October 2

Mike Dorgan (1853)

Eddie Murphy (1891)

Gene Benson (1913)

Masayori Shimura (1913)

Maury Wills (1932)

Earl Wilson (1934)

Bob Robertson (1946)

Greg Pryor (1949)

Alan Newman (1969)

Matt Walbeck (1969)

Eddie Guardado (1970)

Scott Schoeneweis (1973)

Jose Morban (1979)

Aaron Hicks (1989)

Cam Bedrosian (1991)

Oliver Ortega (1996)

Masayori Shimura was a pioneering baseball broadcaster in Japan.

Cam Bedrosian is the son of ex-Twin Steve Bedrosian.

Not “the” Al Newman, left-hander Alan Spencer Newman did not pitch for the Twins, but was in their farm system for a few years. He was a big (6′ 6″, 240) left-handed pitcher who was born and raised in LaHabra, California. He attended Fullerton Junior College and was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 1988. He pitched well in Class A, but was not promoted to AA until half-way through the 1991 season. He had a good half-season at AA Orlando, but could not repeat his success there in 1992. In June of 1993, Newman was traded to Cincinnati with Tom Houk for Gary Scott. He was frequently on the move after that: Newman was a part of the organizations of the Cubs, Padres, White Sox, and Padres again. He also spent three years with Alexandria in the independent Texas-Louisiana League. Newman signed with Tampa Bay in 1999, and after going 10-0 with a 2.24 ERA in AAA Durham, he was finally promoted to the big leagues at age 29. He did not pitch well, however, and was released after the season. He hooked on with Cleveland, had a good year with AAA Buffalo, and made it to the Indians for one game in June. Newman was again released after the season. He played in the Japan Central League from 2001-2003, and played in independent leagues from 2004-2006 before finally calling it a career. Alan Newman was an instructor for Baseball Softball World of Yorba Linda, California; however, he is no longer listed as one on their website.  At last report, he was living in Pedley, California and was the owner of Old School Baseball, a baseball instructional facility.

Catcher Matthew Lovick Walbeck played for Minnesota from 1994-1996. Born and raised in Sacramento, he was drafted by the Cubs in the eighth round in 1987. He spent five years in rookie and Class A ball, but had a good year when finally promoted to AA Charlotte in 1992, hitting .301. Walbeck made the Cubs out of spring training in 1993, but was returned to the minors in late April after playing in only five games. After the season, he was traded to the Twins with Dave Stevens for Willie Banks. Walbeck was a semi-regular catcher for the Twins for three seasons. He hit .230/.271/.300 as a Twin in 946 at bats, with 8 home runs and 103 RBIs. After the 1996 season, Walbeck was traded to Detroit for Brent Stentz. He was the Tigers’ backup catcher in 1997 and did a good job for them, hitting .277 in 151 at-bats. The Tigers traded him to Anaheim before the 1998 season. Walbeck was a semi-regular for the Angels for three years. He did relatively well his first two years there, but when he slumped to a .199 average in 2000 it was time to move again. In 2001, Walbeck played for the Cincinnati and Philadelphia organizations, batting 1.000 in one at-bat for the Phillies. He was traded to the Tigers before the 2002 campaign, and made it back to the majors in mid-May. Walbeck remained with the Tigers through 2003, and then turned to managing.  He was named Eastern League manager of the year in 2010 while heading the Altoona Curve, but was let go after the season.  He then was the manager of the Class A Rome Braves, but he was fired in July of 2011.  Matt Walbeck is currently living in Fair Oaks, California, where he owns the Walbeck Baseball Academy.

Everyday Eddie Guardado would not make a list of all-time greats, but he is remembered fondly by most Twins’ fans. Left-handed reliever Edward Adrain Guardado played for the Twins from 1993-2003. Born and raised in Stockton, California, he attended San Joaquin Delta College and was drafted by the Twins in the 21st round in 1990. He did not sign until May of 1991. A starter throughout his minor-league career, Guardado was promoted to the Twins in 1993 after a hot start in AA Nashville. He was placed in the Twins’ rotation and made 16 starts for them that year, but he clearly was not ready, going 3-8 with a 6.18 ERA. Guardado made the Twins to stay in 1995. He moved into a set-up role in 1996, and stayed in that role until late 2001, when he became the Twins’ closer after LaTroy Hawkins imploded. He remained the Twins’ closer through 2003 and was a part of the Twins’ playoff teams in 2002-03. Guardado was an all-star in 2002 and 2003 and led the league in saves with 45 in 2002, when he finished 15th in the MVP balloting. He became a free agent after the 2003 season, and signed with Seattle. He did well for the Mariners when healthy, but began having injury problems. Guardado was traded to Cincinnati in July of 2006. He pitched well for the Reds that year, but not so well in 2007, and was released. He signed with Texas in 2008, and was pitching well in a set-up role when the Twins brought him back in late August in an attempt to bolster their bullpen in a playoff push, trading minor league pitcher Mark Hamburger for him.  Most people were happy to see Everyday Eddie back in a Twins uniform, but he was unable to help, and 2009 found Guardado back with the Rangers. He was decent, but no more, and announced his retirement after the season. He changed his mind and attempted to come back with Washington in 2010, but was released during spring training, bringing his playing career to an end. As a Twin, Guardado was 37-48 with 116 saves. His ERA, inflated by his time as a starter, was 4.55, his WHIP was 1.34, and his ERA+ was 104. He is thought of by Twins fans as a tough competitor who was always willing to take the ball and go into battle. He sponsored the Eddie Guardado Foundation, which helps families affected by autism by reducing their out of pocket expenses for therapy and treatment.  That foundation later merged with Autism Care Today, now known as ACT Today, of which Eddie is a director.  He was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2013.  He became the Twins' bullpen coach in 2015, but was let go after the 2018 season.  His oldest son, Niko, is an actor who has been on "The Goldbergs" and the "Party of Five" reboot.  At last report, it appeared that Eddie Guardado had moved to Tustin Ranch, California.

Infielder Jose Morban did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 2003. Born and raised in Santiago, Dominican Republic, he signed with Texas as a free agent in 1996. A speedy player with a little pop in his bat, he struggled to keep his batting average at an acceptable level. He also struggled to make contact, fanning over a hundred times in each full minor league season he played. He was still in Class A in 2002, but the Twins saw something they liked, because they chose him in the Rule 5 draft.  To make room for him on the roster, the Twins released a failed prospect named David Ortiz. They kept Morban through most of spring training, but placed him on waivers at the end of March and he was chosen by Baltimore. The Orioles apparently liked him, too, because they kept him in the majors all season rather than send him back to Texas. He appeared in 61 games, but got only 71 at-bats; in 23 of his games, he was used as a pinch-runner. Oddly, he was also used at designated hitter in four games, making him the most unlikely DH this side of Jason Tyner. He hit .141/.187/.225 that season with two home runs. Those are also his career numbers, as he never played in the major leagues after that season. He split 2004 between A and AA, then became a free agent and signed with Cleveland. He reached AAA with the Indians in 2005, then moved on to Seattle. He appears to have been injured part of the season, but did not hit when he was healthy and was released in late August. Morban went back to the Rangers in 2007 but was released in mid-April. He then spent three seasons in independent ball before his playing career came to an end.  At last report, it appeared that Jose Morban was living in the Dominican Republic.

