December 23

Mike Grady (1869)

Sam Leever (1871)

Tommy Thomas (1899)

Jabbo Andrews (1907)

Jerry Koosman (1942)

Dave May (1943)

Raul Cano (1945)

Jerry Manuel (1953)

Keith Comstock (1955)

Tim Leary (1958)

Frank Eufemia (1959)

Rick White (1968)

Brad Lidge (1976)

Jesus Colome (1977)

Victor Martinez (1978)

Cody Ross (1980)

Hanley Ramirez (1983)

Tyler Robertson (1987)

Roberto Perez (1988)

Dalton Guthrie (1995)

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

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

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

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

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

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

December 22

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

December 21

Cy Williams (1887)

Josh Gibson (1911)

Bob Rush (1925)

Howie Reed (1936)

Paul Casanova (1941)

Elliott Maddox (1947)

Dave Kingman (1948)

Joaquin Andujar (1952)

Tom Henke (1957)

Roger McDowell (1960)

Andy Van Slyke (1960)

Dustin Hermanson (1972)

LaTroy Hawkins (1972)

D’Angelo Jimenez (1977)

Freddy Sanchez (1977)

Philip Humber (1982)

Danny Duffy (1988)

Josh Staumont (1993)

Josh Gibson is generally considered to have been the greatest batter in Negro League history.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to hungry joe’s wife, peckish jane.

Right-hander LaTroy Hawkins was with Minnesota for the first nine years of his major league career, 1995-2003. He was born in Gary, Indiana and attended high school there. Hawkins was then drafted by the Twins in the seventh round in 1991. A starting pitcher throughout his minor league career, he did pretty well, getting brief trials with the Twins in 1995 and 1996. He began 1997 at AAA Salt Lake, and was not pitching that well, but he was 9-4, which was enough for the pitching-poor Twins to bring him up in mid-June and keep him in the starting rotation the rest of the season. He remained a rotation starter through 1999. As a starter, Hawkins was durable, and he was consistent: he posted an ERA well over five and a WHIP over 1.5 every season.  At that point, he didn't look like a good bet to still be in the majors in 2000, let alone 2014. Shifted to the bullpen in 2000, Hawkins became the Twins' closer toward the end of the season, a role he held until August, 2001. He did all right in the beginning, but less and less well as the 2001 season wore on, and eventually was placed in a set-up role. Hawkins thrived in that role, giving the Twins two solid seasons before becoming a free agent after the 2003 campaign. He became the Cubs' closer in June of 2004 and did not do that badly, but was once again a set-up man in 2005 and was traded to the Giants in late May. He moved on to Baltimore in 2006, to Colorado in 2007 (where he had a fine year as a setup man and helped the Rockies reach the World Series), to the Yankees at the start of 2008, and to Houston in late July of 2008. He stayed with the Astros for 2009, and then became a free agent. He signed with Milwaukee, but had a poor year in 2010; he was injured much of the season, and did not pitch well when he was able to pitch.  They gave him another shot in 2011 and he responded, going 3-1, 2.42, 1.24 WHIP in 48.1 innings.  A free agent again, he signed with the Angels and had another good year out of the bullpen.  Once again a free agent, he signed with the Mets for 2013 and kept on keeping on with another fine year.  Again a free agent, he moved on to Colorado for 2014 and had another fine year.  He started 2015 with the Rockies, but was traded to Toronto in late July in the Troy Tulowitzki deal.  As a Twin, he was 44-57 with a 5.05 ERA, 44 saves, and a WHIP of 1.52.  He appeared in over one thousand major league games before retiring at the end of the 2015 season.  He remains with Colorado for the start of 2015.  He was never a star, but he had a very long career, much longer than anyone would have expected early in his career.  At last report, LaTroy Hawkins and his wife owned the Fresh Healthy Cafe in Prosper, Texas.  He currently works for the Twins as a special assistant for baseball operations and is a part-time analyst for Fox Sports North.

