November 30

Mordecai Davidson (1845)

Frank Killen (1870)

Josh Billings (1891)

Firpo Marberry (1898)

Clyde Sukeforth (1901)

Dick Seay (1904)

Steve Hamilton (1935)

Craig Swan (1950)

Juan Berenguer (1954)

Dave Engle (1956)

Steve Shields (1958)

Bob Tewksbury (1960)

Bo Jackson (1962)

Gary Wayne (1962)

Mark Lewis (1969)

Ray Durham (1971)

Matt Lawton (1971)

Shane Victorino (1980)

Rich Harden (1981)

Luis Valbuena (1985)

Chase Anderson (1987)

Mordecai Davidson was the owner of the Louisville Colonels in the late 1880s.  Under financial pressure, he tried to save money in a variety of ways, including fining players each time the team lost.  As a result, he is credited with inspiring the first baseball players' strike.  Nobody ever seems to name their kid "Mordecai" any more.

Right-handed reliever Juan Bautista Berenguer pitched four solid years for Minnesota, from 1987-1990, and is still remembered fondly by Twins fans. Born in Aguadulce, Panama, Berenguer was signed by the Mets as a free agent in 1975. He was a starting pitcher throughout his minor league career. He pitched well there, striking out more than a batter per inning, although his walk totals were uncomfortably high. He pitched briefly with the Mets in 1978-1980, with varying success, but totalling only 53 innings. The Mets traded him to Kansas City at the end of March, 1981. This was Berenguer's first full season in the big leagues, but it was not all with they Royals; they sold him to Toronto in early August. He did not have a good year, going 2-13 with a 5.26 ERA, and was released the following March. Detroit signed him, and sent him to AAA, where he had a mediocre season. He made the team in 1983, however, and pitched well for them for two years, mostly as a starter. In 1985, however, he slipped, and was traded to San Francisco after the season. He pitched very well out of the bullpen for the Giants in 1986, posting a 2.70 ERA in 73.1 innings. It didn't impress the Giants, though; they released him, and he was signed by Minnesota. Given his previous ups and downs, Berenguer was remarkably consistent in his four years with the Twins, posting ERAs in the mid-to-upper threes and WHIP of around 1.3 to 1.4. As a Twin, he was 33-13 with nine saves, an ERA of 3.70, an ERA+ of 115, and a WHIP of 1.36 over 211 appearances. At the end of the 1990 season, Berenguer became a free agent, signing with Atlanta. He was a Brave for a season and a half. He pitched well in 1991, but broke his pitching arm while wrestling with his children and missed the Braves' playoff run. He pitched poorly in 1992, was traded to Kansas City in July, and was released after the season. He played for independent teams in Minnesota from 1994-1997 before hanging up the spikes for good.  His son, Chris, played minor league hockey and another son, Andrew, played baseball for Mesabi Range Technical College.  At last report, Juan Berenguer was working for a Lincoln car dealership and for a Spanish-language television station in Minnesota.  Given his age, however, it's possible that he has retired.

Catcher/outfielder Dave Engle's father, Roy, was a high school teammate of Ted Williams. Ralph David Engle is the brother-in-law of Tom Brunansky. Born and raised in San Diego, he went to U.S.C. and was drafted by California in the third round in 1978. A third baseman at the start of his minor league career, Engle was only in the Angels organization for one year. In February of 1979, he was traded to Minnesota with Paul Hartzell, Brad Havens, and Ken Landreaux for Rod Carew. He batted over .300 in two of his three minor league seasons, reaching the Twins in 1981. He was fifth in Rookie of the Year balloting that season, despite hitting only .258. An outfielder his first couple of years with the Twins, he was converted to catching in 1983 because a scar in his eye, the result of a childhood accident, made it difficult for him to see fly balls in the Metrodome. His bat responded to the move, as he had what was easily his best season, batting .305. The next year, however, he dropped to .266 (although he made the all-star team that year), and he never came close to batting .300 again. He also developed a problem throwing the ball back to the pitcher, limiting his ability to catch. Engle remained with the Twins until January of 1986, when he was traded to Detroit for Chris Pittaro and Alejandro Sanchez. The Tigers used him mostly at first base, but seldom used him at all; he had only 86 at-bats when he was released in August. He was with Montreal for a couple of years and Milwaukee for one, not seeing much playing time with either team. He went into coaching in 1990, although he still played a little in the minors through 1991. He remained active as a minor league manager and coach through 2000 and was the Mets hitting coach from at least 2001-2002.  At last report, Dave Engle was a scout for the Baltimore Orioles and was living in Arizona.