Outfielder Aaron Michael Hicks played for the Twins from 2013-2015.  He was born in San Pedro, California, went to high school in Long Beach, and was drafted by the Twins in the first round in 2008 with the fourteenth pick.  He hit well in the Gulf Coast League that year, struggled some when he went to Beloit in 2009, did well when repeating the Midwest League in 2010, had a mediocre year in Fort Myers in 2011, did well in New Britain in 2012, and started 2013 in Minnesota.  He was clearly sent to the majors before he was ready.  Obviously it's easy to say that now, but there's really very little in his minor league record that suggested he would be ready to play in the majors in 2013.  Hicks was the Twins' starting centerfielder for the first half of the season and hit .192/.259/.338.  Sent to AAA at the all-star break, he struggled there, too, although that may have been at least partly due to injuries.  2014 was a case of "second verse, same as the first", as he again opened the season as the Twins starting centerfielder, again struggled at the plate, and again was sent back to the minors, this time to AA.  He did well in New Britain, did fairly well in Rochester, and was a September callup to the Twins.  He started 2015 in AAA, but after hitting .342 in 38 games he was called up to the Twins in mid-May and was their main center fielder the rest of the season.  He wasn't a superstar but he showed significant improvement, batting .256/.323/.398.  The Twins thought they needed a catcher, however, and traded him to the Yankees after the season for John Ryan Murphy.  He flopped in New York in 2016, batting just .217, but did much better in 2017.  He had an excellent first half, batting .290/.398/.515, but was injured on June 25 and missed about six weeks.  He was not nearly as good when he came back, batting just .216/.304/.402.  In 2018, however, he came back strong, hitting twenty-seven home runs and posting an OPS of .833.  He was injured at the start of 2019, started very slowly when he came back, and then was injured again in early August, making it kind of a wasted year for him.  He was healthier in 2020, but had another poor season, batting just .225, although with an OBP of .379.  He was batting below .200 in 2021 when he was injured in mid-May and missed the rest of the season.  He stayed healthy in 2022 but wasn't much better.  Two years ago, we wrote, "At some point, Aaron Hicks is going to have start hitting again if he's going to stay in the major leagues."  That point came when he got out of New York.  Struggling through another poor season, he was released in late May, signed with Baltimore a few days later, and immediately started hitting again.  He was the Orioles starting centerfielder for two months, got hurt, and upon coming back has been a "regular" at all three outfield spots.  He posted an OPS of .806 for Baltimore.  He signed with the Angels for 2024, but unfortunately left his batting stroke in Baltimore.  He batted .140 in eighteen games, and was released in May.  He did not sign with anyone, so his playing career is presumably over.  It wasn't a great career, but he played in twelve major league seasons, and there aren't a whole lot of people who can say that.  At last report, Aaron Hicks was living in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Right-hander Oliver Ortega appeared in ten games for the Twins in 2023.  He was born in Nagua, Dominican Republic, and signed as a free agent with the Angels in December of 2014.  He pitched very well in the Arizona League in 2016, missed 2017 due to injury, and came back to have a solid year in Class A in 2018.  He did well in high-A in 2019 but struggled in five AA starts.  He missed the COVID year of 2020 and was converted to the bullpen in 2021, struggling again in AA but oddly pitching much better in nine AAA appearances.  He started 2022 in the majors and pitched well for two months, but not very well in June and was sent back to AAA in early July.  He was waived in December of 2022 and claimed by the Twins for 2023.  He had a very good year in St. Paul and was with the Twins for about a month in the middle of the season.  He made ten appearances, pitching well in seven of them but not so well in the other three.  His numbers with the Twins are 0-1, 4.30, 1.23 WHIP with 14 strikeouts in 14.2 innings.  He was waived after the season and claimed by Houston.  He needed elbow surgery, however, and missed the entire 2024 season.  He signed with the Mets for 2025 and appeared in only thirteen minor league games, but pitched very well in them.  He turns twenty-nine today.  If he's healthy, Oliver Ortega could still have a decent major league career.

October 1

Ray Kolp (1894)

Carmen Hill (1895)

Jimmie Reese (1901)

Bob Griffith (1912)

Jim Russell (1918)

Bob Boyd (1919)

Hal Naragon (1928)

Chuck Hiller (1934)

Rod Carew (1945)

Bill Bonham (1948)

Pete Falcone (1953)

Jeff Reardon (1955)

Vance Law (1956)

Mark McGwire (1963)

Roberto Kelly (1964)

Chuck McElroy (1967)

John Thomson (1973)

Brandon Knight (1975)

Matt Cain (1984)

Erik Komatsu (1987)

Robbie Ray (1991)

Xander Bogaerts (1992)

Caleb Boushley (1993)

Charlie Barnes (1995)

David Banuelos (1996)

Jimmie Reese played in the majors only briefly, but was a coach in the majors or minors for most of his life.  He was Babe Ruth's roommate for a short period and uttered the famous line that in reality, he roomed with Babe Ruth's suitcase.  He is also remembered for his skill with a fungo bat, to the extent that he would sometimes pitch batting practice with it.

October 1 is tied for the lead for most Twins birthdays with nine.

Catcher Harold Richard Naragon played for the Twins from 1961-1962 at the end of a long career as a reserve catcher. Born in Zanesville, Ohio, his family moved to Barberton, Ohio when he was in the seventh grade. Naragon was signed as a free agent by the Indians in 1947 after attending a tryout camp. He was not a strong offensive player in the minors–his best season was 1950, when he hit .268 with 14 doubles for AA Oklahoma City. He was considered an excellent defensive player, however, and got a September call-up to the Indians in 1951. Naragon was then drafted into the Marines and did not play in 1952-53. When he returned to baseball in 1954, he was a big-leaguer. He remained one for the rest of his career with the exception of 1958, when he spent most of the year with AAA San Diego. Naragon never got more than 127 at-bats in a season with Cleveland, with the result that his batting average varied widely, from a low of .238 to a high of .323. He was traded to the Washington Senators in May of 1959. Naragon got the most at-bats of his career that season, 248, but hit only .247 with no power and not many walks. He returned to a backup role in 1960. Naragon came with the Senators to Minnesota in 1961, and hit .302 in 139 at-bats. In 1962, however, he lost the backup catcher spot to Jerry Zimmerman, batting only 35 times. He was released after the season, and his playing career was at an end. He became a bullpen coach with the Twins, becoming close friends with pitching coach Johnny Sain. Both Naragon and Sain were fired after the 1966 season, and both moved to the Detroit Tigers through 1969. After he was let go the Tigers, Naragon returned to Barberton and purchased a sporting goods store, which he operated until his retirement in 1990. As a Senator/Twin, Hal Naragon hit .252/.289/.295, with 2 home runs and 30 RBIs in 461 at-bats. Naragon was known as a sharp dresser and a fine golfer. Hal Naragon passed away on August 31, 2019 in Barberton.

Hall of Fame infielder Rodney Cline Carew played for the Twins from 1967-1978. Born in the Panama Canal Zone, he was named after the doctor who delivered him, Dr. Rodney Cline. The Carews came to the continental United States when Rod was 14, and he attended high school in Washington Heights, New York. He was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1964. He spent three years in the low minors, hitting well every season, and jumped to the Twins in 1967 despite never having played above Class A. He was clearly ready–he batted .292 and won the Rookie of the Year award. He also made the all-star team, his first of 18 consecutive seasons as an all-star. He missed time due to military reserve commitments in his first few seasons, and was injured much of 1970. Carew led the league in batting average seven times, with a high of .388 in 1977. He also led the league in OBP four times, led in hits three times, led in triples twice, and led in OPS once. Despite never hitting more than 14 home runs, he also led the league in intentional walks three times. Carew received votes for the Most Valuable Player award eight times, finishing in the top ten six times, the top five three times, and winning the award in 1977 despite playing for a fourth-place team. He stole home 17 times in his career, seven times in 1969. After the 1978 season, it became clear that Carew would become a free agent the next year, and it also became clear that the Twins would not offer him enough money to keep him. Thus, Carew was traded to the California Angels on February 3, 1979 for Dave Engle, Paul Hartzell, Brad Havens, and Ken Landreaux. He played seven years for the Angels, and continued to hit well. He batted over .280 every season for California, and batted over .300 his first five years there. He got MVP consideration for a ninth time in 1982, finishing 26th in the balloting. Carew retired after the 1985 season. A second baseman for his first nine years, he moved to first in 1976 and spent the rest of his career there. As a Twin, Rod Carew hit .334/.393/.448 with an OPS+ of 137. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on his first try in 1991. The national baseball stadium of Panama is named for him. Carew is the only player in the modern era of baseball to win a batting title without hitting a home run. He has served as the batting coach for the Angels and the Milwaukee Brewers.  As you probably know, he had a serious heart attack in 2015 which nearly killed him and required a heart transplant.  He is now involved in raising money for the American Heart Association through his Heart of 29 Campaign.