Infielder D’Angelo Jimenez did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for the second half of 2010. Born and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, he was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in 1994. His early minor league numbers are decent, but not terribly impressive until you note that he was always young for his league, reaching AAA at age 20. He got noticed in 1999, though, hitting .327 with 15 homers in AAA Columbus and getting a September call-up. He was injured most of 2000, was back in AAA in 2001, and was traded in late June of that year to San Diego. He finished that season in the majors, hitting .276 in half a season as the Padres’ starting shortstop. He started 2002 in that same role, but was traded to the White Sox in mid-July. He won the White Sox’ second base job in 2003 but was again traded in mid-season, this time to Cincinnati. He started at second for the Reds for the rest of 2003 and all of 2004, hitting .270 in the latter season, He was still the Reds’ second baseman at the start of 2005, but when he hit only .229 he was sent to AAA in mid-May. That was the last time he would have a starting job in the majors. He signed with Texas for 2006, was released in mid-June, and finished the season with Oakland, spending most of the year in AAA. Released again after the season, he signed with Washington for 2007. Jimenez was in the majors most of the season as a utility infielder and did all right in that role, but was allowed to become a free agent after the season. That was his last time in the majors, at least so far. He moved on to the Cardinals’ organization for 2008, was in the Atlantic League and the Mexican League in 2009, and was playing in the Mexican League again in 2010 when the Twins signed him in late June. The Twins sent him to Rochester, where he hit .225/.300/.381 in 231 at-bats.  Back in the Mexican League again in 2011, he hit .320 in 147 at-bats.  In 2012 he played in three leagues, the Can-Am, the American Association, and the Mexican League, and hit a combined .296.   In 2013 he played in the Can-Am and the Atlantic Leagues and hit a combined .304.  He played a little winter ball after that, but then his playing career ended.  D'Angelo Jimenez was the bench coach of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in the Cubs organization in 2024.

Right-hander Philip Gregory Humber's career with Minnesota consisted of 13 games over two seasons, 2008-2009. Born in Nacogdoches, Texas, he went to high school in Carthage, Texas, attended Rice University, and then was chosen by the Mets with the third pick of the 2004 draft after a stellar college career. He pitched poorly in 2005 and then was injured, requiring Tommy John surgery. He missed much of 2006 recovering from surgery, but he did well when healthy and got a September call-up to the Mets that year, throwing two scoreless innings. He had a decent but unspectacular year for AAA New Orleans in 2007, again getting a September call-up. In February of 2008, Humber was traded to the Twins with Deolis Guerra, Carlos Gomez, and Kevin Mulvey for Johan Santana. He had a mediocre year for AAA Rochester, again getting a September call-up. Humber began 2009 in Minnesota, had two good outings and two bad ones, and went back to Rochester. He did not do very well there, but was brought back in August, again having two good outings and two bad ones. As a Twin, Philip Humber had no record, a 6.10 ERA, and a 2.03 WHIP in 20.2 innings spread over 13 appearances.  Let go by the Twins after the 2009 season, Humber signed with Kansas City for 2010. He had a rather mundane season with AAA Omaha, getting back to the majors for the last two months of the season. The Royals placed him on waivers after the season, and he was selected by Oakland in December.  The Athletics waived him again a month later, and he was selected by the White Sox.  Surprisingly, at age 28 he seemed to put things together.  Not only did he get his first full season in the majors in 2011, he had a pretty good one, going 9-9, 3.75, 1.18 WHIP in 26 starts.  He was unable to repeat that success in 2012, however; despite a perfect game in April, he went 5-5, 6.44, 1.54 WHIP.  After the season he was waived by the White Sox and claimed by Houston.  The Astros were terrible in 2013 and so was he.  He started the season in the rotation and stayed there until early May, at which point he was 0-7, 8.82.  He went to the bullpen and then to the minors, coming back to Houston as a reliever in mid-August, a role in which he was still terrible but slightly less so.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Oakland for 2014 and spent the whole year in AAA, pitching fairly well in relief. He was a free agent again and pitched (not very well) in Korea in 2015.  He came back to the United States and signed with San Diego for 2016 but retired in late March. He then went back to college, going back to Rice to get a degree in sports management.  At last report, Philip Humber was living in Tyler, Texas and was a commercial real estate broker with Burns Commercial Properties.