Right-hander Stephen Mack Shields came to Minnesota in 1989, at the end of his major league career. Born and raised in Gadsden, Alabama, he was drafted by Boston in the tenth round in 1977. His minor league record is a rather mixed bag, as was his usage, as he was sometimes a starter, sometimes a reliever. He did not get to AAA until his seventh minor league season, in 1983. He was a free agent after that season and signed with the Braves. He was in their organization for three seasons, reaching the majors for the first time in 1985 and spending parts of that and the next season with Atlanta. 1985 was the only year he was used as a spot starter; the rest of his career was in the bullpen. He was traded to Kansas City at the end of 1986, and was traded again that off-season to Seattle. Shields again split the year between the majors and AAA in 1987, became a free agent, and signed with the Yankees for 1988. He came the closest he would come to a full season in the majors that year, coming to New York May 1 and staying there the rest of the year. He pitched 82 innings that year, the most he had in a major league season. The Yankees traded him to Minnesota in March of 1989 for Balvino Galvez. Shields spent about a month with the Twins that season, from mid-May to mid-June. He made eleven appearances, pitching 17.1 innings and posting a 7.79 ERA. He was with AAA Portland the rest of the season, did not do particularly well there either, and was released after the season ended, bringing his playing career to a close. After baseball, Steve Shields returned to Gadsden and was the Environmental Services Supervisor for the city until his retirement.  At last report, he was living in Hokes Bluff, Alabama.

Right-hander Robert Alan Tewksbury was with the Twins from 1997-1998, at the end of a fairly substantial career. Born in Concord, New Hampshire, he attended Merrimack Valley High School in Penacook, New Hampshire. He went to both Rutgers and Saint Leo University and was drafted by the Yankees in the 19th round in 1981. He pitched very well throughout his minor league career, making his major league debut with the Yankees in April of 1986. He pitched well for them in 20 starts that year, but got off to a poor start in 1987 and was traded to the Cubs as part of a package for Steve Trout. Tewksbury was apparently injured much of 1988, as he made only 11 appearances, ten of them in the minor leagues. He pitched well in those appearances, but became a free agent at the end of the year. Tewksbury signed with the Cardinals and pitched well again in AAA in 1989, posting a 2.43 ERA in 28 starts. That convinced the Cardinals, and Tewksbury was in their starting rotation for the next five years. Control had never been a problem for him, but he became an extreme control pitcher in those years, twice leading the league in fewest walks per nine innings with 0.8 and twice leading the league in strikeout/walk ratio despite striking out fewer than 100 batters. He made the all-star team in 1992, when he won 16 games, led the league in winning percentage, and finished third in Cy Young voting. He had a poor year in 1994, however, and was allowed to become a free agent. He did not sign until early April, when he joined the Texas Rangers. He was fairly average for the Rangers, and was fairly average the next year with San Diego. Tewksbury was again a free agent after the 1996 season, and signed with Minnesota. He was a Twin for two years, and was fairly average for them, too. In two seasons for bad Twins teams, Bob Tewksbury was 15-26 with a 4.49 ERA and an ERA+ of 104. The Twins would likely have brought him back in 1999 had he chosen to continue his career, but he had shoulder problems and elected retirement instead.  He then went back to school and got a masters' degree in psychology at Boston University. He has done commentary on Red Sox games, worked for the Red Sox as a sports psychologist, and was a mental skills coach for the Chicago Cubs.  He continues to work as a psychologist and mental skills coach, and can be contacted through bobtewksbury.com.  He also does a lot of charitable work, primarily with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He was inducted into the Saint Leo Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.