Right-handed reliever Jeffrey James Reardon pitched for the Twins from 1987-1989. He was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, went to high school in Dalton, Massachusetts, and attended the University of Massachusetts–Amherst. He was signed by the Mets as a free agent in 1977. A starting pitcher early in his minor league career, he converted to relief pitching while at AAA Tidewater in 1979. Reardon reached the majors in late August of 1979 and never returned to the minors. He never started a game in the majors–all of his 880 appearances were in relief. He pitched quite well for the Mets, but was traded to Montreal in late May of 1981 as part of a package for Ellis Valentine. He became the Expos’ closer in 1982 and did a fine job for them, leading the league in saves in 1985 with 41. In February of 1987, he was traded to Minnesota with Tom Nieto for Al Cardwood, Neal Heaton, Yorkis Perez, and Jeff Reed. Reardon immediately was made the Twins closer. He lost eight games in 1987, and had an ERA of 4.4, but after the Ron Davis Era he seemed like a godsend. The fact that the Twins won the World Series in his first year didn’t hurt anything, either. Reardon remained the Twins’ closer through 1989, when he became a free agent. He signed with Boston, where he was the closer for nearly three years, getting back to the playoffs in 1990. On August 30, 1992, Reardon was traded to Atlanta, where he again went to the World Series. He became a free agent after that season, and signed with the Reds, sharing closing duties with Rob Dibble. Neither of them had a particularly good year, and after the season Reardon was on the move again, signing with the Yankees. He got off to a poor start, however, and was released on May 8, 1994, ending his playing career. As a Twin, Jeff Reardon went 15-16 with 104 saves. He had an ERA of 3.70 and a WHIP of 1.15. Reardon made four all-star teams in his career, finished eighth in the Cy Young balloting in 1987, was in the top twenty in MVP balloting three times, and won the Rolaids Relief Man Award in 1985. As you may know, Reardon had more than his share of difficulties since leaving baseball. Sadly, his son Shane passed away from a drug overdose in 2004. In 2005, Reardon was charged with armed robbery of a jewelry store. It was eventually determined that he had committed the crime under the influence of antidepressants and mood stabilizers, and he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was not required to be committed as a result of the court ruling, although he did received treatment. Jeff Reardon lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.  He appears that he now has his life in order and it is hoped that things will continue to go well for him.  He was inducted into the Western Massachusetts Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024.

Outfielder Roberto Conrado (Gray) Kelly played for the Twins from 1996-1997. Born and raised in Panama City, Panama, Kelly was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in 1982. He got off to a slow start in the minors, but seemed to hit his stride in 1986, when he batted .278 for AA Albany-Colonie. Promoted to AAA the following year, he got cups of coffee with the Yankees in 1987 and 1988 before reaching the big-leagues permanently in 1989. A high-average hitter, Kelly also showed some power with the Yankees, hitting 20 homers in 1991 and twice hitting over 30 doubles. He stayed with the Yankees through the 1992, but then was traded to Cincinnati for Paul O’Neill. His batting average stayed solid, but his power numbers declined, and he started moving around quite a bit. Kelly was traded to Atlanta in 1994 and went to Montreal and then Los Angeles in 1995. He became a free agent after the 1995 season, and signed with the Twins, where he played for most of two seasons. He hit well for the Twins, batting .308/.358/.450 in 569 at-bats. With the Twins out of contention in 1997, however, Kelly was traded to Seattle in August for Joe Mays and Jeromy Palki. Kelly moved on to the Texas Rangers for two solid years as a part-time player in 1998 and 1999. Kelly played ten games for the Yankees in 2000. He signed with the Rockies in 2001, and hit .288 with 12 home runs for AAA Colorado Springs, but did not make it back to the majors. Kelly played two years in the Mexican League, and then turned to managing and coaching. He played on two all-star teams in his career, and reached the post-season with the Dodgers, the Mariners, and twice with the Rangers.  He then became a minor league manager and major league coach.  At last report, Roberto Kelly was the manager of the Sultanes de Monterrey in the Mexican League.

Right-hander Brandon Michael Knight did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 2001.  He was born in Oxnard, California, went to high school in Ventura, California, attended Ventura College, and was drafted by Texas in the fourteenth round in 1995.  He spent five rather undistinguished years in the Rangers' system, never having a really good year above Class A, then was traded to the Yankees for Chad Curtis after the 1999 season.  He did better in 2000, spending the year in AAA and going 6-4, 4.44 but with a WHIP of 1.26.  The Twins chose him in the Rule 5 draft, but returned him to the Yankees in late March of 2001.  He then had a couple of fine seasons in AAA in 2001 and 2002 and got brief call-ups to the majors in both years, appearing in four games in 2001 and seven games in 2002 for the Yankees.  He pitched poorly in the big leagues both times, however, and went to Japan in 2003.  He pitched poorly in 2003 and pitched both poorly and seldom in 2004 and 2005.  Perhaps he was injured, although this is unclear.  In any event, he came back to the United States in 2006 and signed with the Pirates.  He had a fine year as a reliever for AA Altoona, but by this time he was thirty years old, so it really did not impress anyone.  He played for Somerset in the Atlantic League in 2007 and had started 2008 there when he was signed by the Mets in late May.  He pitched very well in AAA New Orleans, and by the end of the year Brandon Knight returned to the majors after a six year absence, a feat which would have really impressed people if anyone had remembered that he had been there before.  Nobody much noticed him now, either--he made four appearances for the Mets and again pitched poorly.  Returned to AAA in 2009, this time in Buffalo, he did not pitch well and was released in late July.  He went to Korea for the rest of 2009 and all of 2010, pitching for Samsung.  In 2011 he moved to Nexen, for whom he was still pitching in 2014.  He only made six starts in 2014, however, and was ineffective, bringing his playing career to an end.  His big-league numbers are 1-0, 8.62, 1.85 WHIP in 31.1 innings.  Still, he got there, and he appeared in fifteen big-league ball games, which is fifteen more than the vast majority of people will play in.  He was a pitching coach for the SSG Landers in the KBO.  At last report, Brandon Knight was running Knight Baseball, "helping players develop proper mechanics and an appreciation for the great game of baseball" in Ventura, California.

Outfielder Erik Jordan Komatsu played in fifteen games for the Twins in 2012.  Born and raised in Caramillo, California, he attended Cal State–Fullerton and was drafted by Milwaukee in the eighth round in 2008.  He had some fine years in the Brewers’ system, batting .321 in the Pioneer League in 2008,  .323 in the Florida State League in 2010, and .294 in the Southern League in 2011.  In July of 2011, however, he was traded to Washington, and he has done very little since.  He didn’t hit much the rest of 2011 in AA Harrisburg, was left unprotected, and was taken by St. Louis in the Rule 5 draft.  The Cardinals kept him on the roster at the start of the season but played him sparingly and put him on waivers in early May.  The Twins selected him and also kept him in the majors.  He appeared in fifteen games for Minnesota, starting nine of them.  He got 32 at-bats and hit .219/.297/.219.  The Twins then returned him to Washington and he spent the remainder of the season playing for AAA Syracuse, where he was decent but nothing more.  He was still in the Nationals organization in 2013 but was injured most of the season, appearing in only sixteen minor league games.  He started 2014 in Syracuse, was released in May, signed with the Angels a few days later, went first to AAA then to AA, was released in June, signed with Milwaukee a week later, and finished out the season in AA.  He played in the Atlantic League in 2015, then his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Erik Komatsu was an outside sales representative for UniFirst Corporation.

