October 15

Charley O'Leary (1882)

Dolly Gray (1897)

Mule Haas (1903)

Mel Harder (1909)

Bill Henry (1927)

Lou Klimchock (1939)

Dick Such (1944)

Jim Palmer (1945)

Mitchell Page (1951)

Carlos Garcia (1967)

Juan Cruz (1978)

Josh Rabe (1978)

Right-hander Richard Stanley Such did not play for the Twins, but he was their pitching coach for seventeen years, mostly under Tom Kelly. Such was born in Sanford, North Carolina, and attended Elon University, the same school attended by ex-Twin Greg Booker. He was drafted by the Washington Senators in the eighth round of the draft's secondary phase in 1966. He pitched well in the low minors, but pretty much topped out at AA. In 1967, at AA York, Such had a 2.81 ERA, but went 0-16 in 20 starts. He had a good year at AA Savannah in 1969, and made the Senators out of spring training in 1970. Such appeared in 21 games for Washington that year, starting five of them, but did not do well and was sent to the minors in mid-July. It would be his only major league experience as a player. He remained an active player through 1973, all with the Washington/Texas organization. He became a coach after his playing career ended. Such was a minor-league pitching coach in the Texas organization through 1982, and served as the Rangers' pitching coach in 1983-84. He came to the Twins in 1985, and was their pitching coach from 1985-2001. He has remained in baseball since leaving the Twins, and has been with the Red Sox since 2009.  From 2009-2010, Dick Such was the pitching coach of the Salem Red Sox in the Carolina League, went to the Greenville Drive (still in the Boston organization) of the South Atlantic League from 2011-2012, and was the pitching coach of the GCL Red Sox (now FCL Red Sox) from 2013-2021, then retired.  At last report, he was living in Sanford, North Carolina.

Outfielder Joshua Wayne Rabe played for the Twins in 2006 and 2007. He was born in Quincy, Illinois, attended high school in Mendon, Illinois, and then attended Quincy University of Quincy, Illinois, one of two major league players that school has produced (Josh Kinney). He was drafted by the Twins in the 11th round in 2000. He needed a couple of years to get things going at each level, reaching AAA in late 2003. He hit .299 in Rochester in 2006, which earned him a spot with the Twins for the second half of the season as a reserve player. Rabe was again a reserve at the start of 2007, but was sent back to the minors in May, never to return. He injured his shoulder in Rochester in mid-June, and was done for the season. The Twins allowed him to become a free agent after the season, and no one picked him up. He spent part of 2008 playing for Camden in the Atlantic League, but his injuries became too much for him, and he retired in June. As a Twin, he played in 30 games and had 80 at-bats. He batted .250/.268/.375, with 3 homers and 9 RBIs. Josh Rabe took law school classes during his off-seasons, and is now a member of the bar. He was an assistant baseball coach at St. Joseph’s college, and was the head baseball coach of his alma mater, Quincy University, in his home town of Quincy, Illinois from 2010-2021, and is now the athletic director of Quincy University.

October 14

Joe Start (1842)

Paul Radford (1861)

Ivy Olson (1885)

Oscar Charleston (1896)

Harry Brecheen (1914)

Ken Heintzelman (1915)

Tom Cheney (1934)

Tommy Harper (1940)

Frank Duffy (1946)

Al Oliver (1946)

Ed Figueroa (1948)

Kiko Garcia (1953)

Willie Aikens (1954)

Jesus Vega (1955)

Joe Girardi (1964)

Midre Cummings (1971)

Ryan Church (1978)

Boof Bonser (1981)

Carlos Marmol (1982)

Kole Calhoun (1987)

Willians Astudillo (1991)

Outfielder Oscar Charleston is considered by some to have been the greatest player in Negro League history.

First baseman Jesus Anthony (Morales) Vega played for the Twins in 1979 and 1980 and again in 1982. He was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico and signed with the Brewers as a free agent in 1975. Vega hit over .300 for three consecutive years in Class A, adding 23 homers in 1977 for Burlington. The Brewers were so impressed that they left him unprotected, and the Twins selected him in the off-season minor-league draft. Vega continued to hit well, first in AA, and then in AAA. He got a September call-up with the Twins in 1979 and spent about two weeks with them in May 1980. He had his first off-year in the minors in 1981, a year he split between the Twins AAA Toledo team and Tidewater in the Mets' organization. Vega was back with the Twins in 1982, and spent the whole year with them, his only full season in the big leagues. Used primarily as a part-time DH, his numbers were rather mundane, and he was back in the minors the next year. Vega hit only .258 at AAA in 1983, and the Twins let him go after the season. He went to AAA Albuquerque in the Dodgers' organization in 1984, but hit only .177 and was done. His only time in the big leagues was with the Twins: he hit .246/.275/.335 in 236 at-bats. No information about Jesus Vega's current life was readily available.