Left-hander Gary Anthony Wayne was with the Twins from 1989-1992. A native of Dearborn, Michigan, Wayne attended the University of Michigan and then was drafted by Montreal in the fourth round. He was a starter early in his minor league career and struggled in that role. Switched to relief in 1986, he had consecutive strong years, first in Class A, then in AA. He suffered a broken foot in 1988, making only eight appearances, and was left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft. Minnesota selected him, and he was with the Twins at least part of the next four seasons, spending all of 1989 in Minnesota and splitting 1990-1992 between the Twins and AAA. For the most part, he did a solid job for the Twins. In 147 appearances, he posted an ERA of 3.44, an ERA+ of 120, and a WHIP of 1.31. In March of 1993, the Twins traded Wayne along with Rob Wassenaar to Colorado for Brett Merriman. His career went downhill after that; he had a poor year for the Rockies in 1993, became a free agent, signed with the Dodgers, was sent to the minors in early June of 1994, and never made it back to the majors. Gary Wayne's career ended after the 1994 season. At last report, Gary Wayne was a licensed investment advisor for Infinity Wealth Management in Denver.

Outfielder Matthew Lawton played for the Twins from 1995-2001. He is variously listed as Matthew Lawton Jr. and Matthew Lawton III. Lawton was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, attended Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, and was drafted by the Twins in the 13th round in 1991. He had some solid, though unspectacular, years in the minor leagues, advancing a level per season. He made a brief appearance with the Twins in September of 1995, was a part-time player in 1996, and won a starting spot in the Twins' outfield in 1997. In 1998, he hit .278 with 21 homers, and the Twins promoted him as a rising superstar. Possibly trying to live up to that, Lawton hit only .259 with 7 homers in 1999. The next year, 2000, was Lawton's best as a Twin--he topped .300 for the only time in his career and made his first all-star appearance. He was having another solid season in 2001 when the Twins traded him to the Mets at the end of July for Rick Reed. Lawton finished out the year with the Mets, then was traded to Cleveland, where he stayed for three seasons. He was a part-time player his first two years, partly due to injuries, and hit for more power (15 homers each season) but a lower average. A regular again in 2004, he responded with a fine season, hitting .277 with 20 homers and making his second all-star appearance. The Indians traded Lawton to Pittsburgh after the season, and he began bouncing around. He was traded to the Cubs at the end of July of 2005 and moved to the Yankees at the end of August. A free agent after the season, he was suspended for ten games in November for using steroids, a charge which he admitted. Lawton signed with Seattle for 2006, but was seldom used and was released at the end of May, bringing his playing career to a close. As a Twin, Lawton hit .277/.379/.428 with 72 homers and an OPS+ of 107. At last report, Matt Lawton had returned to his his hometown of Gulfport.  In April of 2013, he was arrested in what apparently was some sort of domestic dispute, although details are hard to come by.  It appears, though, that either the charges were dropped or it was never that serious to begin with, because in 2015 he coached his son's 11-12-year-old team to the Southwest Regional in Cal Ripken Baseball.  No further information about what Matt Lawton has done since leaving baseball was readily available.

Right-hander James Richard Harden did not pitch for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 2013 and was on their disabled list for a while.  Born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, he attended Central Arizona College and was drafted by Oakland in the seventeenth round in 2000.  A starter his entire career, he reached AA in 2002 and AAA in 2003.  He got to the majors in late July of 2003 and was there to stay with the exception of rehab starts, of which he had at least one every year.  He was not the most durable of pitchers, but he was always effective when healthy.  His best year for Oakland was 2005, when he went 10-5, 2.53 with a 1.06 WHIP in 128 innings.  He then made only thirteen starts over the next two seasons.  He came back in 2008 and was doing very well when he was traded to the Cubs in mid-season.  2008 was the best year of his career; he went a combined 10-2, 2.07, 1.06 WHIP in 25 starts.  He only pitched 148 innings, but he struck out 181 men in those innings.  He was still decent in 2009, but slid to 9-9, 4.09, 1.34 WHIP.  It was all downhill for Harden after that.  A free agent, he signed with Texas for 2010 but had a poor year.  A free agent again, he went back to Oakland for 2011 but could not get much done for them, either.  He missed all of 2012 while recovering from shoulder surgery, but signed with Minnesota for 2013.  Unfortunately, it did not go well for him.  He did not throw a pitch in either the majors or the minors and was released around the first of August, ending his playing career.  At last report, Rich Harden was living in the Phoenix area and was helping coach youth baseball there.  He is a member of the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