Left-hander Charlie Segars Barnes was with the Twins for about a month and a half in 2021.  Born and raised in Sumter, South Carolina, he attended Clemson and was drafted by the Twins in the fourth round in 2017.  His numbers at Clemson were not all that impressive until 2017, when he went 5-5, 3.20 with a WHIP of 1.18.  He kind of flew under the radar in the Twins' minor league system, not posting eye-popping numbers but doing pretty well at each stop.  He had a 2.61 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in a 2017 split between Elizabethton and Low-A Cedar Rapids; a 2.81 ERA with a 1.34 WHIP at High-A Fort Myers in 2018; and a 3.60 ERA with a 1.36 WHIP at AA Pensacola in 2019 (although he struggled when promoted to AAA that season).  He did not pitch in 2020, but he had a solid season at St. Paul in 2021 (3.79 ERA, 1.28 WHIP) and made nine appearances in the majors.  He has posted a 5.92 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP in those appearances (38 innings), which is obviously not good.  The Twins released him after the season and he went to Korea, where he had three fine seasons with Lotte.  He came back to the United States for 2025, signing with Cincinnati, but pitched poorly in AAA and returned to Lotte.  He turns thirty today.  It's doubtful, though not impossible, that he'll get another chance in the big leagues, but we wish him well with his career in the KBO.

Right-hander Caleb J. Boushley appeared in two games for the Twins in 2024.  He was born in Hortonville, Wisconsin, but we don't know whether he heard a Who.  He attended Wisconsin--LaCrosse and was drafted by San Diego in the thirty-third round in 2017.  He pitched well in the low minors but missed the 2020 COVID year.  He did well in eight AA starts in 2021, but struggled when promoted to AAA.  He was waived by the Padres after that season and claimed by Milwaukee.  He had a tremendous 2022 season in AAA Nashville, going 12-2, 3.25, 1.17 WHIP, but did not get a call to the majors.  He did not do as well in AAA in 2023 but got a major league start at the end of the season, getting his only major league win so far.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota.  He did not pitch particularly well in AAA St. Paul, but made two appearances for the Twins anyway, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks in four innings.  He signed with Texas for 2025 and spent the season between AAA and the majors, pitching very well in AAA and not very well in the majors.  He was waived in early September and claimed by Tampa Bay, for whom he made three AAA appearances.  He turns thirty-two today and has no real record of success.  We wish him well, but it would be surprising if he got another chance in the majors.

Catcher David Clemente Banuelos did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system from 2018-2023.  He was born in Ontario, California, attended Cal State--Long Beach, and was drafted by Seattle in the fifth round in 2017.  He played in low A for the Mariners that season, then was traded to Minnesota for "future considerations".  For most of his time with the Twins, he was your basic light-hitting catcher.  He was in Class A in 2018 and 2019, missed the 2020 COVID season, split 2021 between AA and AAA, and spent all of 2022 in AAA.  His best batting average in those seasons was .220 and his highest OPS was .648.  In 2023, however, he batted .270 with an OPS of .896.  Unfortunately, he did that at age twenty-six at AA, so no one was particularly impressed.  He became a free agent and signed with Baltimore for 2024.  He spent most of the year in AAA and batted .225 with an OPS of .713.  He was in the majors briefly in April and appeared in one game, pinch-hitting and flying out to right.  He was injured much of 2025, and again went 0-for-1 in the majors, although he did get hit by a pitch to make his OBP .500 for the year.  He turns twenty-nine today.  He is presumably good defensively, and he does draw a lot of walks.  It seems unlikely that he'll have much of a major league career, but there are light-hitting defensive catchers who've done it.  If he can catch someone's eye at the right time, it's still possible that we'll see David Banuelos around for a while yet.

September 30

Gabby Street (1882)

Nap Rucker (1884)

Bobby Williams (1895)

Johnny Allen (1904)

Robin Roberts (1926)

Johnny Podres (1932)

Craig Kusick (1948)

Dave Magadan (1962)

Yorkis Perez (1967)

Jose Lima (1972)

Carlos Guillen (1975)

Seth Smith (1982)

Kenley Jansen (1987)

Gabby Street was a light-hitting catcher who played in parts of eight major leagues seasons, mostly for the Washington Senators. He was Walter Johnson's primary catcher. He later did some managing and broadcasting. He is best remembered as the first man to catch a baseball dropped from the top of the Washington Monument.

Five players born on this day made their major league debut in 2019:  Jesus Luzardo, Travis Demeritte, Trent Thornton, Jack Mayfield, and Brian Moran.  I don't know that that's a record, but I don't know that it isn't, either.

Left-hander John Joseph Podres did not play for the Twins, but served as their pitching coach from 1981-1985. Born and raised in Witherbee, New York, he signed with Brooklyn as a free agent in 1951. He had a tremendous season for Hazard in the Class D Mountain States League that year, going 21-9, 1.66 with a WHIP of 1.12. He went to AAA in 1952, then made his major league debut in 1953. Still very young, Podres struggled some, but was kept in the majors for three years and spent much of that time in the starting rotation. He came up big for the Dodgers in the 1955 World Series, going 2-0 with an ERA of 1.00 and pitching a shutout in game seven, which earned him the first World Series MVP award. After missing 1956 to military service, he came back in 1957 to have what was probably his best major league season. He was only 12-9, but he led the league in ERA (2.66), shutouts (6) and WHIP (1.08). He moved to Los Angeles with the team in 1958 and remained a rotation starter for the Dodgers through 1963. His best year is often thought to be 1961, but other than his won-lost record (18-5), he was not particularly better that year than any other. He missed most of 1964 with an injury, but came back to have a solid year in 1965. He was traded to Detroit early in 1966 and had a couple of solid seasons for them working mostly out of the bullpen. He was released in 1967 and was out of baseball in 1968, but in 1969 Podres attempted a comeback with, fittingly enough, the Padres. He had a mediocre season for San Diego, and then his playing career was over for good. He went into coaching after that; he was the pitching coach for the Twins from 1981-1985 and also was the pitching coach for San Diego (1973), Boston (1980), and Philadelphia (1991-1996). After his retirement he lived in Queensbury, New York. His career numbers are 148-116, 3.68, 1.32 WHIP. He made three all-star teams (1958, 1960, 1962) and finished fourteenth in MVP voting in 1961. He was inducted into the Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. Johnny Podres passed away on January 13, 2008 in Glens Falls, New York.

First baseman Craig Robert Kusick played for the Twins from 1973-1979. He was born in Milwaukee, attended the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1970. An outfielder early in his minor-league career, Kusick was moved to first base in 1972. He hit well at every minor-league stop. In 1973, he hit .305 with 27 homers for AAA Tacoma, a season which earned him a September call-up to the Twins. He was off to a hot start in Tacoma in 1974 when he was called up to the Twins in early June. Kusick was the regular first baseman for the Twins the rest of the season, but batted only .239 with 8 home runs. He was reduced to part-time status in 1975, spending two months back at AAA. In 1976, the Twins moved Rod Carew to first base, and Kusick became a part-time DH. He shared the DH spot with Tony Oliva in 1976 and with Glenn Adams and Rich Chiles in 1977. He was consistent in those years, at least, hitting in the .250s with 11 and 12 home runs, respectively. He fell apart in 1978, however, batting only .173. He was used mostly as a pinch-hitter in 1979, and did not do badly in that role, but was sold to Toronto in July. Kusick was released by the Blue Jays after the season, and signed with the Padres organization. He had a strong year in 1980 for AAA Hawaii, but was not given another chance in the majors. He split 1981 between Hawaii and AAA Evansville in the Detroit organization, but was out of baseball after that. As a Twin, Kusick hit .236/.343/.392, with 44 homers in 1184 at-bats. He tied a major league record when he was hit by a pitch three times in one game in August of 1975. He returned to Minnesota after his retirement, coaching baseball at Rosemount High School from 1983-2004. Kusick’s son, Craig Kusick, Jr., won the Melberger Award as the nation’s top Division III football player, and later played four seasons in the Arena League. Craig Kusick passed away from leukemia on September 27, 2006.