Right-handed reliever Joshua Tyler Staumont pitched for the Twins for three months in 2024.  Born and raised in LaHabra, California, he attended Azusa Pacific University and was drafted by Kansas City in the second round in 2015.  He was a starter early in his minor league career, switching to the bullpen in 2018.  He always struck out a lot of guys, but he also always walked a lot of guys.  He always had a high WHIP because of the walks, but some seasons in the minors he was able to overcome it and still post a decent ERA.  He reached AAA in 2017 and came up to the majors in 2019.  In 2021 he was able to hold the walks down to a reasonable level and had the best season of his career, going 4-3, 2.88, 1.07 WHIP with 3.7 walks per nine innings.  In 2022, however, the walks returned.  The Royals allowed him to become a free agent after the 2023 season and he signed with Minnesota.  He started the season in AAA St. Paul but came up to the Twins in early May.  He actually pitched pretty well for them, going 1-0, 3.70, 1.27 WHIP in 24.1 innings (25 games).  He had a few bad games in July, though, and the Twins released him in early August.  He was signed by the Cubs a week later, but was released after only two games in AAA Iowa.  He turns thirty-one today.  It would not be surprising if someone took him to spring training in 2025.

December 20

Jack Manning (1853)

Harry Stovey (1856)

Jimmy Williams (1876)

Branch Rickey (1881)

Fred Merkle (1888)

Butch Henline (1894)

George Pipgras (1899)

Gabby Hartnett (1900)

Spud Davis (1904)

Eddie Leishman (1910)

Julio Becquer (1931)

Oscar Gamble (1949)

Cecil Cooper (1949)

Jose DeLeon (1960)

Augie Ojeda (1974)

Aubrey Huff (1976)

David De Jesus (1979)

James Shields (1981)

David Wright (1982)

Eddie Leishman was twice the Minor League Executive of the Year.

 Left-handed first baseman Julio (Villegas) Becquer played briefly for the Twins in 1961 and 1963. Becquer was born in Havana and signed with Washington as a free agent in 1952. He hit fairly well throughout his minor league career, although he struggled at AAA in 1956. Becquer got a September call-up in 1955, but did not make the majors to stay until 1957. He was with Washington from 1957-1960, always in a reserve role; his highest at-bat total was 298 in 1960. He did not show a lot at the plate in the majors, although he was apparently a good fielder and good pinch-hitter. He was left unprotected in the 1960 expansion draft, and was selected by the Angels. He played in only 11 games for Los Angeles, was sold to Philadelphia in May, and three weeks later was sold to the Twins. Once again a reserve, Becquer got 84 at-bats in 57 games, hitting .238/.253/.476. Most of the rest of his career was spent in the Mexican League, although he played in 11 games for AAA Vancouver in 1962 and was used as a pinch-runner in one game for the Twins in September of 1963 so that he could qualify for a major league pension. His playing career ended in 1964. He remained in the Twin Cities area after his playing career ended.  He was inducted into the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.  Julio Becquer was in an assisted living facility in Hopkins, Minnesota when he passed away on November 1, 2020.

Infielder Octavio Augie Ojeda played for the Twins in 2004, a part of his surprisingly long major league career. He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in Downey, California, attended the University of Tennessee, and was drafted by Baltimore in the 13th round in 1996. His best years in the minors were 1997, when he hit .344 for Class A Frederick, and 2000, when he hit .280 for AAA Iowa. After the 1999 season, Ojeda was traded to the Cubs. He made his major league debut in 2000, playing for Chicago for about two months. The next year, 2001, was his first full season in the majors: Ojeda hit .201, and it would be seven years before he got another full season in the bigs. He was in Iowa for most of 2002 and 2003, playing a total of 42 major league games in that span. A free agent after 2003, he signed with Minnesota, hit .245 in Rochester, and came up to the Twins in August of 2004. He actually did quite well for the Twins in limited play, hitting .339 with two home runs in 59 at-bats. He was back in the minors for all of the next two years, one with Rochester and one back in Iowa in the Cubs' chain. In 2007, Ojeda signed with Arizona. After hitting .323 there, he was brought up to Arizona in mid-June and stayed there through 2010. He was a decent utility infielder for the Diamondbacks, although certainly nothing spectacular. After a poor year in 2010, he was allowed to become a free agent.  He signed back with the Cubs, went to AAA, but did nothing there and was released in July, ending his playing career.  At last report, Augie Ojeda was living in Chandler, Arizona and enjoying his retirement.