November 29

Tom Hughes (1878)

Minnie Minoso (1923)

Irv Noren (1924)

Vin Scully (1927)

George Thomas (1937)

Dick McAuliffe (1939)

Bill Freehan (1941)

Otto Velez (1950)

Mike Easler (1950)

Rick Anderson (1956)

Joe Price (1956)

Dennis Burtt (1957)

Howard Johnson (1960)

Bob Hamelin (1967)

Mariano Rivera (1969)

Brian Wolfe (1980)

Guillermo Quiroz (1981)

Craig Gentry (1983)

Outfielder George Edward Thomas played for the Twins for the second half of 1971. He was born in Minneapolis, went to high school in Bloomington, and went to the University of Minnesota. He was signed by Detroit as a free agent in 1957 and was classified as a “bonus baby”, which meant he had to be on the major league roster all that season. It was a wasted year for Thomas, as he got only one at-bat. Sent back to the minors in 1958, he hit decently, but not outstandingly for the next few seasons. In 1960, he hit .275 with 13 homers in AA Birmingham. That was enough to get him to the majors with the Tigers in 1961 but he was used almost exclusively as a pinch-runner, appearing in seventeen games through late June but getting only six at-bats. At that point, he was sold to the Los Angeles Angels, where for the next two years he saw a decent amount of playing time as a fourth outfielder. He hit .280 in that role in 1961, but nowhere close to that in the rest of his time with the Angels. In mid-June of 1963 he was traded back to Detroit in a trade that involved future Twin Frank Kostro. Continuing in a reserve role, he had a good year in 1964, hitting .286 with 12 homers, but slumped in 1965 and was traded to Boston after the season. He was used primarily as a pinch-hitter and had a couple of outstanding years in that role, hitting .347 from 1969-1970 in 150 at-bats. When he started at 1-for-13 in 1971, however, Thomas was released by the Red Sox in late June. The Twins signed him and continued him in the pinch-hitting role, as he played in 23 games but got only 30 at-bats. He hit .267/.300/.353, not bad for a pinch-hitter, but after the season, in his words, “they asked me not to come to spring training”. He remained involved in baseball for a while, and was the head coach at the University of Minnesota from 1979-1981.  Later, he went into business selling audio/video software packaging.  At last report, George Thomas was spending his summers in Wisconsin, about an hour from the Twin Cities, and spending his winters in Florida.

Right-hander Richard Arlen Anderson never played for the Twins, but was a minor league pitching coach for them for several years and was their major league pitching coach from 2002-2014. He was born in Everett, Washington and went to high school there. He then attended the University of Washington and was drafted by the Mets in the 24th round in 1978. It would be interesting to hear him talk about his playing days; he had good numbers throughout his minor league career, but got very few chances in the majors. Anderson was at AAA for the Mets for over five years, never posting an ERA over four and twice posting an ERA under three, before getting a chance in the majors. He was with the Mets for about two months in 1986 and did well, going 2-1 with a 2.72 ERA in 49.2 innings. In March of 1987, however, the Mets traded Anderson to Kansas City. Anderson started the season with the Royals, but was soon sent back to AAA. This must be when he decided that pitching to contact was key--he struck out 12 in 13 innings for Kansas City, but had an ERA of 13.75. In 1988 he was again mostly in AAA, getting just over a month with the Royals. His playing career ended after the season, and he was immediately hired by the Twins as their pitching coach in the Gulf Coast League. Anderson worked his way up the Twins' minor league system, becoming their major league pitching coach in 2002.  He held the job through 2014.  His reputation grew as the Twins pitching staff prospered and diminished as the staff struggled, but of course it is difficult to know how much of either the successes or the failures of the Twins pitchers were the result by Rick Anderson's coaching.  He left with Ron Gardenhire after the 2014 season, stayed out of baseball for three years, then returned with Ron Gardenhire as the pitching coach of the Detroit Tigers beginning in 2018.  He finished out the 2020 season after Gardy retired, but then retired himself.  He is a member of the Snohomish County Sports Hall of Fame and the Everett Community College Athletics Hall of Fame.

