December 31

King Kelly (1857)

Tom Connolly (1870)

Bobby Byrne (1884)

Syl Johnson (1900)

Tommy Byrne (1919)

Guy LaValliere (1931)

Alfredo Meli (1944)

Joe Simpson (1951)

Jim Tracy (1955)

Rick Aguilera (1961)

Esteban Loaiza (1971)

Brian Moehler (1971)

Julio De Paula (1982)

Alex Colome (1988)

Kelvin Herrera (1989)

Adam McCreery (1992)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Right-handed reliever Alexander Manuel Colome played for the Twins in 2021.  He was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and signed with Tampa Bay in 2007.  He was a starter throughout his minor league career, and while he was not awesome he did reasonably well.  He reached the majors for three starts in 2013, made five major league appearances in 2014, and got to the majors to stay in May of 2015.  He made a handful of starts that season, but was mostly used in relief, and after that season he left starting behind him for good.  He was a fine reliever for the Rays for three seasons.  He became the closer in 2016 and made the all-star team that year.  He led the league in saves in 2017, but struggled at the start of 2018 and was traded to Seattle in late May in a trade that involved ex-Twin Denard Span.  The Mariners traded him to the White Sox before the 2019 season and he had two excellent seasons for them.  A free agent, he signed with the Twins for 2021.  The Twins installed him as their closer and it did not go well, as he pitched to an ERA of over eight in April.  He lost the closer job at that point but was back as closer in August when Taylor Rogers went down.  He pitched significantly better after April, but still went 4-4, 4.15, 1.40 WHIP.  He had seventeen saves, but also had seven blown saves.  He was again a free agent after the season and signed with Colorado.  As Twins fans could have predicted, he went 2-7, 5.74, 1.68 WHIP.  In fairness, he pitched very well in May and June, but struggled in July and completely imploded in the last two months of the season.  A free agent again, he signed with Washington for 2023, was released during spring training, and signed with the White Sox.  He spent most of the year in AAA, making four major league appearances, and was released in early August.  He played in the Mexican League in 2024, played winter ball, did not play in the summer of 2025, and is playing winter ball again.  He is the nephew of former major league pitcher Jesus Colome. Again, we're all for someone playing as long as someone will let them play, but it appears that it's time for Alex Colome to decide what the next phase of his life will be.

December 30

Connie Day (1897)

Frank Torre (1931)

Sandy Koufax (1935)

Jose Morales (1944)

Tom Murphy (1945)

Travis Baptist (1971)

A. J. Pierzynski (1976)

Brad Voyles (1976)

Grant Balfour (1977)

Jim Hoey (1982)

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

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

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

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

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

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

December 29

Hank DeBerry (1894)

Bill Knickerbocker (1911)

Ted Del Guercio (1927)

Ken Rudolph (1946)

Jim Wilson (1960)

Devon White (1962)

Craig Grebeck (1964)

James Mouton (1968)

Tomas Perez (1973)

Emil Brown (1974)

Richie Sexson (1974)

Jaret Wright (1975)

Jack Wilson (1977)

Chase De Jong (1993)

Brian Navaretto (1994)

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

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

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

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

Catcher Brian Eduardo Navaretto did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system from 2013-2019.  He was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, went to high school in Jacksonville, Florida, and was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in 2013.  He established very quickly that he was not going to hit:  he batted .226 in the Gulf Coast League and followed that with a .194 average in the Appalachian League.  He did not get better as he went along:  his .683 OPS in the Gulf Coast League is the best he's done so far.  We assume he's considered an excellent defender, simply because if he wasn't he wouldn't still be around.  He reached AA in 2017 and was still there in 2019 when he was sold to the Yankees in late July.  He remained at AA the rest of the season, became a free agent, and signed with Miami for 2020.  There was no minor league season in 2020, of course, but he made his major league debut on August 23 and, amazingly, went 2-for-3.  He appeared in one more game, going 0-for-2, and then went back to the practice squad.  So, his career batting average is .400, and there aren't too many people who can say that.  He was still in the Marlins' system in 2021 and again did not hit.  He signed with Milwaukee for 2022 and spent the summer in AAA.  He did hit a little better, but still had an OPS below .700.  His was again in AAA with Milwaukee in 2023 and had a similar OPS, with a lower batting average and a little more power.  In 2024, he was again in AAA and the power went away.  He signed with Miami for 2025 and had a similar season, but made it back to the majors for eight games, going 4-for-14 with two doubles and a home run.  He turns thirty-one today and remains with the Marlins.  His AAA record is .234/.301/.369, but his major league record (in nineteen at-bats) is .316/.300/.579.  Teams are always looking for catchers, so we assume he'll be AAA depth for them again, and perhaps will be able to add to his major league stats at some point.