December 19

Ford Frick (1894)

Al Kaline (1934)

Tony Taylor (1935)

Walt Williams (1943)

Rob Gardner (1944)

Geoff Zahn (1945)

Kevin Stanfield (1955)

Stu Cliburn (1956)

Stan Cliburn (1956)

Tom Lawless (1956)

Clay Parker (1962)

Bill Wegman (1962)

Mike Fetters (1964)

Chito Martinez (1965)

Russell Branyan (1975)

Rafael Soriano (1979)

Ian Kennedy (1984)

Aaron Loup (1987)

Ford Frick was the president of the National League from 1934-1951 and commissioner of baseball from 1951-1965.

Clay Parker was drafted by Minnesota in the twenty-first round in 1984, but did not sign.

Left-hander Richard Frank "Rob" Gardner never pitched for the Twins, but started his professional career in their organization. Gardner was born in Binghamton, New York, and attended high school there.  Research did not indicate why he was called “Rob”; perhaps the story simply isn’t very interesting. He was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1963. He had a fine year for Class A Orlando (pitching 241 innings as an 18-year-old), but after the season was selected by the Mets in the first-year player draft. He struggled in 1964, but had another very good season in 1965, earning a September call-up.  In his last appearance of 1965, he pitched fifteen shutout innings against Philadelphia.  He spent all of 1966 with the Mets, but did not do very well. Back in the minors at the start of 1967, Gardner was traded to the Cubs in June. He made 18 appearances with Chicago, five of them starts, and did not do too badly. Gardner was on the move again the next year, traded to Cleveland right before the 1968 season. He was in AAA Portland most of that season and at the start of the 1969 campaign before being traded again, this time going to the Yankees in June. Gardner was mostly at AAA Syracuse through the 1972 season, pitching fairly well there, but getting only brief shots at the majors in 1970 (1 game), 1971 (six games, four of them with Oakland, to whom he was traded in April before being traded back to the Yankees in May), and 1972 (a longer stint--20 games). Gardner was traded back to Oakland before the 1973 season and made three more appearances before being sent to Milwaukee. He was in 10 games for the Brewers before being sent back to Oakland again. That was to be his last time in the big leagues--he was in the Detroit organization in 1974, back in the Yankees organization in 1975, and then his career was over. He may not have had a great major league career, but at least he got to see a lot of the country.  Each of the times the Yankees traded him, it was for one of the Alou brothers. It appears that he moved back to Binghamton after his playing career ended and became a firefighter until his retirement.  Rob Gardner passed away in his native Binghamton on October 21, 2023.

For a player who didn't have a full year in the majors until he was in his thirties, left-hander Geoffrey Clayton Zahn had a pretty decent major league career. He was a member of the Twins from 1977-1980. Born in Baltimore, he attended high school in Toledo, Ohio and then went to the University of Michigan. He was drafted by the Dodgers in the fifth round of the secondary phase of the January draft in 1968. Zahn pitched well in the low minors, stumbled in his first couple of tries at AAA, but had a strong year for Albuquerque in 1973, earning a September call-up. He battled injuries in 1974 and 1975, making sporadic appearances for the Dodgers before being traded to the Cubs in May in a trade involving Burt Hooton. He was with the Cubs through the end of 1975 and in April of 1976, but then was sent back to the minors and was released after the season. The Twins took a chance on Zahn, signing him for the 1977 season, and the chance paid off. He became a big league rotation starter for the first time at age 31, and was a solid member of the Minnesota rotation for four years, winning twelve to fourteen games every year and averaging over 200 innings per season. He became a free agent after the 1980 campaign and joined the exodus out of Minnesota, signing with the Angels. He pitched even better in California, posting ERAs under four for three consecutive years, winning 18 games in 1982 (when he finished sixth in Cy Young voting), and leading the league in shutouts in 1984 while continuing to average around 200 innings per season. He was off to a strong start in April of 1985 when he was injured, and while he tried to come back in August, he was clearly not himself any more, and retired after the season. As a Twin, Geoff Zahn was 53-53 with a 3.90 ERA in 133 games, 126 of them starts. He won 111 games in his career, which is not bad for someone who had eight career wins when he turned 31. After his retirement, Zahn went into coaching, and was the head coach at the University of Michigan from 1996-2001. Today, Geoff Zahn tours the country as a Christian motivational speaker.  He owns the Master Pitching Institute in the Ann Arbor area and has done some broadcasting.