Right-hander Dennis Allen Burtt was with the Twins for all of his major league career, which consisted of eight games in 1985-1986. He was born in San Diego, attended Santa Ana College, and was drafted by Boston in the second round of the January draft of 1976. Mostly used as a starter in the minors, he largely topped out at AA. He posted an ERA of around five with a WHIP over 1.5 in three years at AAA for Boston. Burtt became a free agent after the 1984 season, and was signed by Minnesota. He did not pitch a lot better at Toledo in 1985, but he won 14 games, so he got a September call-up. He actually pitched pretty well in 28.1 innings, going 2-2 with a 3.81 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. Burtt started 1986 with the Twins, but after three appearances was sent back to AAA. Minnesota released him after the season, and he signed on with the Dodgers, pitching for their AAA team for three years. He pitched for Detroit's AAA team in 1990, and then retired, although he pitched briefly in an independent league in 1996. As a Twin, Dennis Burtt was 2-2 with a 5.64 ERA in 30.1 innings. He was a minor league pitching coach for a while, then left baseball and went into the financial services industry.  At last report, he was working for WealthWave, a company whose vision is to create a world where "everyone is financially literate and has access to the tools and support they need to create a better life for themselves and their children", and was living in Stockton, California.

Right-hander Brian Thomas Wolfe never appeared for the Twins, but was in their organization for several years. Born in Fullerton, California, he attended high school in Anaheim and was drafted by the Twins in the sixth round in 1999. Initially a starting pitcher, he was converted to relieving in 2003. He had his ups and downs in the minors, with the record revealing more downs than ups. He flopped at AA in 2003, was hurt much of 2004, and was not pitching well at AA in 2005 when the Twins released him in May. He signed with Milwaukee, and pitched well in A and AA the rest of the season. The next January, however, the Brewers traded Wolfe to Toronto for Corey Koskie. He pitched poorly in 2006, but seemed to put something together in 2007, posting an ERA of 1.04 and a WHIP of 0.92 in 26 innings for AAA Syracuse. Wolfe was brought up the big leagues at the end of May, and was with the Blue Jays for the rest of 2007 and about half of 2008. He pitched much better for them than they had any right to expect, although in limited duty. He posted an ERA under three and a WHIP of around one in 67.1 innings. In 2009, however, he lost whatever he had found; he pitched poorly in AAA and worse in a couple of months in the big leagues. He moved on to Japan in 2010, playing for the Nippon Ham Fighters, for whom he pitched well through 2013.  He was pitching well in 2014 for Softbank, but in June he underwent Tommy John surgery.  He made a couple of appearances for Softbank in 2015 and made four starts for the Seibu Lions in 2016, pitching quite well--4-0, 3.04, 1.27 WHIP.  He came back with Seibu in 2017 and 2018, but declined each season.  His playing career came to an end after the 2018 season.  He apparently moved to Boise, Idaho after that, got involved in youth baseball, and at last report was an instructor with Sawtooth Sports Training in Caldwell, Idaho.  He was also the pitching coach for the Sawtooth Sockeyes, a summer collegiate team.

November 28

Heinie Pietz (1870)

Frank O'Rourke (1894)

Johnny Wright (1916)

Jerry Gardner (1920)

Wes Westrum (1922)

Sixto Lezcano (1953)

Dave Righetti (1958)

Walt Weiss (1963)

John Burkett (1964)

Matt Williams (1965)

Pedro Astacio (1969)

Robb Nen (1969)

Jose Parra (1972)

Carlos Villaneuva (1983)

Miguel Diaz (1994)

Jerry Gardner spent most of his life in baseball as a minor-league player and manager and as a scout.