December 28

Count Sensenderfer (1847)

Ted Lyons (1900)

Tommy Bridges (1906)

Bill Lee (1946)

Aurelio Rodriguez (1947)

John Milner (1949)

Ray Knight (1952)

Zane Smith (1960)

Carl Willis (1960)

Benny Agbayani (1971)

Melvin Nieves (1971)

Einar Diaz (1972)

B. J. Ryan (1975)

Bill Hall (1979)

Austin Barnes (1989)

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

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

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

December 27

Marlin Carter (1912)

Bob Evans (1912)

Jim Tobin (1912)

Connie Johnson (1922)

Phil Gagliano (1941)

Roy White (1943)

Craig Reynolds (1952)

Jim Leyritz (1963)

Dean Palmer (1968)

Jeff D’Amico (1975)

Jason Repko (1980)

David Aardsma (1981)

Michael Bourn (1982)

Chris Gimenez (1982)

Cole Hamels (1983)

Rick Porcello (1988)

Addison Reed (1988)

Tyler Duffey (1990)

Stuart Turner (1991)

Jonah Bride (1995)

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

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

Right-hander Addison Devon Reed pitched for the Twins in 2018.  He was born in Montclair, California, went to high school in Rancho Cucamonga, California, attended San Diego State, and was drafted in the third round by the White Sox in 2010.  A reliever throughout his professional career, he shot through the White Sox system, got a September call-up in 2011, and was in the majors to stay.  He had a fine season in 2013 and then was traded to Arizona.  He did not do as well for the Diamondbacks, went to the minors for a few weeks, and then was traded to the Mets at the August deadline.  Something clicked for him with the Mets--through 2017 he had an ERA of 2.09 and a WHIP of 1.01.  He was traded to Boston at the July deadline in 2017 and continued to pitch well.  The Twins signed him for 2018 and some thought that he might end up being their closer.  He started the season well, but then ran into injury problems and was largely ineffective after the first two months of the season.  He tried to come back in 2019 but continued to have injuries and was ineffective in five games in Rochester.  The Twins released him in May and his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Addison Reed was living in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The only real "TBD" in major league baseball history, right-hander Tyler Blinn Duffey has pitched for the Twins off and on since 2015.  Born and raised in Houston, he attended Rice University (also in Houston) and was drafted by the Twins in the fifth round in 2012.  He was used in relief in Elizabethton that year and was dominant in twelve appearances, but became a starter in 2013.  He pitched very well in Cedar Rapids that year, but not as well when moved up to Fort Myers.  He began 2014 in Fort Myers but was quickly moved up to AA and also made three starts in Rochester.  He started 2015 back in AA but was promoted to Rochester after eight starts.  He pitched very well in both places and made it to the Twins in early August.  In ten starts he went 5-1, 3.10, 1.31 WHIP with 53 strikeouts in 58 innings.  If you throw out a really bad first start his numbers were even better:  5-0, 2.25, 1.23 WHIP.  He obviously wasn't going to do that long-term, but it gave Twins fans reason to hope he'd be a reliable starter.  It didn't happen:  in 2016, he was 9-12, 6.43, 1.59 WHIP.  He moved to the bullpen in 2017 and was better, but still not really good--2-3, 4.94, 1.37 WHIP.  He split 2018 between AAA and the majors, pitching very well in Rochester but not well at all in Minnesota.  At that time, we said, "We wish him well, but if he doesn't get going pretty soon he's going to run out of chances."  Well, he got going.  He had an excellent year in 2019 and did even better in 2020.  Then, however, he started going the other way.  He was fairly good in 2021, but not as good as he had been, and he had a poor 2022.  The Twins released him in early August, he signed with Texas but was released again twelve days later, he signed with the Yankees but never got past AAA with them, and became a free agent after the season.  He signed with the Cubs for 2023 and had a good year in AAA, but made only one appearance in the majors.  He signed with Kansas City for 2024 and made nine appearances in the majors, but was not particularly effective.  He pitched quite well in AAA, but was still released in early August.  He pitched in the Mexican League in 2025, but not very well.  He turns thirty-five today.  We've said many times that we're fine with someone playing as long as someone will let him play, but it may be hard for Tyler Duffey to find that someone in 2025.