Left-hander Kevin Bruce Stanfield spent his entire major league career with the Twins. He was born in Huron, South Dakota, went to high school in San Bernardino, California, attended San Bernardino Valley College, and was drafted by the Twins in the seventh round of the January draft in 1976. He did well in 1976, had a poor year for Class A Visalia in 1977, but bounced back for a good year at AAA Toledo in 1978. He did less well in repeating AAA in 1979, but was given a September call-up to the Twins that year. Stanfield pitched three innings over three games, giving up two runs on two hits for an ERA of 6.00. Oddly, that's where Kevin Stanfield's baseball story ends; he developed a sore arm over the off-season and never pitched again in either the majors or the minors. While there are still several families of Stanfields living in Huron, Kevin Stanfield was at last report living in San Bernardino.

Right-hander Stuart Walker Cliburn never played for the Twins, but has been a pitching coach in their minor league system for some time. He was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and attended high school there. He then went to Delta State University and was drafted by Pittsburgh in the fourth round in 1977. He pitched well in the low minors, but looked as he was going to top out at AA, as he struggled in various tries at the AAA level and was released just before the 1982 season. The Angels picked him up, though, and in 1984 he had a fine year in the Edmonton bullpen, getting a September call-up. He followed that up with a good year for the Angels in 1985, going 9-3 with six saves and a 2.09 ERA in 44 appearances. For reasons that are not clear, however, he spent the next two years at AAA. Cliburn finally got another shot at the big leagues in 1988, and did not pitch too badly, although not as well as in 1985. It again got him nowhere; he was in the Angels' minor league system for two more years, pitched in the Seniors league in 1990, and then his career was over. He immediately got into coaching, and has been a minor league pitching coach ever sins his playing days ended. Often, he has been the pitching coach for teams managed by his twin brother Stan. Stu Cliburn was the pitching coach for the Rochester Red Wings in 2019.  The Twins let him go after the season, and he became the pitching coach for the Wei Chuan Dragons in Taiwan.  He came back to the United States in 2021 as the pitching coach for the Chicago Dogs in the American Association, a job he still held at last report.

Catcher Stanley Gene Cliburn never played for the Twins, but has managed in their minor league system. He was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and attended high school there. He was drafted by the California Angels in the fifth round in 1974. He hit over .300 in consecutive years of Class A (1976-1977), but stumbled when he was promoted higher. He hit only .238 in AAA in 1979 and was hitting .125 in 1980, but the Angels were apparently desperate for a backup catcher, because Cliburn was promoted to the majors in early May of 1980. He appeared in 54 games, garnering 56 at-bats and batting .179 with two home runs. He moved on to the Pittsburgh organization after that, spending two years in AA and three years in AAA from 1981-1985. He returned to the California organization for 1986, then was traded to the Braves system for 1987. That was his last season as a player, other than a stint in the Seniors League in 1989. He began his career as a minor league manager in 1988. Cliburn managed in the Pittsburgh and Texas organizations and in the independent Texas-Louisiana League before coming to the Twins in 2000. He managed in Class A, AA, and AAA for the Twins, often with his brother Stu as the pitching coach, through the 2010 season.  He was the manager of the independent Sioux City Explorers from 2011-2013, was the bench coach and batting coach for the Lancaster Barnstormers in 2014, was the manager of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in 2015, and was the manager of the New Britain Bees from 2016-2017.  He was the bench coach of the Chicago Dogs in the American Association in 2018 and has been back as manager of Southern Maryland since 2019.