Right-hander Jose Miguel Parra pitched for the Twins in 1995 and 1996. He may not have spent a lot of time in the majors, but he stretched that time over several years. Born in Jacagua, Dominican Republic, Parra was signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in 1989 at age 16. He had a good year in 1990 in the Gulf Coast League, but struggled quite a bit after that. Despite posting an ERA near five in just over a season at AAA, the Dodgers gave him about a month in the big leagues in June of 1995. At the end of July, Parra was traded to the Twins along with Ron Coomer, Greg Hansell, and Chris Latham for Mark Guthrie and Kevin Tapani. Parra was in the Twins' starting rotation through the end of 1995, and was in Minnesota for the bulk of 1996, beginning the year in the rotation and going to the bullpen after five starts. His time in Minnesota did not go well: he posted a 6.77 ERA in 131.2 innings. He was no better in AAA Salt Lake in 1997, and the Twins released him after that season. Parra did not give up, however; he went to Korea for a year, and was in Japan for another year. In 2000, he found himself back in the majors with Pittsburgh. It would be wonderful to report that he went on to big league success, but in reality he pitched about the same for the Pirates as he had for Minnesota, and was back in the minors a month later. He spent 2001 in the Mexican League, but in 2002 was back in the big leagues, getting a month with Arizona. He posted a 3.21 ERA in 16 relief appearances, but had a WHIP of 1.71. Returned to the minors, he went back to Mexico for 2003, but came back again in 2004, getting another month in the majors with the Mets. Parra again had a 3.21 ERA, but again had a high WHIP, and went back to AAA. He was back in Japan for 2005, and then ended his playing career. It took a long time, but he pitched in 82 major league games, which is something a lot of people wish they could say. He also is tied for an all-time batting record: most walks in a career without an official at-bat (2, tied with Ernie Rudolph). Jose Parra was the pitching coach for the DSL Tigers from 2008-2018 and was the pitching coach for the GCL Tigers in 2019, but was let go after the season.  One would think that, with that much experience, he could get another job in baseball, but if he did we didn't find it.  So, as we say, no information about what Jose Parra is doing now was readily available.

Right-hander Miguel Angel Diaz did not play for the Twins, but was in their organization for part of December 8, 2016.  He was born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic and signed by the Milwaukee Brewers in December of 2011.  He spent two years in the Dominican Summer League and two years in the Arizona Summer League, in both cases doing substantially better in his second year.  He spent 2016 with Class A Wisconsin, going 1-8, but posting an ERA of 3.71 and a WHIP of 1.18.  He was left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft and was claimed by Minnesota, but was traded to San Diego that same day for Justin Haley.  He started the season in the majors with the Padres, presumably because of the Rule 5 rules, but apparently was injured in late June.  He came back in September when the rosters expanded.  He clearly wasn't ready to be in the majors, posting an ERA of 7.34 in 41.2 innings.  He had a strong 2018 in AA El Paso, however, and while he didn't exactly shine when brought up to the majors he was a lot better, going 1-0, 4.82 in 18.2 innings.  He was apparently injured much of 2019, as he appeared in just fifteen games, five of them with the Padres in June.  He again didn't do much in the majors.  He signed with the Padres again for 2020 but did not play for them.  He remained with them for 2021, however, and split the season between AAA and the majors, spending a little over half the season with the big club. He did well, going 3-1, 3.64, 1.19 WHIP with 46 strikeouts in 42 innings.  Despite that, he was allowed to become a free agent after the season.  He signed with Detroit and had a rather mediocre year in AAA, although he pitched quite well in three major league outings at the end of the season.  2023 was similar--he had a poor year in AAA, but did very well in a September call-up to the majors.  He was waived anyway and claimed by Houston for 2024.  He pitched poorly again in AAA, was released in late May, and signed back with Detroit for whom, for a change, he pitched very well in AAA.  He signed with the Giants for 2025 and had another good year in AAA, but did not get called up to the majors.  His career major league numbers don't look all that impressive, but if you start from 2021 he's 4-1, 2.82, 1.09 WHIP with 65 strikeouts in 60.2 innings (41 games).  He turns thirty-one today and is a free agent.  He'll never be a star or anything, but if you're looking for relief help you could do worse than to give him a shot.