Outfielder Midre Almeric Cummings played for the Twins from 1999-2000. He was born in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, went to high school in Miami, and was drafted by the Twins in the first round in 1990. He hit over .300 in rookie ball in 1990, and did it again in Class A in 1991. The Twins were coming off a World Series, however, and were trying to win now, so they traded him to Pittsburgh with Denny Neagle during 1992 spring training for John Smiley. While his average dropped a little as he went up the minor-league ladder, he continued to hit well, and actually hit for a little power, providing 29 home runs over the 1992 and 1993 seasons. He reached AAA in 1993 at age 21, but spent three and a half years there, getting brief trials in the majors each season but failing to impress. Cummings made the Pirates out of spring training in 1997, but hit only .189 in a part-time role. Placed on waivers at mid-season, he was picked up by Philadelphia. The move paid off for the Phillies, as Cummings hit .303 in 208 at-bats with them. The Phils were underwhelmed, however, and released him in February 1998. The Reds signed him, but put him on waivers three weeks later. Cummings then went to the Red Sox, where he had his best year in the big leagues, batting .283 with an OBP of .381 in 120 at-bats. The Red Sox released him at the end of spring training of 1999, and he signed with the Twins in May. He hit well in the minors, getting a September call-up, and was with the Twins in 2000. He again played well in a reserve role, but the Twins were nowhere near first place, so he was traded to Boston at the end of August for Hector De Los Santos. Cummings was released at the end of the season, and would never spend significant time in the majors again. He hung in there, though, playing five more years in AAA for Arizona, Milwaukee, the Cubs, Tampa Bay, and Baltimore. He made brief appearances in the majors in 2001 for the Diamondbacks, 2004 for the Devil Rays, and 2005 for the Orioles before his American career ended. He played in a few games in Taiwan in 2006, but decided to retire instead. Midre Cummings appeared in 93 games for the Twins, getting 219 at-bats and batting .273/.325/.388. There is a park named after him in St. Croix. At last report, which was several years ago, he was living in Tarpon Springs, Florida, a suburb of Tampa, and was the head coach of Hit and Run Baseball, which has AAU traveling teams. His U12 team won the 2008 AAU state championship.

Right-hander Boof Bonser pitched for the Twins from 2006-2008. He was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. He attended Gibbs High School there, played in the 2000 Florida high school all-star game, and was drafted by San Francisco in the first round in 2000. Born John Paul Bonser, he had his name legally changed to Boof in 2001. He pitched well in Class A in 2001 and 2002. He was not quite as good in AA in 2003, though not terrible. In the 2003-2004 off-season, he was traded along with Francisco Liriano and Joe Nathan for A. J. Pierzynski, a trade that worked out fairly well for the Twins. He had two fairly decent years in the Twins system, one in AA and one in AAA. In 2006, Bonser got off to a very good start for AAA Rochester, and was promoted to the Twins in May. He was in the Twins starting rotation for the rest of that year and all of the next one. He got off to a poor start in 2008, however, and after twelve starts was moved to the bullpen, where he spent the rest of the season. Bonser was injured early in 2009 spring training, tearing his labrum and his rotator cuff, and spent the entire year on the disabled list. When he came back, he was no longer with the Twins, getting traded in December of 2009 for a player to be named later (Chris Province). As a Twin, Boof Bonser appeared in 96 games, 60 of them starts. He was 18-25 with a 5.12 ERA, a 1.45 WHIP, and an ERA+ of 84. He pitched poorly in Pawtucket in nine games in 2010, made two appearances for the Red Sox, and was released in late June. Oakland signed him a few days later, and after sending him to Sacramento for a month brought him up in early August. He made thirteen appearances, but did not do especially well.  He signed with the Mets for 2011, but made only one appearance in AAA.  He signed with San Francisco for 2012 and made eleven appearances, seven of them starts, for AAA Fresno.  He stayed with Fresno in 2013, making fifteen starts, but did not do well and was released in late June.  He signed with Cleveland a couple of days later but made only three appearances for AAA Columbus before being released again.   He then signed with a team in Taiwan, where he finished the 2013 season.  He started 2014 in Taiwan as well, but then came back to the United States and made twelve appearances for Bridgeport in the Atlantic League.  He did very well there, but retired after the season.  At last report, Boof Bonser was a pipefitter for General Dynamics Electric Boats in Ledyard Center, Connecticut.

Catcher/infielder/outfielder Willians Jose Astudillo was with the Twins from 2018-2021.  He was born in Barcelona, Venezuela and began his professional career with the Phillies entry in the Venezuelan Summer League at age seventeen in 2009.  He batted .312 there in 2010, but was still made to repeat the league in 2011.  He batted .361 and was finally promoted in 2012, but still only to the Gulf Coast League.  He batted .318 there.  He missed all of 2013, but came back in 2014 to bat .333 in the Sally League.  That got him to high-A for 2015, where he batted .314.  He was a minor league free agent at that point and signed with Atlanta.  They put him in AA and he did not do as well, batting .267 with an OPS of just .626.  He signed with Arizona for 2017 and bounced back to bat .342 with an OPS of .928 in AAA.  The Twins signed him for 2018, brought him to the majors for two weeks in July, then brought him up again in late August.  He went on a tear, batting .355/.371/.516 in 93 at-bats.  He made the Twins out of spring training in 2019 and got off to a really good start, but then faded, was injured, went to AAA, and came back as a September call-up.  He appeared in only eight games for the Twins in 2020, but was with them for most of the 2021 season as a utility player.  It did not really work, as he batted just .236/.259/.375 in 208 at-bats.  The Twins released him after the season and he signed with Miami for 2022. spending most of the season in AAA but getting about six weeks in the majors.  He played in Japan in 2023 and in Mexico in 2024.  As a Twin, he batted .270/.295/.406 in 507 at-bats.  As you probably know, his calling cards are putting the ball in play and being willing to play any position.  He turns thirty-three today.  His versatility is a plus, and his popularity (both with players and with fans) is another, but that's about all he has going for him.  He can probably play in Japan or Mexico for a while if he wants, and he'd probably be a big draw in independent ball, but sadly, it's doubtful that we'll see him in a major league uniform again.

October 13

Charles Somers (1868)

Wild Bill Donovan (1876)

Rube Waddell (1876)

Pickles Dillhoefer (1893)

Frankie Hayes (1914)

Lou Saban (1921)

Charlie Silvera (1924)

Eddie Yost (1926)

Eddie Mathews (1931)

Bob Bailey (1942)

Randy Moffitt (1948)

Dick Pole (1950)

Frank LaCorte (1951)

George Frazier (1954)

Bryan Hickerson (1963)

Chris Gwynn (1964)

Trevor Hoffman (1967)

Damian Miller (1969)

Charles Somers was one of the founders of the American League and was its principal financier.