Right-handed reliever Michael Lee Fetters appeared with the Twins briefly in 2003. Born in Van Nuys, California, he attended high school in Honolulu. Fetters then went to Pepperdine, and was drafted by the Angels in the first round in 1986. Fetters was a starting pitcher throughout his minor league career, but was never given a chance in a major league rotation, starting only six big league games. He got a September call-up in 1989, spent most of 1990 and 1991 in the big leagues, but did not really develop until he was traded to Milwaukee after the 1991 season. Fetters went 5-1 in 1992 with a 1.87 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in 50 games. He never repeated that level of success, but he was a solid contributor to the Brewers' bullpen through 1997, spending three years (1994-1996) as the Milwaukee closer. After the season, he was traded to Oakland by way of Cleveland. Fetters struggled after leaving Milwaukee, and was on the move again in August, traded back to the Angels. He went to Baltimore for 1999 and to the Dodgers for 2000. In 2000, he had his first good season since 1997, going 6-2, 3.24 with a 1.20 WHIP. He could not sustain it, though, and at the end of July, 2001 he was traded to Pittsburgh. Fetters moved on to Arizona in July of 2002, became a free agent at the end of the season, and signed with Minnesota. Fetters appeared in five games in April, throwing six scoreless innings and giving up only two hits. Then, however, he got hurt, and was out the rest of the year. He went back to the Diamondbacks for 2004, but did not pitch well, and his career was over after the season. Mike Fetters is best remembered for the sudden jerk of his head toward home plate while in the stretch. Fetters is the cousin of opera baritone Steven Totter.  After his playing days ended, Fetters was a sports agent in Beverly Hills for a few years.  He was a Special Assistant to the Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks, then became their quality control coach, then became their bullpen coach in 2017.  He held that job through 2024, but will not return in 2025.  We assume that not even Mike Fetters knows what he will be doing in 2025 at this writing.

Outfielder Reyenaldo Ignacio “Chito” Martinez did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 1994. He was born in Belize, British Honduras (the first major league player born in Belize) and was drafted by Kansas City in the sixth round in 1984. It took him a while to develop power, as he hit no home runs in his first two minor league seasons. In 1986, however, he hit .304 with 11 homers for AA Memphis. His average fell off after that, but his power continued, as he hit over 20 homers in AAA in both 1989 and 1990. He did not get a call to the majors, however, and after the 1990 season he became a free agent. Baltimore signed him, and after an awesome half-season in Rochester (.322 average, 20 homers, 1.046 OPS in 211 at-bats) he got the call to the majors. He hit fairly well as a part-time outfielder for the Orioles through 1992, but after starting 1993 0-for-15 he was sent to the minors, never to return. A free agent after the season, he signed with Minnesota for 1994 but failed to make the team. He had a good year in AAA for the Yankees that year, moved on to the Colorado organization for 1995, and then his playing career was over. Chito Martinez appears to have had a successful career in business and at last report was an account manager for Access Data Network Solutions in Memphis.

December 18

Ty Cobb (1886)

Dick Coffman (1906)

Gino Cimoli (1929)

Moose Skowron (1930)

Zoilo Versalles (1939)

Steve Hovley (1944)

Drew Coble (1947)

Roy Howell (1953)

Jim Clancy (1955)

Scott Bailes (1961)

Willie Blair (1965)

Joe Randa (1969)

Jose Rodriguez (1974)

Byron Buxton (1993)

Ronald Acuna (1997)

Drew Coble was an American League umpire from 1982-1999.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to cheaptoy.

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)

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.

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 Domincan 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 and is currently having a fine season in winter ball.  He turns thirty-nine today.  It's doubtful that we'll see him in the majors again, but as we always say, he is left-handed, so you never know.

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 is not the closer he has come back to have two very good years for them.  He turns thirty-four today and presumably will be an important part of the Giants' bullpen in 2025.

Left-hander Brent Wayne Headrick has 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.  He turns twenty-seven today and really hasn't had much success above high A.  We wish him well, but he'd better figure something out pretty soon if he's going to have much of a major league career.