November 27

Bullet Joe Bush (1892)

Johnny Schmitz (1920)

Billy Moran (1933)

Jose Tartabull (1938)

Dave Giusti (1939)

Dan Spillner (1951)

Mike Scioscia (1958)

Randy Milligan (1961)

Tim Laker (1969)

Ivan Rodriguez (1971)

Willie Bloomquist (1977)

Jimmy Rollins (1978)

Kody Funderburk (1996)

Billy Moran was part of a three-team trade involving Minnesota, Cleveland, and the Los Angeles Angels. Minnesota acquired Frank Kostro and Jerry Kindall and sent Lenny Green and Vic Power to Los Angeles. Moran was sent from the Angels to Cleveland in that trade.

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

November 26

Hugh Duffy (1866)

Fred Tenney (1871)

Bob Johnson (1905)

Lefty Gomez (1908)

Howard Easterling (1911)

Bob Elliott (1916)

Eddie Miller (1916)

Jeff Torborg (1941)

Larry Gura (1947)

Richie Hebner (1947)

Jorge Orta (1950)

Jay Howell (1955)

Bob Walk (1956)

Mike Moore (1959)

Harold Reynolds (1960)

Chuck Finley (1962)

Brian Schneider (1976)

Matt Garza (1983)

Matt Carpenter (1985)

Cal Raleigh (1996)

Infielder Howard Easterling was a star in the Negro Leagues in the 1930s and 1940s.

Right-hander Matthew Scott Garza appeared in 26 games for the Twins in 2006-2007.  He was born in Selma, California, went to high school in Washington Union, California, went to Cal State-Fresno, and was drafted by Minnesota in the first round in 2005.  He played at every level in the Twins’ minor league system, but did not stay anywhere very long, as he was promoted rapidly.  He reached the majors in mid-August of 2006 and went 3-6, 5.76, numbers which are made to look much worse by a terrible first outing (his ERA drops by a run if you throw it out).  He started 2007 back in AAA, but was in the Twins’ rotation by mid-season and did okay.  As a Twin, he was 8-13, 4.47, although with a 1.60 WHIP.  It appeared that he might be in the Twins’ rotation for some time, but instead he was traded to Tampa Bay with Eduardo Morlan and Jason Bartlett for Brendan Harris, Jason Pridie, and Delmon Young.  Garza was immediately installed into the Rays’ rotation and was a solid starter for three seasons, posting ERAs in the high threes and WHIPs around 1.25.  After the 2010 season, he was traded again, this time to the Cubs.  He again had a solid season as a member of their starting rotation in 2011, and was doing so in 2012 until he suffered an elbow injury in late July that forced him to miss the rest of the season.  He came back in 2013 and was pitching well for the Cubs when he was traded to Texas in late July, for whom he pitched not quite as well but still decently.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Milwaukee and had another good year for them in 2014.  He stumbled badly in 2015, however, having by far the worst season of his career and missing significant time due to a shoulder injury.  He came back in 2016 and did better, but nothing special.  He took a small step backward in 2017, not pitching particularly well in twenty-two starts.  For his career, Matt Garza was 93-106, 4.09, 1.32 WHIP.  He had surgery to repair a torn labrum in January of 2018, and that ended his playing career.  It appears that Matt Garza is currently living in the Fresno area and is the majority owner of Authentic 559, which offers "an incredible selection of cannabis products from top name brands".  He is also involved in youth baseball coaching.

November 25

Bert Cunningham (1865)

Jakie May (1895)

Clint Thomas (1896)

Charles Baron (1913)

Joe DiMaggio (1914)

Mike Ryan (1941)

Bucky Dent (1951)

Dave Baker (1956)

Chico Walker (1958)

Mark Whiten (1966)

Octavio Dotel (1973)

Nick Swisher (1980)

First baseman Charles Baron played in the minors from 1931-1951, batting .306 with 2,319 hits.  He was a player-manager for the last five of those seasons.

