 1997. He showed quite a bit of power early on, hitting 53 home runs in his first two minor league seasons. He got brief shots at AAA in each of his those years, but was essentially jumped from Class A to the majors at the start of 2000. Understandably, he was not ready, and was sent to AA in mid-June after hitting .170. Le Croy did not get a full season in AAA until 2001, when he hit .328 with 20 homers for Edmonton. That got him a September call-up, and in 2002, he was in the majors. By this time, LeCroy was seldom used as a catcher, getting most of his at-bats as a designated hitter. He was never more than a part-time player--his highest at-bat total was 374--but he was a solid contributor to the Twins from 2002 through 2005. After the 2005 season, LeCroy became a free agent and signed with Washington. There was no reason to think this would go well--there was no DH in the National League, and LeCroy's defensive abilities, which were always suspect, had been taken away by injuries. Used primarily as a pinch hitter, he hit .239 with two home runs in 67 at-bats. The Twins re-signed him in 2007, but he had a poor year for Rochester. LeCroy was given a last hurrah that September, and then his career was over. As a Twin, he hit .261/.324/.444 with 58 homers. Matthew LeCroy was the manager of the Class AA Harrisburg Senators in the Washington organization in 2012 and 2013, was the Nationals' bullpen coach in 2014 and 2015, and was back in Harrisburg, once again as manager, from 2016-2019.  He was to be their minor league quality control coordinator in 2020, but of course there wasn't really very much for him to do in that position in 2020.  He has managed the Rochester Red Wings since 2021.

Right-hander Carlos Enrique "Ricky" Nolasco joined the Twins in 2014.  He was born in Corona, California, went to high school in Rialto, California, and was drafted by the Cubs in the fourth round in 2001.  A starter for his entire minor league career, he pitched very well in the low minors, fairly well at AA in 2004, and very badly in nine starts at AAA in 2004.  Left in AA for all of 2005, he had an outstanding year, going 14-3, 2.89, 1.22 WHIP with 173 strikeouts in 161.2 innings.  After that season, however, he was traded with two other players to the Marlins for Juan Pierre.  He made his major league debut in 2006 and stayed with the Marlins all season, not doing particularly well but not being totally overmatched at age twenty-three, either.  He was injured much of 2007, but came back in 2008 and was a solid rotation starter for several years.  In his six seasons prior to joining the Twins, he averaged 31 starts, 192 innings, and a 4.30 ERA.  He did not do that well for the Twins in 2014, making 27 starts, pitching 159 innings, and posting a 5.38 ERA.  Many times he did not look that far away from being a good pitcher, but he could never get the corner turned.  He was injured most of 2015 and did not pitch well when he did pitch.  He continued to not pitch well in 2016, so on August 1 the Twins traded him along with Alex Meyer to the Angels for Hector Santiago and Alan Busenitz.  He did quite well for them in eleven starts that season, but struggled again in 2017.  He turns thirty-five today.  As a Twin, Ricky Nolasco was 15-22, 5.44, 1.47 WHIP in 321 innings (57 games, 56 starts).  He signed with Kansas City for 2018 but was released in spring training.  He did not play in 2018 but signed with Arizona for 2019 and made eleven minor league appearances, not doing very well.  He did not sign with anyone for 2020 and his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Ricky Nolasco was living in Los Angeles.

Infielder Johan Valentin Camargo did not play for the Twins, but he was with them for about two months in the off-season of 2022/2023.  He was born in Panama and signed with Atlanta as a free agent in 2010.  He was in the Braves' organization for a long time, reaching Class A in 2014, AA in 2016, and started 2017 in the majors.  He played sparingly at first, and went back to AAA for a brief time, but came back to have a fine season, mostly playing third and short.  He was the Braves' regular third baseman in 2018 and had another very good year, batting .272 with 19 homers and an OPS of .809.  After that, though, he went downhill quickly for reasons not entirely of his own making.  Despite his fine 2018, the Braves replaced him at third base with Josh Donaldson in 2019 and made him a reserve utility player.  He did not adjust well, as his OPS dropped to .663.  He did even worse in that role in the shortened 2020 season.  He started 2021 in the majors, but was seldom used and spent most of the season in AAA, where he had an outstanding season.  All it earned him, though, was his release, and he signed with Philadelphia for 2022.  He got off to an outstanding start for the Phillies, but couldn't sustain it and wound up back in AAA for the second half of the season.  A free agent again, he signed with the Twins in late November, but was released in January of 2023 and signed with Kansas City.  He played very well in AAA, but again all it earned him was his release in mid-June.  He signed with Detroit a week later, was released in early August, signed with San Francisco, and got his last big league action in eight August games.  He was released again after the season, apparently did not play in 2024, but had a fine season in the Mexican League in 2025.  He turns thirty-two today.  His career major league numbers are not particularly impressive, though not awful either:  .254/.313/.407 in 1243 at-bats.  We can't help but wonder what would've happened if the Braves had just left him alone at third base.  As it is, though, it's unlikely that we'll see Johan Camargo back in the majors, although he can probably play in the Mexican League for a while yet if he wants to.