Better known as a football coach, Lou Saban was the president of the New York Yankees in 1981 and 1982.

Right-hander George Allen Frazier pitched for the Twins from 1986-1987. He was born in Oklahoma City, went to high school in Springfield, Missouri, and attended the University of Oklahoma. The Brewers drafted him in the ninth round in 1976. Frazier was a reliever for his entire minor-league career. He pitched well for a year in Class A and a year in Class AA, then was traded to St. Louis for Buck Martinez. The Cardinals shuttled him between St. Louis and AAA Springfield from 1978-1980; he pitched very well in Springfield and not too badly in the majors. He was again pitching well in Springfield in 1981 when he was traded to the Yankees in May. He came up to the Yankees in August, and this time he stayed. Frazier was a valuable member of the Yankee bullpen from 1981-1983, though he had the bad luck to be the losing pitcher in three World Series games in 1981. After the 1983 season, he was traded to Cleveland, and moved on to the Cubs in June of 1984. He did all right that year, but fell apart in 1985, producing a 6.39 ERA in 76 innings. He was not much better in 1986, and was traded to the Twins in August with Julius McDougal and Ray Fontenot for Dewayne Coleman and Ron Davis. He pitched for the Twins through the 1987 season, pitching two shutout innings in Game 4 of the World Series. Frazier was let go after the season, and decided to call it a career. As a Twin, George Frazier was 6-6 with a 4.83 ERA. He appeared in 69 games, pitching 108 innings. He was a television broadcaster for the Colorado Rockies for nineteen seasons, retiring after the 2015 campaign.  His son, Parker Frazier, pitched for several minor league organizations, reaching AAA with Colorado in 2013 and with the White Sox in 2014.  His daughter, Georgia Frazier, was Miss Oklahoma of 2015.  George Frazier passed away on June 19, 2023 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Left-hander Bryan David Hickerson did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them. Born and raised in Bemidji, Minnesota, he attended the University of Minnesota. The Twins drafted him in the 7th round in 1986. He pitched in Class A Visalia in 1986, but then was traded to the Giants with Jose Dominguez and Ray Velasquez for David Blakely and Dan Gladden. He had a big year in 1987 for Class A Clinton, going 11-0 with a 1.24 ERA. Apparently, Hickerson was injured in 1988, as he did not play that year. He came back in 1989, and had another good year in Class A. He had been a starter up to this point, but was converted to relief in 1990. He split both 1990 and 1991 between AA and AAA, and made his big-league debut in late July. He pitched for the Giants from 1991-1994, pitching well most of the time, but slipping in 1994. San Francisco placed him on waivers after that season, and he was taken by the Cubs. He was there until July of 1995, and then moved on to Colorado. He did not pitch well for either team in 1995, and was released after the season. Hickerson signed with Cincinnati for 1996, but did not make the team, and his career was over. He was a minor league pitching coach in the Giants organization from 1997-1998. Since then, Bryan Hickerson was on the staff of Unlimited Potential, Inc., a religious organization based in Warsaw, Indiana which combines baseball clinics and evangelism, for several years.  He has worked with Intercession Haiti, trying to help people in Haiti escape poverty.  He is also a lay pastor with Christ's Covenant Church in Winona Lake, Indiana.  He went back to coaching in 2017.  He was the pitching coach for the Altoona Curve in the Pirates organization for two seasons, moved up to AAA Indianapolis in 2019, and would have been the pitching coach for short-season West Virginia in 2020, but does not appear to have coached for them in 2021.  At last report, Bryan Hickerson was the director of operations for Parkview YMCA in Warsaw, Indiana.

Catcher Damian Donald Miller appeared in 25 games for the Twins in 1997. He was born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. He went to West Salem high school in West Salem, Wisconsin, where he played baseball, football, and basketball. Miller attended Viterbo University in LaCrosse, where he was NAIA District 14 player of the year. He is apparently the only major-league player the school has produced so far. He was drafted by the Twins in the 20th round in 1990. His batting was up and down in the minors, but in 1997, his third year at AAA Salt Lake, he had a breakthrough year, batting .338 with 11 home runs and earning a promotion to the Twins. That convinced Arizona to take Miller in the expansion draft for 1998. He started 1998 in AAA Tucson, but was with the Diamondbacks to stay by early May. A reserve his first two years there, he became the more-or-less regular catcher for them in 2000. He provided a batting average that was consistently in the .270s and home runs in the low double digits. He was also known as a very good defensive catcher. Miller was a solid contributor to the Diamondbacks' World Championship team in 2001, and made the all-star team in 2002. He was traded to the Cubs after that season, but spent only one year there, batting just .233, before being moved on to Oakland. His average bounced back in Oakland in 2004, but after only one season there Miller became a free agent and signed with Milwaukee. He played three years there, the last one in a reserve role, before retiring after the 2007 season. Damian Miller played 25 games as a Twin, batting .273/.282/.379 in 66 at-bats, with 2 home runs and 13 RBIs. After his retirement, Miller returned to West Salem,  where he helps coach youth baseball and is involved in helping special needs children become more active in sports.  A baseball field in West Salem has been named in his honor.  He was inducted into the LaCrosse Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.