Left-hander Yorkis Miguel Vargas Perez did not play for the Twins but was in their minor league system for a few years. Born and raised in Bajos de Haina, Dominican Republic, he signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1983 at age 15. He made a few appearances at Elizabethton over the next few years, but was apparently in the Dominican Summer League most of that time. He reached Class A in 1986 and struggled, but he was still only eighteen years old. In February of 1987, Perez was traded to Montreal with Al Cardwood, Neal Heaton, and Jeff Reed for Tom Nieto and Jeff Reardon. His results were up and down for the next few years in the minors, but he was always pretty young for his league, reaching AA at age 19. The Expos were not impressed, though, and released him after the 1990 season. He signed with Atlanta, and in 1991 he seemed to have a breakthrough, going 12-3, 3.79 at AAA Richmond, although with a WHIP of 1.42. The Braves weren’t overly impressed either, and traded him to the Cubs in late September, in time for him to make his major league debut for Chicago that season. He went 1-0, 2.08, 0.92 WHIP in 4.1 innings, but the Cubs released him that December. No one signed him that winter, and it appeared that his career might be over at age 23. He went to Japan for 1992, signed with Seattle in late August, was released again in January without actually pitching for the Mariners, and went to Montreal as a free agent in 1993. He pitched fairly well out of the bullpen, in a year split between AA and AAA, but was allowed to become a free agent after the season and signed with Florida. He finally got a chance for a major league career with the Marlins, spending one full season and two nearly-full seasons in the majors. He had a good year in 1994, a mediocre one in 1995, and a bad one in 1996, after which he was traded to Atlanta. He did not make the Braves in 1997, instead being placed on waivers and selected by the Mets. Most of 1997 was spent in the minors; he again became a free agent after the season and moved on to Philadelphia. He was with the Phillies for two years and pitched pretty well as a LOOGY. Perez was traded to Houston in late March of 2000, got off to a poor start, and was released in July. He did not give up, signing with the Dodgers for 2001, getting released in April, pitching in Mexico that season, signing with Arizona for 2002, getting released again in late March, and signing with Baltimore. By late June he had battled his way back to the majors and again did well as a LOOGY. It was his last hurrah, however, as the Orioles released him after the season and his playing career came to an end. He played for eleven different organizations, six major league teams, and in Mexico and Japan, but pieced together a pretty decent career: 14-15, 4.44, 1.41 WHIP in 282 innings over 337 games. He is a cousin to Melido, Pascual, and Carlos Perez. His mother and sister passed away in a plane crash in 2001. His son, Leurys Vargas, was a first baseman who spent three seasons in rookie ball for the Mariners. Yorkis Perez was living in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and coaching youth baseball at last report.

September 29

This is a reprint from last year.

Dave Orr (1859)

Gus Weyhing (1866)

Harry Steinfeldt (1877)

Paul Giel (1932)

Mike McCormick (1938)

Rich Reese (1941)

Steve Busby (1949)

John McLaren (1951)

Warren Cromartie (1953)

Byron McLaughlin (1955)

Tim Flannery (1957)

Craig Lefferts (1957)

Rob Deer (1960)

Derek Parks (1968)

Jake Westbrook (1977)

Heath Bell (1977)

Joe Thurston (1979)

Jake Reed (1992)

Tyler Mahle (1994)

Dave Orr is considered the greatest nineteenth century slugger of all.  His career was cut short when he suffered a stroke in 1890 at the age of 31.

Outfielder Warren Cromartie was drafted by the Twins in the third round of the January Secondary draft in 1972, but did not sign.

We would also like to wish a very happy anniversary to freealonzo's parents.

Right-hander Paul Robert Giel was one of the original Minnesota Twins, appearing in 12 games for them in 1961. Born and raised in Winona, Minnesota, he attended the University of Minnesota and signed with the New York Giants as a “bonus baby” free agent in 1954. That status required him to remain in the majors for two years. He hardly played in the first year, but in the second he did not do too badly, going 4-4, 3.39 in 82.1 innings. He then spent two years in the military, returning to baseball in 1958. He made five AAA starts, then came up to the majors in early June. He did not pitch particularly well, however, and was placed on waivers in April of 1959. Pittsburgh claimed him, but after four bad outings sent him back to AAA, where he remained the rest of the season. He was a seldom used long reliever in 1960, doing a little better but still not all that well, and was again sent back to AAA at mid-season. He was sold to Minnesota in February of 1961 and began the year with the Twins. He appeared in 12 games, pitching well in four of them and decently in four more. In the remaining four, however, he allowed 19 runs (17 earned) on 14 hits and 5 walks in 3.1 innings. In June, he was essentially traded for himself: he was traded to Kansas City on June 1 with a player to be named later and Reno Bertoia for Bill Tuttle and a player to be named later. After one disastrous outing for Kansas City, he was chosen as the player to be named later and sent back to Minnesota (the Twins sent cash to complete their end of the trade). He does not appear to have pitched any more, however; his record as a Twin was 1-0, 9.78, 2.12 WHIP in 19.1 innings. He was probably better in football than he was in baseball: a two-time All American, he was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1953 and is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. He later served as the athletic director at the University of Minnesota. Paul Giel passed away in Minneapolis on May 22, 2002 while in his car after attending a Twins game.

First baseman Richard Benjamin Reese played for the Twins from 1964-1973. He was born in Leipsic, Ohio, went to high school in Deshler, Ohio, and was signed by the Tigers as a free agent in 1962. In November of that year he was drafted by the Twins in the first-year draft. He had a good year with Class A Bismarck-Mandan in 1963, and another one with Class A Wilson in 1964, getting a September call-up in the latter season. Reese began 1965 with the Twins, but was used exclusively as a pinch-hitter/defensive replacement. He was sent back to AA Charlotte in mid-May after appearing in only 14 games and getting only 7 at-bats. The inactivity apparently hurt him, as he never did get things going that year, batting only .226. He bounced back in Denver the next year, hitting over a hundred points higher, and by 1967, he was in the big-leagues to stay. He still struggled to find playing time, however, as he was blocked at first base by some guy named Killebrew. In 1968, however, Harmon missed significant playing time with injuries, and Reese had his chance. He hit .259, which is better than it may sound: the batting champion only hit .301 that year. It was good enough to convince new manager Billy Martin to move Killebrew to third base in 1969, and play Reese at first. The move paid off, as Reese had his best year in the majors. He batted .322 with 16 homers and got a ninth-place vote in the MVP balloting. Reese came back to earth in 1970, however, and in 1971 slumped to .219. He was reduced to a part-time player in 1972, but his batting did not improve. Reese was purchased by the Tigers that November, but could not regain his form. Released by Detroit in August of 1973, the Twins re-signed him, but he was released after the season and his career was over. Long-time Twins fans may remember a grand slam Reese hit in 1969 off Dave McNally, ending McNally’s 17-game winning streak.  He is tied for the record for most pinch-hit grand slams with three. As a Twin, Rich Reese hit .260/.318/.393 with 50 homers in 1918 at-bats. After his retirement, Reese went to work for James B. Beam Distilling Company, serving as company president from 1997-2006, when he retired to live in Scottsdale, Arizona. His daughter, Kristine, is a teaching professional at the Vision 54 golf school in Phoenix.