December 12

Phenomenal Smith (1864)

Tully Sparks (1874)

Buzzie Bavasi (1915)

Clyde Kluttz (1917)

Ralph Garr (1945)

Gorman Thomas (1950)

Steve Farr (1956)

Alonzo Powell (1964)

Orlando Hudson (1977)

Ervin Santana (1982)

Sawyer Gipson-Long (1997)

Matt Wallner (1997)

John Francis Smith got the nickname "Phenomenal" when he struck out sixteen batters in an Eastern League game in 1885, with no batter hitting the ball out of the infield.

Emil "Buzzie" Bavasi was the general manager of the Dodgers from 1951-1968, San Diego from 1969-1972, and the Angels from 1977-1984.

Outfielder Alonzo Sidney Powell did not play for Minnesota, but was in their farm system for a year. He was born in San Francisco, went to high school in San Francisco, and was signed by San Francisco as a free agent in 1983. He was in the Giants' system for two years, but didn't hit. The Giants kept him under contract for 1985, but loaned him to independent San Jose. He did a little better, but was traded to Montreal after the season ended. The trade seemed to help him--he hit .301 in AA in 1986 and started 1987 in the majors. That lasted only a month, but he hit .299 in AAA at age 22 and looked poised to make a move. Instead, he went backward, hitting .262 in AAA in 1988 and .232 in 1989. He was traded to Minnesota after the 1989 season as the player to be named later when the Twins traded Jim Dwyer to the Expos. Again, the trade seemed to help him, as he hit .322 in Portland in 1990. It made no impression on the Twins, though; they let him become a free agent after the season. Signing with Seattle, Powell was hitting .375 at AAA Calgary when he was promoted to the majors in late May. He was given sporadic playing time, however, and did not do much with it. He started 1992 in Calgary again, but then signed with Chunichi Dragons in Japan. Powell stayed in Japan until 1998, when he decided to give it one last shot in the United States. He was in AAA with the organizations of Toronto, the Yankees, and Colorado through 2000, but never got back to the big leagues. He played in 2001 for independent Newark, and then retired. Powell then went into coaching. On May 9, 2009, he became the hitting coach for the Seattle Mariners, a job he held until 2011.  From 2012-2015, Alonzo Powell was the assistant batting coach of the San Diego Padres.  He was the assistant batting coach of the Houston Astros from 2016-17.  He was the batting coach for San Francisco from 2018-2019.  In 2020 he went back to Japan, and was a roving batting instructor for the Chunichi Dragons.  He returned to the United States in 2024 and became the batting coach of the Salt Lake Bees.