October 12

Sam Field (1846)

Pop Smith (1856)

Malachi Kittridge (1869)

Pete Hill (1882)

Dixie Davis (1890)

Rick Ferrell (1905)

Joe Cronin (1906)

Al Smith (1907)

Bob Sheppard (1910)

Tony Kubek (1935)

Glenn Beckert (1940)

Herman Hill (1945)

Garth Iorg (1954)

Jim Lewis (1955)

Sid Fernandez (1962)

Jose Valentin (1969)

Derrick White (1969)

Tanyon Sturtze (1970)

Tony Fiore (1971)

Nick Tepesch (1988)

Ketel Marte (1993)

B-r.com says "Sam Field played only 12 games in the majors, but managed to do so with three teams in two leagues. He played mostly catcher.  His career may have been doomed by his .712 fielding percentage."  It may also have been doomed by his .146 batting average.

Pete Hill is considered one of the greatest outfielders of the Negro Leagues.  Incomplete statistics list his average as .303.

Hall of Famer Joe Cronin, of course, played for the Washington franchise from 1928-1934, managing the team in the latter two years. He married Clark Griffith’s niece, which did not keep Griffith from trading him to Boston after the 1934 season.

If there was a Hall of Fame for public address announcers, Bob Sheppard would be the first one in.

Jose Valentin is the brother of ex-Twin Javier Valentin.

First baseman/outfielder Derrick White was drafted by Minnesota in the 23rd round in 1989, but did not sign. He played in the major leagues for Montreal, Detroit, the Cubs, and Colorado, playing in three seasons and totaling 116 at-bats.

Outfielder Herman Alexander Hill played for the Twins in 1969 and 1970. He was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. The youngest of thirteen children, he moved with his family to New Jersey, where Hill became an all-state football player in Freehold, New Jersey. He was signed by the Twins in 1966 as a free agent. He got off to a slow start in rookie ball in 1966, but did better with Class A Orlando the next year, although he did not hit with any power. He did not have a strong season for AA Charlotte in 1968, but hit .300 for AAA Denver in 1969 and got a September call-up that year. His numbers went back down in 1970, when the Twins moved their AAA team from Denver to Evansville, but he was brought up to the Twins for three weeks in mid-summer and received another September call-up. Hill was primarily used as a defensive replacement and pinch-runner both years in the majors, playing in 43 games but getting only 24 at-bats. He had only two hits, for a batting average of .083, but he scored 12 runs. In October of 1970, the Twins traded Hill, along with Charlie Wissler, to St. Louis for Sal Campisi and Jim Kennedy. Sadly, Herman Hill never got to play for the Cardinals. His career and life were cut short when he drowned in the Caribbean, near Valencia, Venezuela (where he was playing winter ball) on December 14, 1970. An excellent swimmer, it is believed that his drowning was caused from suffering a stroke while in the water.

Right-hander James Martin Lewis appeared in six games for the Twins in 1983. He was born in Miami and went to Carol City High School, which appears to be the same high school attended by Randy Bush. He also attended the University of South Carolina. He was signed by the Mariners as a free agent in 1977. A starter in his early minor league career, he earned a September call-up in 1979 by winning 13 games with an ERA of 3.69 at AAA Spokane. He was hit hard in both major league appearances that year. In the off-season, Lewis went to the Yankees in a multi-player deal involving Ruppert Jones and Juan Beniquez. He was in AAA Columbus for three seasons, pitching pretty well for the most part, although 1981 was a down year for him. He made one major league appearance for the Yankees, in June 1982. Lewis was chosen by the Twins in the minor league draft in December of 1982. He did not pitch particularly well in AAA Toledo, but he did have 11 wins, and this was the early '80s Twins, so they called him to the majors for a couple of weeks in June of 1983, using him in six games. The Twins released Lewis after the season, and he signed with Seattle. He won 22 games in two years for the Mariners' PCL team, but his ERA was over five. He appeared in two more major league games for the Mariners in 1985, but his career was over after the season. As a Twin, he had no record in 18 innings with a 6.50 ERA. It appears that this is the Jim Lewis who at last report was working for a company called MetalTech Systems, Inc., a manufacturing company based in South Carolina, although this could not be confirmed.

Palmballing right-hander Anthony James Fiore pitched for the Twins from 2001-2003. He was born in Oak Park Illinois, went to high school in River Grove, Illinois, attended Triton Junior College (also attended by Kirby Puckett and Jarvis Brown), and was drafted by the Phillies in the 28th round in 1992. His numbers in the low minors were not eye-popping, but were still decent. Despite that, he spent nearly five years in rookie and Class A ball before getting promoted to AA for five games in 1996. He moved to AAA for nine games in 1997, staying there for a full season in 1998. Again, his numbers were neither great nor awful. He got off to a poor start in 1999, however, and was released in May. The Twins signed him and sent him to AAA Salt Lake, where he did okay, but the Twins weren't impressed and released him. Fiore moved on to Tampa Bay, pitched well in AAA Durham, and finally made his major league debut with the Devil Rays in August of 2000. He pitched in 11 games without much success, and was back in Durham at the start of 2001. He pitched well there again, however, and was back in Tampa Bay by May. Fiore was released after only three games, and the Twins signed him again. He again pitched well in AAA, and was with the Twins in September. He stayed with them for 2002, his only full year in the big leagues, and had a pretty good year: 10-3, 3.16 ERA, 1.29 WHIP. In 2003, however, things were different, and by mid-June, Fiore was back in the minors, never to return to the big leagues. The Twins released him after the 2003 season, and he pitched for the AAA teams of Houston, Baltimore and Detroit through 2006. He also pitched for the independent Long Island Ducks in that time, as well as pitching for Italy in the World Baseball Classic. As a Twin, he appeared in 73 games, making 2 starts. He pitched 133.1 innings, going 11-5 with a 3.92 ERA, a 1.33 WHIP, and an ERA+ of 115. At last report, Tony Fiore was an internet sales consultant for Lennar Homes in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.