Right-hander Byron Scott McLaughlin did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 1981. He was born in Van Nuys, California, went to high school in Santa Monica, California, and signed with Montreal as a free agent in 1973. He apparently was in extended spring training or something, but was released in June of 1974 without appearing in a minor league game. He was out of baseball the rest of that year, but signed with Baltimore for 1975, He struggled in a year split between rookie ball and Class A and was released in March of 1976. He had an outstanding 1976 in the independent Gulf States League, going 10-4, 3.05 in 15 games, and signed with Seattle in January of 1977. He was loaned to the Mexican League that season, but returned to make one appearance for the Mariners in September. He was in the majors most of 1978, making 17 starts. 1979 was his first full year in the majors and it was his best year, as he went 7-7, 4.22 with 14 saves over 123.2 innings. In 1980 he slumped to a 6.85 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP in 90.2 innings, and in December he was traded to Minnesota for Willie Norwood. He failed to make the staff, which on the 1981 Twins took some doing, and went back to Mexico. The Angels purchased him in August of 1982, and he made it back to the majors in early June of 1983. He was a long reliever and spot starter the rest of the season, going 2-4, 5.17 in 55.2 innings. His playing career ended after that. While in Mexico, he apparently made some interesting connections, because after his playing career ended he made a deal with some Korean companies to manufacture cheap counterfeit sneakers for the Mexican market. He eventually pled guilty to money laundering, but fled the country before sentencing and was reported living near Cannes.  More recently he has been reported to have gone back to Mexico in the Tijuana area, but this is unclear.

Catcher Derek Gavin Parks played for the Twins from 1992-1994. He was born in Covina, California and was drafted by Minnesota with the tenth pick of the 1986 draft. He hit 24 home runs for Class A Kenosha in 1987 and was considered a top catching prospect. Injuries and poor batting limited his playing time the next three seasons. Finally, in 1992, he got healthy again and batted .245 with 12 home runs for AAA Portland. He got a September call-up that year, and when he hit .311 with 17 homers for Portland in 1993, he appeared to be on his way. It did not work out that way. Parks spent all of 1994 with the Twins, but couldn’t beat out Matt Walbeck. He played in only 31 games, hitting .191 in only 89 at-bats. The Twins apparently soured on him quickly, as they let him go after the season. No one picked him up, and Derek Parks’ playing career was over.  For his career, Derek Parks hit .200/.258/.378 in 115 at-bats, all with Minnesota.  He is the father-in-law of Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly.  No other information about Derek Parks’ life after he was an active player was readily available.

Infielder Joseph William Thurston did not play for the Twins but was in AAA for them in 2012.  He was born in Fairfield, California, went to high school in Vallejo, California, attended Sacramento City College, and was drafted by the Dodgers in the fourth round in 1999.  He was decent, but not much more than that, in his early minor league career, but had a strong year in AAA in 2002 and got a September call-up.  He got September call-ups in 2003 and 2004 as well, but could not get more than that other than a few weeks in May in 2004.  He was traded to the Yankees in late July of 2005 and then became a baseball nomad.  He was with the Phillies in 2006, signed with Washington for 2007, was released late in spring training, went back to the Phillies, signed with Boston for 2008, went to the Cardinals in 2009, to Atlanta for 2010, and to Florida for 2011.  He signed with Houston for 2012, got released late in spring training, signed with Philadelphia, was released in late April, and signed with Minnesota on April 25, 2012.  He spent most of that time in AAA, getting brief shots in the majors in 2006, 2008 and 2011.  The one time he got extended big league time was 2009, his only full season in the majors.  He appeared in 124 games that season, half of them as a defensive replacement, and hit .225.  The Twins sent him to Rochester in 2012, where he went 4-for-43 and was released again after about three weeks.  His story was far from over, though.  He played in the Atlantic League and in Mexico in 2013, signed with Milwaukee for 2014, was again released late in spring training, played in the Mexican League, played winter ball, and signed with Boston for 2015.  He did not make the team, however, and became a coach for the Red Sox' AA affiliate, the Portland Sea Dogs.  He coached for Billings in the Cincinnati system in 2016 and then moved on to the Seattle chain, serving as the batting coach of the Modesto Nuts in 2017-2018 and of the Everett Aqua Sox in 2019.  He was the major league team's first base coach in 2020 and was the batting coach of the Arkansas Travelers in 2021.  He moved on to the Philadelphia organization in 2022, and has been the batting coach for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs the last three seasons.

Right-handed reliever Jacob Hubert Reed did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system from 2014-2019.  He was born in Tucson, went to high school in La Mesa, California, attended the University of Oregon, and was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 2014.  He pitched quite well in the minors, struggling when promoted to AA in 2015 but pitching very well in AAA.  In 2018 he posted a 1.89 ERA with a 1.15 WHIP and 50 strikeouts in 47.2 innings, and appeared more than ready for the majors.  In 2019, however, he went backward, putting up an ERA of 5.76 and a WHIP of 1.47.  He struck out more batters and didn't walk any more, but simply gave up a lot more hits.  One wonders if, having pitched very well in the minors but not getting a call-up, he was simply trying to do too much.  Or, perhaps, he had an injury.  At any rate, he did not play in 2020, became a free agent, and signed with the Angels for 2021.  He pitched poorly in AAA and was released in early June, signing with the Dodgers a couple days later.  He did well in AAA for them and also did well in two weeks in the majors in July, but was still waived and was claimed by Tampa Bay.  After six good appearances in AAA he was waived again and was claimed by the Mets in early August.  He did well in four major league appearances for them.  He started 2022 in AAA with the Mets, was called up for fie appearances, was put on waivers in mid-July, was claimed by the Dodgers, pitched very well in AAA, posted a 1.93 ERA for them in five appearances, was waived again in early September, and was claimed by Baltimore.  He was waived again in October, claimed by Boston, waived again in November, and was claimed by the Dodgers again.  He had a poor year in AAA in 2023 and made on very bad appearance in the majors in April.  He became a free agent after the season and his playing career came to an end.  His wife, Janie Takeda-Reed, played softball for the United States in the 2020 Olympics.  He and his wife own The Clubhouse, "San Diego's premier sports training facility."

Right-handed starter Tyler Fermin Mahle played for the Twins in 2022-2023.  He was born in Newport Beach, California, went to high school in Westminster, California, and was drafted by Cincinnati in the seventh round in 2013.  He pitched well in the low minors, but struggled when promoted to AA in 2016,  In 2017, however, he pitched very well in AA, continued to pitch well in AAA, and made his major league debut in late August of that year.  He was in the Reds rotation in 2018 and 2019, but did not pitch particularly well in either season.  He did well in the shortened 2020 season, however, and proved he could do it over a full season in 2021.  He was not doing as well, but was still having a fairly solid season, in 2022 when he was traded to the Twins for Spencer Steer, Steve Hajjar, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand.  It was a lot to give up for him, but was thought to be worth it if Mahle could lead the Twins to the division title.  Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way.  He made three starts for the Twins, went on the injured list, made one more start, and went back on the injured list, where he remained the rest of the season.  He came back in 2023 and pitched well in five starts in April, but then went back on the injured list, where he remained the rest of the season.  He signed with Texas for 2024 and remained unable to pitch for most of the season, making three starts in August.  As a Twin, he was 2-3, 3.64, 1.05 WHIP in 42 innings (nine starts).  He turns thirty today.  He's been a good pitcher when healthy, but the last time he was healthy was 2021.  If he can get healthy, he was probably sign with someone for 2025.

September 28

This is a reprint from last year.

Lou Bierbauer (1865)

Wilbur Good (1885)

Jack Fournier (1889)

Whitey Witt (1895)

Al Evans (1916)

Dick Gernert (1928)

Grant Jackson (1942)

Pete Filson (1958)

Jerry Layne (1958)

Todd Worrell (1959)

Ed Vosberg (1961)

Charlie Kerfeld (1963)

Matt Vasgersian (1967)

Mike DeJean (1970)

Ryan Zimmerman (1984)

Nick Greenwood (1987)

Eddie Rosario (1991)

Manuel Margot (1994)

Jerry Layne has been a major league umpire since 1989.

Matt Vasgersian has been a major league baseball broadcaster since 1997.