Second baseman Orlando Thill Hudson played for the Twins in 2010. Born and raised in Darlington, South Carolina, he was drafted in the 43rd round by Toronto in 1997. He posted decent but unspectacular batting averages early in his minor league career, hitting a fair number of doubles and drawing a good number of walks. He came on in 2001, hitting .306 in a season split between AA and AAA and following it up with a .307 average in AAA in 2002. He made his big league debut in the latter season, coming up in late July and immediately taking over as the Blue Jays’ starting second baseman. He remained their starting second baseman through the 2005 season, hitting around .270 with an OPS of around .750 and winning a Gold Glove in his last season there. He was traded to Arizona after the 2005 campaign and was the second baseman for the Diamondbacks from 2006-2008. He hit a little better there, hitting over .300 in 2008, winning two more Gold Gloves, and making the all-star team in 2007. He was a free agent after the 2008 season and signed with the Dodgers for 2009, making another all-star team and winning another Gold Glove. A free agent again after the 2009 season, he signed with Minnesota for 2010. He neither made the all-star team nor won the gold glove, hitting .268 with an OPS of .710. A free agent after the season, he signed with San Diego and had the worst year of his career, hitting .246 with an OPS of .681.  He was worse in 2012, batting .211 when he was released in mid-May.  He signed with the White Sox and stayed the rest of the season as a reserve, but batted just .197.  He stated in 2013 that he was not ready to retire, but major league baseball was apparently ready to retire him, and his playing career came to an end.  Orlando Hudson founded the C.A.T.C.H. foundation, an organization that seeks to provide resources and a support system for youth coping with autism.  At last report, he was a player development assistant for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Right-hander Ervin Ramon Santana played for the Twins from 2015-2018.  Born in La Romana, Dominican Republic, he signed with the Angels as a free agent in 2000.  He pitched very well throughout the minors and made his major league debut for the Angels in 2005, becoming a rotation starter in mid-May at the ripe old age of twenty-two.  He wasn't great, but he showed he belonged in the majors and has been there ever since, other than a few rehab assignments.  He was up and down early in his career, but has pitched pretty well since 2010.  He's had some problems with the gopher ball, giving up a league-leading thirty-nine homers in 2012.  That was his last year with the Angels, as he became a free agent after the season and signed with Kansas City.  He pitched well as a Royal but did not get any run support.  A free agent again after the season, he signed with Atlanta and had another solid season.  He signed with Minnesota for 2015 and was suspended for the first half of the season due to a failed drug test, but he came back to pitch well in the second half of the season.  He had an excellent season in 2016, although his won-lost record did not show it.  He had another excellent season in 2017, and this time his won-lost record did show it.  He also made his second all-star team in 2017.  He was injured nearly all of 2018, however, and was ineffective when he did pitch.  He signed with the White Sox for 2019 but was released in late April after three poor games.  He signed with the Mets in late May and did not pitch very well in AAA.  He did not play in 2020, but he played winter ball and signed with Kansas City for 2021 and was somewhat okay pitching out of the bullpen.  He became a free agent after the season.  He played winter ball that off-season, but that brought his playing career to an end.  At last report, it appeared that Ervin Santana was working with Peculiar Fitness in the Atlanta area.

Right-hander Alec Sawyer Gipson-Long did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system from 2019-2022.  He was born in Lithia Springs, Georgia and attended Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.  He really did not pitch all that well in college--his numbers are 13-5, 5.59, 1.47 WHIP--but he struck out 165 batters in 140 innings and was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in 2019.  He struggled in 2019 in rookie ball, did not play in the COVID season of 2020, and did not do all that well in Class A in 2021, although he did continue to strike out a lot of batters.  In 2022, however, he appeared to turn a corner, going 5-2, 1.99, 0.93 WHIP in ten high-A starts before being traded to Detroit for Michael Fulmer.  They promoted him to AAA for seven starts that season.  He did well in AA in 2023, but not as well in eight appearances in AAA.  Despite that, he was given a September call-up and pitched very well in four major league starts, going 1-0, 2.70, 1.10 WHIP with 26 strikeouts in 20 innings.  He was injured most of 2024, making just one rehab appearance for Class A Lakeland.  He came back in 2025, but did not pitch particularly well in AAA and did worse in eight major league appearances.  It appears, though, that he still was not completely healthy.  He turns twenty-eight today.  We hope he will have a full return to health in 2026.

Outfielder Matthew John Wallner came up to the Twins in September of 2022.  Born and raised in Forest Lake, Minnesota, he attended the University of Southern Mississippi and was drafted by the Twins in the first round in 2019.  He batted very well in college, posting an OPS of over a thousand every year.  He has batted well at every stop in the minors, too.  He spent most of 2019 at Elizabethton, posting an OPS of .813.  He did not play in the COVID year of 2020, but in 2021 he had an OPS of .858 in Cedar Rapids.  He started 2022 in Wichita, soon proved that he was too good for AA, went to St. Paul and kept hitting, and reached the majors in mid-September.  He split 2023 between AAA and the majors, spending most of the last half of the season in Minnesota.  He had some hot streaks and some slumps, but he ended up at .249/.370/.507, which is pretty good.  He split 2024 the same way, and had similar results.  He finally got a full year in the majors in 2025, but he had a down year, although he did hit twenty-two home runs.  He is usually platooned, batting primarily against right-handers, but actually hit slightly better in 2025 against lefties. He turns twenty-eight today.  The Twins don't really have better options, so he presumably will be a regular for them in 2026.  But if he's going to have a solid major league career, he'd better get it going pretty soon.

December 11

This is a reprint from last year.

Old Hoss Radbourn (1854)

Art Wilson (1885)

Fred Toney (1888)

Willie Gisentaner (1899)

Swish Nicholson (1914)

Hal Brown (1924)

Lee Maye (1934)

Mike Henneman (1961)

Thomas Howard (1964)

Jay Bell (1965)

Derek Bell (1968)

Frankie Rodriguez (1972)

Joe Blanton (1980)

Dalton Pompey (1992)

In 2014, Dalton Pompey became the first big leaguer ever to have the given first name "Dalton".  In case anyone remembers Dalton Jones (whose birthday was yesterday), his given first name was James.