Right-hander Nicholas James Tepesch made one start for the Twins in 2017.  He was born in Kansas City, went to high school in Blue Springs, Missouri, attended the University of Missouri in Columbia, and was drafted by Texas in the fourteenth round in 2010.  He was decent, but nothing more, in Class A in 2011, did well in high-A for half of 2012, but was rather mediocre when promoted to AA that year.  Despite that, he started the 2013 season in the Rangers' rotation and actually did quite well through the first of June, going 3-4, 3.44.  He pitched poorly for the next month, however, and then missed most of the rest of the year due to injury, making one wonder if the injury may have come before the poor pitching.  He started 2014 at AAA, making seven great starts there before moving back to the big leagues.  He wasn't great for the Rangers that year, but he wasn't terrible, either.  He missed all of 2015 due to injury, He started 2016 in AAA for Texas but was released in early June.  The Dodgers signed him and he made one start for them on June 24, but he was placed on waivers a few days later and was selected by Oakland.  He made three AAA starts for them and was waived again in July, this time selected by Kansas City.  He finished the year in AAA for them, became a free agent, and signed with Minnesota for 2017.  He went to Rochester and didn't do much, despite which he was given an emergency start for the Twins in May.  He was released on June 6, re-signed six days later, and sold to Toronto about six weeks after that.  He made three starts for the Blue Jays in August but didn't get a whole lot accomplished.  He got a minor league contract for 2018 with Toronto, but he pitched poorly in AAA and not much better in AA.  He was sold to Detroit in early August and released about three weeks later.  He played for Lincoln in the American Association in 2019 and did not do particularly well, bringing his playing career to an end.  In his one start for the Twins he pitched 1.2 innings and allowed seven runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  In his major league career he was 10-20, 4.71, 1.41 WHIP in 238.2 innings (47 games, 44 starts).  At last report, Nick Tepesch was an instructor for The Edge Baseball Training in the Kansas City area.

October 11

Will White (1854)

Buttercup Dickerson (1858)

Eddie Dyer (1899)

Bob Chipman (1918)

Joe Ginsberg (1926)

Bill Fischer (1930)

Bob Stinson (1945)

Orlando Hernandez (1965)

Gregg Olson (1966)

Joe Roa (1971)

Dmitri Young (1973)

Mike Duvall (1974)

Ty Wigginton (1977)

Gio Urshela (1991)

Josh Winder (1996)

Right-hander William Charles Fischer made nine appearances for the Twins in 1964. He was born in Wausau, Wisconsin and was signed by the White Sox as a free agent in 1948. He went through the minor league levels roughly a year at a time, but it was a lot tougher then, because the levels went down to Class D. He reached Class A in 1951, but then missed two years due to military service. On his return in 1954, he spent two years at AA Memphis, then was promoted to AAA in 1956. He made his major league debut that year, pitching in three games of relief early in the season. Fischer played his first full season in the majors in 1957 and pitched well, but stumbled in 1958 and was traded to Detroit. He continued to stumble in Detroit and was taken on waivers by the then Washington Senators, for whom he finished the season. He was in the Senators' rotation in 1959, and did better, but not all that well. In July of 1960, Fischer was traded back to the Tigers, and in August of 1961 moved on to Kansas City. He had his best years with the Athletics, appearing in 94 games over 2 1/3 seasons and posting an ERA of 3.97.  In 1962, he went 84 1/3 innings without allowing a walk, a record which apparently still stands. In the off-season of 1963, however, Kansas City left him off their forty-man roster, and he was taken by the Twins in the rule 5 draft. Fischer was apparently injured for much of the season--he pitched nine games in relief in April and May, but did not pitch again the rest of the year. The Twins released him after the season, and he signed with the White Sox' organization. Fischer spent the next four seasons at AAA for the White Sox, but never got another chance at the majors. As a Twin, Bill Fischer was 0-1 in 7.1 innings, posting a 7.36 ERA. After leaving the White Sox, Fischer was no longer a player, but he never left baseball. He was a scout and minor-league pitching instructor for the Royals, a pitching coach for Cincinnati, Boston, and Tampa Bay, and the minor-league pitching coach for the Braves. He came back to the Royals as senior pitching adviser in 2007.  One source indicated he had retired in 2012, but if so it didn't take, as he remained the Royals' senior pitching adviser until he passed away on October 30, 2018.

Right-handed reliever Gregg Olson made eleven appearances for the Twins in 1997. He should not be confused with catcher Greg Olson, who also played for the Twins. To keep them straight, remember that the catcher is Gregory William Olson, whereas the pitcher is Greggory William Olson. Gregg Olson was born in Scribner, Nebraska. He attended Omaha Northwest High School, leading his team to four consecutive state baseball championships. He attended Auburn University and was chosen with the fourth pick of the 1988 draft by the Baltimore Orioles. Olson pitched in only sixteen minor-league games, eight in Class A and eight in AA, before being called up to the majors that same year. He became the Orioles' closer in 1989, a job he held through 1993. He was Rookie of the Year in 1989, the first relief pitcher to win that award, and finished sixth in the Cy Young voting and 12th for Most Valuable Player that year. He made his only all-star team the following season. Olson did a good job as the Orioles' closer, getting 160 saves in five seasons. He tore a ligament in his elbow in August of 2003. A free agent, he signed with the Braves, and things immediately fell apart. Olson missed the first two months of the season, and when he came back he was awful, finally being sent to AAA Richmond. Control seems to have been the main culprit, as his walks per nine innings jumped significantly. He suffered through a lot of injuries over the next few seasons. He split 1995 between Cleveland and Kansas City, doing a decent job for the Royals in a set-up role. In 1996, Olson was part of the St. Louis, Cincinnati, Detroit, and Houston organizations, pitching in the big leagues for Detroit and Houston. The Twins signed him for 1997, but released him in mid-May after he had appeared in only 11 games and pitched 8.1 innings. The Royals signed him and sent him to AAA Omaha, where he suddenly found his control again. He finished the year doing a good job for Kansas City and then went to Arizona, where he became the closer in 1998 for the first time since leaving Baltimore. He got 44 saves in two seasons for the Diamondbacks and then moved on to the Dodgers, where he pitched for a year and a half before being released in late June of 2001. As a Twin, he had no record and an ERA of 18.36. Gregg Olson was inducted into the Orioles' Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Auburn Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010. After he retired, he was a baseball commentator for ESPN and for MASN on Baltimore Orioles broadcasts.  He was a technical adviser for Fox on the TV program "Pitch".  He is also the co-author of a book, "We Got to Play Baseball", which is a collection of short stories from former players, managers, coaches, etc.  At last report, Gregg Olson was a commentator for ESPN.