Left-hander William Peter Filson played for the Twins from 1982-1986. He was born in Darby, Pennsylvania, attended Temple University, and was drafted by the Yankees in the ninth round in 1979. He pitched very well in the low minors, going 17-3 with a 1.89 ERA in a 1981 season split between Class A Fort Lauderdale and AA Nashville. In May of 1982, Filson was traded to the Twins with Larry Milbourne and John Pacella for Roger Erickson and Butch Wynegar. Filson was immediately placed in the Twins’ starting rotation, but after getting knocked around a few times was first sent to the bullpen and then to AAA Toledo. He had a mediocre year in Toledo. We’re talking about the early ’80s Twins, however, when having a mediocre year in AAA was good enough to get you on the big club. Sure enough, in 1983, Filson was on the big club. He stayed there the next three years, and actually pitched fairly well. He had ERAs from 3.4 to 4.1, and WHIPs consistenly around 1.3. Filson was used mostly in relief in those years, making an occasional spot start. In 1986, however, he got off to a poor start and spent most of the year in AAA. In September, he was traded to the White Sox for Kurt Walker, and was sent to the Yankees the following January. Filson had a fine 1987 at AAA Columbus, and finished the year with the Yankees, doing well in seven appearances. Unfortunately, he tore his rotator cuff, and missed all of 1988. Filson became a free agent after the season, and signed at the end of May, 1989 with Kansas City. He had a very good year with AAA Omaha in 1990, and made it back to the big leagues for a month and a half after a two-and-a-half year absence. He did not pitch well for the Royals, however. Filson was released after the 1990 season, and his career came to an end. He became a coach after his playing days, and has served as the pitching coach of the North Shore Spirit and the Newark Bears. As a Twin, Pete Filson pitched 323 innings in 130 games, 24 of them starts. He was 14-13 with an ERA of 3.98 and a WHIP of 1.36. At last report, he was an instructor at AFC Baseball, which is part of AFC Fitness of Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

Left-hander Nicholas Richard Greenwood did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 2016.  He was born in Farmington, Connecticut, attended the University of Rhode Island, and was drafted by San Diego in the fourteenth round in 2009.  He was traded to St. Louis at the July trade deadline in 2010 in a three-team trade that included Corey Kluber and Jake Westbrook.  He had both started and relieved for the Padres, but went to the bullpen full time with St. Louis.  He reached AAA in 2012 but didn't do much there until 2014, when he got off to an excellent start and was promoted to the majors for most of the season.  He pitched in long relief (or at least what passes for long relief these days) and had an up-and-down year, mixing excellent appearances with very bad ones.  He went back to starting in 2015 and did poorly, despite which he made one appearance with the Cardinals in July.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with the Cubs, but was released during spring training.  He began 2016 with independent New Britain, but signed with the Twins in early May.  He made five starts in AA and eleven starts (sixteen appearances) in AAA and did well.  He signed with the Twins for 2017, but was injured and released on May 10 without playing for them.  He went back to independent New Britain and made fifteen starts for them, but did not pitch very well. He played a few games of winter ball after that, but then his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Nick Greenwood was a pitching coach for Wesleyan University of Middletown, Connecticut.  He was also a substitute teacher for the Cromwell school district in Cromwell, Connecticut.

Oufielder Eddie Manuel Rosario played for the Twins from 2015-2020.  Born and raised in Guayama, Puerto Rico, he was drafted by Minnesota in the fourth round in 2010.  He hit well throughout the low minors but did not do as well when he reached AA in 2013.  He had a poor year in AA in 2014, although he was still only 22.  He hit very well in the Arizona Fall League after that season, though, and started 2015 in AAA.  He didn't have a particularly strong April there, but was still called up to the majors in early May and stayed the rest of the season, hitting double digits in doubles, triples and homers while leading the league in triples.  He also showed a good arm in the outfield.  He got off to a slow start in 2016 and went to the minors for a month and a half in mid-May.  Some were already starting to write him off, but he came back to have a solid second half of the season.  He had his best season in 2017, batting .292/.332/.516 with 27 home runs, but his next three seasons were not far off.  As a Twin, he batted .277/.310/.478.  He was a free agent after the 2020 season and signed with Cleveland for 2021.  He had a down year there, especially in the power department, and was traded to Atlanta at the July deadline.  He rebounded and then some after the trade, posting an OPS of .903 and having an outstanding post-season, including being the MVP of the NLCS.  He could not carry it over to 2022, however, and is batting just 212 with an OPS of .587.  He rebounded again in 2023, batting .258 with an OPS of 768.  He signed with Washington for 2024, was released in July, signed with Atlanta, was released in August, signed with the Mets, and was released again.  He did not hit in any of those places.  He turns thirty-three today.  He's bounced back unexpectedly a couple of times, so we won't say he couldn't do it again, but it seems more likely that his playing career is over.

Outfielder Manuel Margot played for the Twins in 2024.  He was born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, and signed with Boston as a free agent in 2011.  He was never a great batter in the minors, although he did have some decent seasons.  His best offensive season was 2014, when he was still in Class A.  He was traded to San Diego after the 2015 season as part of a trade that brought Craig Kimbrel to Boston.  He made his major league debut in September of 2016 and came to the major to stay, other than some injury rehabs, in 2017.  He was their regular center fielder through 2019.  He had a decent season in 2017, batting .263 with an OPS of .721, but declined over the next two years and was traded to Tampa Bay in February of 2020.  He was a utility outfielder for the Rays, spending significant time at all three outfield positions.  He was okay in that role, posting some decent batting averages but with little power.  He spent four seasons with the Rays and was traded to the Dodgers in December of 2023 as part of the Tyler Glasnow traded.  He did not play for the Dodgers, and instead was traded to the Twins in February of 2024 with Rayne Doncon for Noah Miller.  He again saw time at all three outfield positions, batting .237/.290/.336 at this writing.  One must, of course, mention his pinch-hitting stats:  At this writing he is 0-for-30 with five walks, for a line of .000/.143/.000.  He had batted .213 as a pinch-hitter before the 2024 season.  He turns thirty today.  The chances are he'll sign with somebody for 2025, but we wouldn't bet on it being the Twins.

September 27

This is a reprint from last year.

Jelly Gardner (1895)

Whit Wyatt (1907)

Dick Hall (1930)

Dave Wickersham (1935)

Gary Sutherland (1944)

Mike Schmidt (1949)

Bob Veselic (1955)

Don Schulze (1962)

Todd Blyleven (1972)

Vicente Padilla (1977)

Jon Rauch (1978)

Jon Garland (1979)

Matt Shoemaker (1986)

Simeon Woods Richardson (2000)

Todd Blyleven is, as you probably know, the son of Bert Blyleven. He pitched in the minor leagues for seven years, getting as high as AA, then was a scout for eight years.

Right-hander Robert Mitchell Veselic played for the Twins in 1980 and 1981. He was born in Pittsburgh, attended high school in Walnut, California, and was drafted by the Twins in 1976 with the ninth pick in the draft. A starting pitcher for his entire minor-league career, he came through the minors a level at a time, posting ERAs in the low-to-mid threes for Class A Visalia (1978), Class AA Orlando (1979), and Class AAA Toledo (1980). He won 18 games with Visalia. Twice he pitched over 200 innings in a minor-league season, and two other times he pitched over 170 innings. For comparison, the International League leader in innings pitched in 2010 had 165. Veselic earned September callups in both 1980 and 1981, and did fairly well. In six appearances, all in relief, he pitched 26.2 innings and went 1-1 with an ERA of 3.38, although with a WHIP of 1.43. He averaged over four innings per relief appearance, which says something both about him and about the Twins’ pitching staff at the time. Veselic had a poor year in Toledo in 1982, and was traded to Houston in January of 1983 for Rick Lysander. He again had a poor year for AAA Tucson, and his playing career came to an end after the 1983 season, although he did play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1990. Sadly, Bob Veselic passed away from cancer on December 26, 1995 at the age of 40.