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

Infielder Jonah Michael Bride was with the Twins for most of 2025.  He was born in Milwaukee, went to high school in Owasso, Oklahoma, attended Neosho County Community College and the University of South Carolina, was drafted by Oakland in the twenty-third round in 2018.  His early minor league numbers were okay, but nothing special.  In 2021, however, he had a fine year in AA Midland and followed it up with a solid Arizona Fall League season.  He continued to hit in the minors in 2022 and reached Oakland in mid-June.  And that's when the hitting stopped.  He was with the Athletics through 2023, hitting well in AAA but not in the majors.  He was sold to Miami in 2024 and appeared to find something.  Promoted to the majors for the second half of the season, he batted .276/.357/.461 in 232 at-bats and taking over the starting first base job.  The Marlins weren't terribly impressed, however, and sold him to Minnesota in mid-April of 2025.  He did little for the Twins, batting .208/.275/.236 in seventy-two at-bats, mostly playing third base.  They sent him back to AAA in late June and he batted well for St. Paul, but was not called back up.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Texas for 2026.  He has batted .294/.430/.498 in 721 AAA at-bats, but .221/.311/.313 in 594 major league at-bats.  He turns thirty today.  You don't usually see that big a gap between a player's AAA stats and his major league stats, but it does happen occasionally.  Still, he can probably play in AAA for a few more years, and will probably get a few call-ups to the majors when someone gets hurt.  He hit for a half-season once.  Maybe he can do it again.

December 26

Morgan Bulkeley (1837)

Judy Johnson (1899)

Stu Miller (1927)

Al Jackson (1935)

Wayne Causey (1936)

Ray Sadecki (1940)

Carlton Fisk (1947)

Chris Chambliss (1948)

Dave Rader (1948)

Mario Mendoza (1950)

Ozzie Smith (1954)

Mike Sodders (1958)

Storm Davis (1961)

Jeff King (1964)

Esteban Beltre (1967)

Omar Infante (1981)

Yohan Pino (1983)

Mike Minor (1987)

Morgan Bulkeley was the first president of the National League.

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

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

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

December 25

This is a reprint from last year, so there is not biography of Alex Jackson.  Sorry about that, Alex.  Maybe next year.

Pud Galvin (1856)

Barry McCormick (1874)

Walter Holke (1892)

Lloyd Brown (1904)

Ben Chapman (1908)

Jo-Jo Moore (1908)

Quincy Trouppe (1912)

Ned Garver (1925)

Nellie Fox (1927)

Gene Lamont (1946)

Manny Trillo (1950)

Luis Quintana (1951)

Jeff Little (1954)

Wallace Johnson (1956)

Charlie Lea (1956)

Rickey Henderson (1958)

Rich Renteria (1961)

Marty Pevey (1962)

Alex Jackson (1995)

There have been 32 major league players with the first name “Jesus”, including ex-Twins Jesus Vega and Jesus “Bombo” Rivera and one whose birthday is today, Manny Trillo.  There have been no major league players with the last name “Christ", although there have been two minor leaguers with that last name:  John Christ, who was in the Cleveland organization from 1999-2001, and Mike Christ, who was in the Seattle organization from 1984-1988.  There have been 24 players whose first name was “Christian” (honorable mention to Cristian Guzman), 24 players whose middle name was “Christian” (including ex-Twins Marcus Jensen, David Lamb, and Kevin Maas), and two players whose last name was “Christian”.  We would be remiss if we did not also mention 1980s journeyman catcher Steve Christmas, as well as Matt Holliday.  Radaris.com says there are at least 280 people in the United States named Mary Christmas.

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

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

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

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