Right-handed reliever Joseph Rodger Roa pitched for the Twins in 2004. He was born in Southfield, Michigan, went to high school in Hazel Park, Michigan, and was drafted by Atlanta in the 18th round in 1989. A starter in the minors, he spent two years in rookie ball, two years in Class A, over a year in class AA, and nearly two years in AAA, pitching pretty well at each stop. Along the way, he was traded to the Mets in August of 1991 and to the Indians in November of 1994. He got a September callup with the Indians in 1995, but was back in AAA in 1996, making only one appearance with Cleveland that year. In December, Roa was on the move again, being traded to the Giants. He was in the Giants bullpen for the first half of 1997, but did not pitch all that well and was back in the minors. It would be five years before he would get back to the major leagues. Roa pitched for AAA Fresno in 1998. He signed with the Royals for 1999, but was released in spring training, and did not play in organized baseball that year. In 2000, he was back in the Cleveland organization, moving on to the Marlins' system in 2001 and the Phillies organization in 2002. He was still pitching well at every minor league stop, but in 2002 he really put together a season for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, going 14-0 with a 1.86 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. That got people's attention, and by the end of July, Roa was in the Phillies' rotation. That was the only time he was a major league starter, however. He was decent that year, but after a poor start in 2003, Roa was back on the move. He was released in June, signed with Colorado, was placed on waivers in July, and was chosen by San Diego. After the season, he signed with the Twins, and spent 2004 with in the Minnesota bullpen. He was adequate, but nothing more, and was released again after the season. Roa signed with Pittsburgh in 2005 and pitched six games with AAA Indianapolis. He tried again with the Pirates in 2006, but was released in spring training and called it a career. He appeared in 48 games as a Twin, all in relief, and pitched 71 innings. He was 2-3 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. At last report, Joe Roa was living in Chesterfield, Michigan.  He was elected to the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018.

Left-hander Michael Alan Duvall made eight appearances for the Twins in 2001. Born and raised in Warrenton, Virginia, he attended Potomac State College and was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 19th round in 1995 and he pitched very well in his first three years in the minors. Duvall was chosen by the Devil Rays in the 1998 expansion draft. He pitched pretty well for AAA Durham in 1998, getting three major-league appearances as a September call-up. Duvall's only full season in the majors was 1999, when he made 40 appearances for Tampa Bay as a reliever. He did not give up that many hits, but he walked 27 in only 40 innings, a number that will generally get you sent back to the minors. Sure enough, in 2000, Duvall was back in the minors. The Devil Rays released him during spring training of 2001, and he was signed by the Twins six days later. He did not have a particularly good year for AAA Edmonton in 2001, but received a September call-up anyway, appearing in eight games with the Twins. Out with an injury for all of 2002, he came back in 2003, pitching for AAA Rochester, but was unimpressive, and his career was over. Mike Duvall pitched 4.2 innings as a Twin, with no won-loss record and an ERA of 7.71.  He was inducted into the Potomac State Hall of Fame in 2015. At last report, Mike Duvall was an area manager for Performance Food Service in Fort Myers, Florida.

Infielder Giovanny Urshela played for the Twins in 2022.  He was born in Cartagena, Colombia and signed with Cleveland as a free agent in 2008.  He was only sixteen at the time, so he did not show much power early on.  His first good offensive year was in 2012, when he batted .278 with fourteen home runs in high-A.  He had a solid year in AA in 2013, continued to play well when promoted to AAA in 2014, and reached the majors in June of 2015.  He did not hit, however, and was back in AAA in 2016.  He got back to the majors in July of 2017 but again did not hit.  In May of 2018 Cleveland gave up on him, trading him to Toronto for a player to be named later or cash.  He played in nineteen games for the Blue Jays, but they were not impressed, either, and sold him to the Yankees in August.  He did not play for them that year, but in 2019 he became their regular third baseman and rewarded them with his best season, batting .314 with 21 home runs.  He continued to be their starting third baseman through 2021, and continued to play well, but after the 2021 season he was traded to Minnesota with Gary Sanchez for Josh Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Ben Rortvedt.  He had a solid 2022 for the Twins, batting .285/.338/.429.  That would be his only season in Minnesota, as he was traded again after the season to the Angels for Alejandro Hidalgo.  He was having another good season, batting .299, when he was injured in mid-June and missed the rest of the season.  He signed with Detroit for 2024, but did not do much and was released in mid-August.  He signed with Atlanta a couple days later and finished the season with them.  He turns thirty-three today.  Depending on how much he wants to keep playing, there's a chance he will go to spring training with someone in 2025.  It appears, however, that Gio Urshela's playing career is nearing its end, if it isn't already there.