Infielder Jay Stuart Bell did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them. Born on Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, he attended high school in Pensacola, and was drafted by Minnesota with the eighth pick of the 1984 draft. He was not in the Twins' system long--on August 1, 1985, he was traded to Cleveland with Richard Yett, Curt Wardle, and Jim Weaver for Bert Blyleven. His minor league numbers were okay, but nothing to get terribly excited about; his best year in the minors was probably 1987, when he hit .260 with 17 homers. Bell got a September call-up in 1986 and spent parts of 1987 and 1988 in Cleveland, but was not particularly impressive. One has to remember his age, however; in 1988 he was still only 22 years old. In March of 1989, Bell was traded to Pittsburgh. He was a part-time player in 1989, but became the regular shortstop in 1990. Bell would remain a big-league regular for the next twelve years. He really first rose to prominence in 1991, when he hit .270 with 16 homers and finished 12th in MVP voting. He made his first all-star team in 1993, when he hit .300 for the only time in his career. He also won a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger award that season. Bell remained in Pittsburgh through 1996, was traded to Kansas City for 1997, and signed with Arizona as a free agent for 1998. In 1999, he made the all-star team again and finished 13th in MVP voting. He started to slip in 2001, and battled injuries much of 2002. Bell signed with the Mets for 2003, finishing up his career that season as a reserve infielder/pinch-hitter. Bell was known as an excellent fielder and a superb bunter, twice leading the league in sacrifice bunts. Bell was a coach for Arizona through 2006, but then retired to spend more time with his family.  Eventually, however, he must have decided he had spent enough time with them, because in 2011 and 2012 he was the batting coach of the AA Mobile BayBears.  In 2013 he was the batting coach of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and in 2014-2015 was the bench coach for the Cincinnati Reds.  He apparently was out of baseball in 2016, but was the manager of the Tampa Yankees in 2017, managed the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League, moved up to AA Trenton in the Yankees organization in 2018, and moved up again to the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in 2019.  He was the manager of the Rocket City Trash Pandas, the AA affiliate of the Angels, from 2020-2021.  He did some coaching for the Tri-City ValleyCats in the Frontier League in 2022.  He is on the advisory board of Baseball Assistance Team, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping major league, minor league, and Negro league players through financial and medical difficulties.

Pitcher Francisco “Frankie” Rodriguez spent the bulk of his major league career with Minnesota. He was born in Brooklyn and went to high school there. He was drafted by Boston in the second round in 1990, but did not sign until June of 1991, instead attending junior college.  While there, he was named College Player of the Year by Baseball America. Rodriguez was drafted as a shortstop, but after one season in Class A Elmira, in which he hit .271, he was converted to pitching. He advanced one level per season, reaching the big leagues in 1995. He pitched only nine games for the Red Sox, though, because in July he and J. J. Johnson were traded to Minnesota for Rick Aguilera. Rodriguez was immediately inserted into the starting rotation. He won 13 games in 1996, which got some people excited, but his ERA was 5.05 and his WHIP was 1.43. Still, he was 23, and the thought was that he would only get better. It didn't work out that way. He struggled in 10 starts in 1997 and was sent to the bullpen. He actually did pretty well as a reliever, posting a 2.88 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP in that role. He could not repeat that success in 1998. He did poorly both as a starter and a reliever, and was sent back to AAA Salt Lake for half the year. Rodriguez started 1999 in Salt Lake, but did poorly in nine starts and was placed on waivers in late May. Seattle selected him and he finished 1999 with the Mariners. He remained in Seattle for most of 2000, but did not pitch well and was released after the season. Rodriguez got a last shot with Cincinnati in 2001 and did well in the Louisville bullpen. He spent about three weeks with the Reds that year; his numbers look awful, but are skewed by two bad outings. Still, Cincinnati released him after the season. Rodriguez made a brief comeback with the independent Newark Bears in 2008, pitching for them for about a month, but then was done for good. As a Twin, Frankie Rodriguez was 25-32 with a 5.20 ERA. He appeared in 117 games, 75 of them starts. He is currently living in the New York City area.  He was an assistant coach for SUNY Maritime College in 2021 and became the pitching coach for Mercy University in 2022. He is the founder of 33RODZ Baseball, "New York City's premier youth baseball organization", at least according to their facebook page.