The brother of ex-Twin Doug Baker, third baseman David Glenn Baker did not play for the Twins, but he was in their minor league system for two seasons. He was born in Lacona, Iowa, went to high school in Grenada Hills, California, attended UCLA, and was drafted by Toronto in the eleventh round in 1978. He advanced quickly through the Blue Jays minor league system, reaching AAA in 1979 despite not really doing anything to deserve that. It was not until his fourth year at AAA, 1982, that he actually had a good year there, hitting .279 with 16 homers and an OBP of .364. He got a September call-up that year, going 5-for-20 with three walks in nine games. After the season, he was traded to Minnesota for Don Cooper. He had a good year in AAA Toledo in 1983, hitting .278 with 14 homers and an OBP of .352, but did not get a call-up. He slumped to .226 in Toledo in 1984, and as he was now twenty-seven and the Twins had Gary Gaetti at third base, they let him go. No one signed him, and his playing career was over.  At last report, Dave Baker had returned to Lacona and was offering baseball training and instruction.

November 24

George Burns (1889)
Billy Rogell (1904)
Joe Medwick (1911)
Danny Ozark (1923)
Bob Friend (1930)
Jim Northrup (1939)
Steve Yeager (1948)
Randy Velarde (1962)
Cal Eldred (1967)
Ben McDonald (1967)
Al Martin (1967)
Dave Hansen (1968)
Chris Herrmann (1987)
Jeimer Candelario (1993)

Danny Ozark was the manager of Philadelphia from 1973-1979.

Catcher/outfielder Christopher Ryan Herrmann was with the Twins off and on from 2012-2015.  He was born and raised in Tomball, Texas and is one of two big-league players to come out of Tomball High School (Troy Patton).  He attended the University of Miami and was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in 2009.  He hit well in Elizabethton that season, struggled in Fort Myers in 2010, but did well when he started the season in Fort Myers in 2011.  He was promoted to New Britain fairly early in the 2011 campaign and was there again for all of 2012, with the exception of his September call-up.  He was okay in New Britain, but was nothing special, batting .268 with an OPS of .754.  Promoted to Rochester for 2013, he did not do particularly well there, batting .227, but was in Minnesota for about half of 2013 anyway.  He hit about like you'd expect him to, going .204/.286./.325.  He was in Minnesota for about half of 2014, too, and while he hit better in the half spent in Rochester that did not translate into better numbers at the major league level.  He was in Minnesota for nearly all of 2015 despite batting a sub-Buteran .146/.214/.272.  After the 2015, the Twins traded Herrmann to Arizona for Daniel Palka.  He was the reserve catcher for the Diamondbacks for 2016, with the exception of time on the disabled list.  His April was typical Chris Herrmann, but in May he suddenly started to hit and kept hitting the rest of the season.  It was only 148 at-bats, but he hit .284/.352/.493, numbers that were far above anything anyone had any reason to expect.  In 2017 he came back to earth, batting .181, although he did hit ten home runs in 226 at-bats.  The Diamondbacks released him in spring training of 2018, but he signed with Seattle.  He started the season in AAA but came up to the majors for about two-thirds of the season.  Despite that, he got only seventy-six at-bats, batting .237.  He was waived after the season and was claimed by Houston, but was released less than a month later.  He then signed with Oakland for 2019, was in the majors for about two months, and did about what you'd expect him to do, batting .202 in eighty-four at-bats.  He was released in mid-September.  He signed with Tampa Bay for 2020, was released shortly before the season started, and signed with San Francisco but did not play for them in 2020.  He signed with Boston for 2021 and spent the season in AAA.  A free agent again, he signed with Washington for 2022, was a reserve catcher in AAA, and was released in August. He played for Kansas City in the American Association in 2023 and had an outstanding year, batting .355 with an OPS of 1.056.  He decided to stop playing on that high note.  At last report, Chris Herrmann was living in Montgomery, Texas and was an account executive for Unishippers-MFM Partners, a freight and package transportation company.  He was also a part-time instructor for Lone Star Sports Zone.