Right-handed reliever Joshua Stewart Winder has played for the Twins since 2022.  He was born in Richmond, Virginia, attended Virginia Military Institute, and was drafted by Minnesota in the seventh round in 2018.  He was a starter for all of his college career and most of his minor league career.  He pitched well in rookie and Class A ball in 2018-2019, missed the COVID year of 2020, and came back to pitch well in AA in 2021.  He was with the Twins for most of 2022 but missed time due to injury, going 4-6, 4.70 in fifteen games (eleven starts).  He went to the bullpen in 2023, again missed time due to injury, and when healthy pitched substantially better in the majors than he did in AAA.  He wasn't great for the Twins, but he wasn't awful, either, going 2-1, 4.15 in nineteen appearances.  He was injured much of 2024 and did not do well in AAA when he could pitch.  He still got four appearances in the majors, though, and actually did pretty well in them.  Adding it together, Josh Winder is 6-7, 4.39, 1.30 WHIP with 85 strikeouts in 110.2 innings (38 games, 11 starts).  There are things to like about him, but he turns twenty-eight today and still hasn't established himself in the major leagues.  If it's going to happen for him, it needs to happen soon.

October 10

Otto Hess (1878)

Bill Killefer (1887)

Wally Berger (1905)

John Stone (1905)

Emery Adams (1911)

Floyd Baker (1916)

Bobby Tiefenauer (1929)

Don Schaly (1937)

Gene Tenace (1946)

Roger Metzger (1947)

Terry Enyart (1950)

Les Straker (1959)

Jim Weaver (1959)

Ramon Martinez (1972)

Placido Polanco (1975)

Pat Burrell (1976)

Brad Ziegler (1979)

Troy Tulowitzki (1984)

Andrew McCutchen (1986)

Jeurys Familia (1989)

Shelby Miller (1990)

Kolten Wong (1990)

Don Schaly was the head baseball coach at Marietta College for forty years.  His teams reached the finals of the Division III College World Series ten times, winning three times.

Kolten Wong was drafted by Minnesota in the sixteenth round in 2008, but did not sign.

We would like to wish a happy birthday to Can of Corn's Niblet.

Left-hander Terry Gene Enyart did not play for the Twins, but he was in their farm system for over four years. He was born in Ironton, Ohio, went to high school in Titusville, Florida, attended Chipola Junior College in Marianna, Florida, and was chosen by Philadelphia with the seventh pick of the 1969 January draft. For reasons that are unclear, he left the Phillies organization in April of that year, and was signed by Minnesota as a free agent in May of 1969. He pitched fairly well but had trouble with his control, walking over five batters per nine innings in his first three seasons in the minors. He seemed to have conquered that in 1972, his second year at AA, when he dropped his walks to 3.2 per nine innings. He took a step backward in 1973, however, and the Twins released him early in the season. He signed with Montreal in late June of 1973 and they again sent him to AA, making him a full-time reliever (he had both started and relieved in the Twins’ organization). He moved up to AAA in 1974, and while he was still walking quite a few batters he pitched well enough to make his major league debut in mid-June. He appeared in two games, worked 1.2 innings, and gave up six runs (three earned) on four hits and four walks. Those are his major league totals; he went back to AAA in early July and never made it back to the big leagues. He was with Montreal through 1977, then went to the Oakland organization for over two seasons. At mid-season of 1980 he went to the Detroit system, pitching in AA, and then his playing career was over. His life after baseball did not go well, as he developed problems with alcohol. Sadly, Terry Enyart passed away on February 15, 2007 in Zephyrhills, Florida, shooting himself following a domestic altercation.

Right-hander Lester Paul (Bolnalda) Straker pitched for the Twins in 1987 and 1988. He was born in Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela and signed by Cincinnati as a free agent in 1977. He pitched well in rookie and A ball, but flopped in a couple of tries at AA with the Reds. He became a minor-league free agent after the 1983 season, and signed with Oakland. Sent to AA again, Straker's numbers were better in 1984, but still nothing to get excited about, and the Athletics released him. The Twins signed Straker in January of 1985 and sent him to AA one more time. Now 25, Straker finally had a good year there, winning 16 games with a 3.08 ERA for Orlando. He did fairly well again in 1986 at AAA Toledo, and came to the Twins the following year. Straker was in the Twins' rotation for a year and a half, doing a steady, decent job, and was a substantial contributor to the 1987 World Championship. He was the first Venezuelan ever to pitch in the World Series. He was injured in June of 1988, missing two and a half months of the season. He came back in September and pitched well, but it was to be his last shot at the big leagues. Straker was sent to AAA Portland in 1989, and did not pitch well enough to get called back up. He signed with Montreal in 1990, but made only three appearances with AAA Indianapolis before his career came to an end. In his big league career, all of which was with the Twins, Les Straker appeared in 47 games, 40 of them starts. He was 10-15 with a 4.22 ERA in 237 innings, with an ERA+ of 105.  In recent years, he has been an instructor in the low minors with the Philadelphia Phillies.  He has been the pitching coach of one of their Dominican Summer League entries since 2017.

Outfielder James Francis Weaver did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for over five years. He was born in Kingston, New York, went to Florida State, and was drafted by Minnesota in the second round in 1980. He showed some power in the minors, hitting double-digit home runs each season from 1982-1987, but struggled to keep his average up as he advanced to higher levels. The Tigers chose him in the 1984 rule 5 draft and tried to keep him in the majors, but when he had only seven at-bats in late May of 1985 they sent him back to the Twins. On August 1 of 1985 the Twins traded him to Cleveland along with Jay Bell, Curt Wardle, and a player to be named later (Rich Yett) for Bert Blyleven. He stayed with the Indians through 1986, then was released. He signed with Seattle and had a good year at AAA Calgary, getting a September call-up. He got four more at-bats, but was released again after the season. He signed with Houston for 1988, moved on to the White Sox for 1989, was traded to San Francisco in mid-August, and got another September call-up, getting twenty at-bats this time. He played in AAA for Seattle in 1990, then his playing career came to an end. His lifetime major league numbers are .161/.235/.290 in 31 at-bats.  At last report, Jim Weaver was living in Parrish, Florida.

October 9

Dave Rowe (1854)

Al Maul (1865)

Rube Marquard (1866)

Branch Russell (1895)

Joe Sewell (1898)

Mike Hershberger (1939)

Joe Pepitone (1940)

Freddie Patek (1944)

Bob Moose (1947)

Steve Palermo (1949)

Brian Downing (1950)

Randy Lerch (1954)

Felix Fermin (1963)

Danny Mota (1975)

Brian Roberts (1977)

Mark McLemore (1980)

Jason Pridie (1983)

Derek Holland (1986)

David Phelps (1986)

Starling Marte (1988)

Jake Lamb (1990)

Steve Palermo was a major league umpire from 1977-1991, when he was shot and paralyzed while trying to prevent a robbery.  He became Supervisor of Umpires in 2000 until his death in 2017.

Right-hander Daniel Avila Mota appeared in four games for the Twins in 2000. He was born in El Saibo, Dominican Republic, went to high school in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in 1994. Used exclusively as a relief pitcher, he pitched well in the low levels of the Yankees minor-league system for three years. On February 6, 1998, he was traded to the Twins along with Brian Buchanan, Cristian Guzman, Eric Milton, and cash for Chuck Knoblauch. The Twins kept Mota at Class A in 1998, and he continued to pitch well. They finally promoted hit to AA for six games in 1999 and to AAA for four games in 2000. Mota got a September call-up in 2000, appearing in four games and pitching a total of 5.1 innings. He started 2001 in AAA Salt Lake, but did not pitch well and was moved on to Las Vegas in the Dodgers organization. Possibly he was injured that year; while it was his first bad year in the minors, it was also his last year in organized baseball. He did have a stint in the Mexican League in 2003, but then Mota was done. In his big-league career, all of which was with the Twins, Danny Mota had no record and had an 8.44 ERA, giving up five runs on ten hits in 5.1 innings. At last report, Danny Mota had returned to the Dominican Republic.

Left-hander Mark Steven McLemore did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 2010. He was born in Sacramento, went to high school in Loomis, California, attended Oregon State, and was drafted by Houston in the fourth round in 2002. He struggled a little early in his minor league career, but pitched pretty well in the minors from 2004-2007. He both started and relieved in the minors, and may have had some injury problems, as he never appeared in more than thirty-seven games nor pitched as many as a hundred innings in a minor league season. He made his major league debut in 2007, spending a little over half the season with the Astros. He went 3-0, 3.86, 1.69 WHIP in 35 innings spread over 29 games. He then missed all of 2008, presumably with an injury, and became a free agent after the season. He re-signed with Houston for 2009 but was in AAA all year, making eighteen rather mediocre starts. The Twins took him to spring training in 2010, but released him just prior to the beginning of the season. He went unsigned, and pitched for the Chico Outlaws of the independent Golden Baseball League.  He signed with Florida for 2011, but was released in late April after making four appearances for AAA New Orleans, ending his playing career.  Mark McLemore was living in Granite Bay, California at last report.

Outfielder Jason Orville Pridie played in eleven games for the Twins in 2008-2009. He was born in Phoenix, went to high school in Prescott, Arizona, and was drafted by Tampa Bay in the second round in 2002. He hit very well in rookie ball, and did not do badly at Class A in 2004, hitting .276 with 17 homers and 11 triples. Pridie struggled in his first couple of years in AA, but put things together in 2007, hitting .290 in a half-season there. He continued to hit at AAA, hitting .318 in a half-season at Durham that same year. The Twins had been interested in Pridie for some time, and had taken him in the rule 5 draft in December of 2005, but returned him to Tampa Bay at the end of spring training. Finally, in November of 2007, the Twins traded Jason Bartlett, Matt Garza, and Eduardo Morlan to Tampa Bay for Pridie, Brendan Harris, and Delmon Young. Pridie spent most of 2008-2009 at AAA Rochester, playing in eleven big league games as a defensive replacement or a pinch runner and going 0-for-4 with a walk. He had a couple of decent seasons in Rochester, but nothing more. The Twins put him on waivers in February of 2010 and he was claimed by the Mets. He battled injuries in 2010, but played decently for AAA Buffalo when healthy.  In 2011, at age 27, he finally got somewhat of a shot in the majors, appearing in 101 games (but getting only 208 at-bats) with the Mets in almost a full season.  He was often used as a defensive replacement, but batted 29 times as a pinch-hitter.  His offensive numbers were unimpressive, but he drew a fair number of walks and stole seven bases.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Oakland for 2012, was granted free agency in mid-June, and signed with Philadelphia a week and a half later.  He was in AAA most of the season and played well.  He also got about three weeks in the majors, going 3-for-10 with a double and a home run.  He was again a free agent after the season and signed with Baltimore for 2013.  He had a solid enough year for AAA Norfolk and got a September call-up, going 2-for-10.  It was much the same story in 2014, except it was for Colorado--a solid enough year in AAA and a cup of coffee in the majors, going 0-for-4 this time,  2015 was another verse of the same story--signed with Oakland, had a fine year in AAA, and got a September call-up, this time going 0-for-9.   He signed with Hiroshima in the Japanese League for 2016, but spent the season in the minor league there, too.  He signed with Arizona for 2017 but was released in late March.  He appeared in two games for Puebla of the Mexican League that year but was then released, ending his playing career.  At last report, Jason Pridie was making a series of baseball training videos under the name Base Knox Training.