Right-hander Donald Arthur Schulze did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 1988. Born and raised in Roselle, Illinois, he was drafted by the Cubs with the eleventh pick of the 1980 draft. He had two solid years in class A, then skipped AA and went to AAA in 1983. He did not pitch all that well there, but still got a September call-up and made three starts for the Cubs that season. He was back in AAA in 1984, making one start for the Cubs in late May, when he was traded to Cleveland in mid-June in a multi-player deal that included, among others, Joe Carter, Mel Hall, future Twin George Frazier, and Rick Sutcliffe. He went back and forth between Cleveland and AAA Maine through 1986, although he spent nearly all of 1986 in Cleveland. He began 1987 back in AAA, then was traded to the Mets in mid-May. He went 11-1 in 15 starts at AAA Tidewater and also spent about three weeks in the majors. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota for 1988, but was traded to Detroit in late March for Karl Best. Schulze had a very good year in AAA for the Tigers, but did not get a call-up and signed with the Yankees after the season. He made two starts for the Yankees in 1989, then was traded to San Diego that included ex-Twin Freddie Toliver, future Twin Mike Pagliarulo, and Walt Terrell. He was with the Padres for two months but was seldom used, logging only 24.1 innings. San Diego released him after the season and he headed to Japan, where he pitched through 1992. He returned to the U. S. in 1993 and pitched in AAA for the Orioles, but had a mediocre year and his playing career came to an end. He was out of baseball for a while, but returned in 2006 as a coach. He has coached in the minors for Oakland since then, and is currently the pitching coach of the Lansing Lugnuts.

Right-handed reliever Jon Erich Rauch is tall and has a tattoo on his neck. Rauch played for the Twins from late August of 2009 through 2010. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, went to high school in Oldham County, Kentucky, attended Morehead State University, and was drafted by the White Sox in the third round in 1999. A starting pitcher in the minors, he had a strong year in Class A and AA in 2000. Rauch was injured for much of 2001, making only six starts for AAA Charlotte. He made the White Sox at the start of 2002, but was returned to the minors after making only eight appearances, six of them starts. Rauch had a couple of decent but unspectacular years in Charlotte in 2002-03. He made two starts for the White Sox in 2004 before being traded to Montreal in July. He became a relief pitcher for the Expos/Nationals, and had some fine seasons with them, appearing in over 80 games in 2006 and again in 2007. He was having another good year with the Nationals in 2008 when he was traded to Arizona in July. He pitched poorly for the Diamondbacks in 2008, but was doing better in 2009 when the Twins acquired him on August 28 for Kevin Mulvey. He pitched well for them the rest of the season, and when Joe Nathan was injured Rauch became the Twins’ closer at the start of 2010. He did well in the beginning, but hit a rough patch in July and was replaced as closer by Matt Capps. He returned to a set-up role and overall did well in 2010.  As a Twin, he was 8-2, 21 saves, 2.82 ERA, 1.28 WHIP in 76 appearances (73.1 innings).  He was a free agent after the 2010 season and signed with Toronto, where he did not do as well in a 2011 season marred by injury.  A free agent again after that season, he signed with the Mets, for whom he pitched very well in 2012.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Miami for 2013 but pitched poorly in fifteen games and was released in late May.  He signed with Baltimore on June 1 and made ten appearances with AAA Norfolk.  He did all right there, but was still released at the end of June.  He signed with Kansas City for 2014 but was released again in late March, bringing his playing career to an end.  Rauch is the tallest man to appear in a major league game, and is also the tallest man to hit a home run, off Roger Clemens on August 13, 2004.  Jon Rauch was the owner of Bullpen Garage, a custom off-road shop specializing in Jeeps and Ford Raptors, in the Tucson area from 2015-2022.  He is currently a project manager and office manager for Sun Valley Construction, also in the Tucson area.

Right-hander David Matthew Shoemaker was with the Twins for about four months in 2021.  He was born in Wyandotte, Michigan, went to high school in Trenton, Michigan, attended Eastern Michigan University, and was signed by the Angels as a free agent in 2008.  He did well in the lower minors but struggled in AAA for a few years, which may have had something to do with the fact that the Angels' AAA team was in Salt Lake City at the time.  The Angels saw something in him, despite his poor AAA numbers.  They brought him up for a late-season start in 2013, started him in the majors in 2014, and after about a month back in AAA brought him to the majors to stay in mid-May.  He had a tremendous season when he came back, going 16-4, 3.04.  He was never able to match that, but he was an average major league pitcher from 2015-2017.  He started having injury problems in 2017, however, and made only eighteen major league starts combined from 2018-2020.  After the 2018 season he was a free agent and signed with Toronto, for whom he pitched in 2019-2020.  He wasn't bad when he could pitch, he just couldn't pitch very often.  He signed with Minnesota for 2021 and, to be honest, was awful.  There were a few good starts mixed in, but his final line was 3-8, 8.06.  The Twins released him in early August.  He signed with the Giants and did not particularly well in AAA.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with Yomiuri in Japan for 2022.  He had a decent season there, but that brought his playing career to an end.  No information about what Matt Shoemaker has done since then was readily available.

Right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson made one appearance for the Twins in 2022 and another in 2023.  Born and raised in Sugar Land, Texas, he was drafted by the Mets in the second round in 2018.  A starter throughout his minor league career, he was having a mediocre year in Class A in 2019 (as an eighteen-year-old) when he was traded to Toronto in late July in a deal involving Marcus Stroman.  He pitched much better in six high-A starts for the Blue Jays that season, missed the COVID year of 2020,   He had a poor year in AA in 2021, although he was still only twenty, and was again traded in late July.  This time he was sent to Minnesota along with Austin Martin for Jose Berrios.  He did not do well in AA for the Twins in 2021 either, but he had a fine 2022.  He pitched well in fifteen AA starts, did even better in seven AAA starts, and made his major league debut at the end of the season, giving up three runs (two earned) in five innings.  In 2023, however, he got off to a horrible start in St. Paul.  His numbers for the first half of the season were 0-5, 7.47, 1.87 WHIP.  He must have figured something out, though, because in the second half he went 7-1, 3.11, 1.23 WHIP.  He made one appearance for the Twins in 2023, allowing five runs in 4.2 innings.  He began 2024 in St. Paul, but after three starts there, injuries in Minnesota cause him to be called up to the majors.  He's done okay there, going 5-5, 4.17, 1.29 WHIP.  He turns twenty-four today.  Time will tell, but there's every reason to hope Simone Woods Richardson will be a solid major league pitcher.

September 26

This is a reprint from last year.

Gus Schmelz (1850)

Bob Coleman (1890)

Bobby Shantz (1925)

Mel McGaha (1926)

Dave Duncan (1945)

Jim Gideon (1953)

Rich Gedman (1959)

Steve Buechele (1961)

Dave Martinez (1964)

Brian Shouse (1968)

Brian Looney (1969)

Sean Doolittle (1986)

Chris Archer (1988)

Jordan Luplow (1993)

Gus Schmelz managed several teams in the late 19th century.  He is one of the few who became a manager without having played professionally.

Bob Coleman managed in the minor leagues for thirty-five years.  He had the most wins as a minor league manager when he retired, 2,496, a mark since passed by Stan Wasiak.

Former Knicks player Mel McGaha was the manager of the Kansas City Athletics from 1964-1965.

Right-hander James Leslie Gideon did not play for the Twins, but he was in their minor league system for a few years. He was born in Taylor, Texas, went to high school in Bellaire, Texas, and attended the University of Texas. He was then drafted by Texas in the first round of the 1975 draft. He had two starts in rookie ball, where he pitched sixteen innings and allowed just three hits and no runs. He then was jumped to AAA, where he did not pitch well. Despite that, he was brought to the majors for one start in mid-September. He lasted 5.2 innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on seven hits and five walks. He started 1976 in AAA for Texas but was traded to Minnesota on June 1 along with Mike Cubbage, Bill Singer, and Roy Smalley for Bert Blyleven and Danny Thompson. He had a poor year in 1976 and then started to suffer injuries. He pitched badly in 1977, missed all of 1978, and was able to pitch only 43 innings of AA in 1979. The Twins released him after that season. He tried to make a comeback with the Rangers in 1982, but did not do well in AA and his playing career ended. The one start he made in September of 1975 turned out to be his only major league appearance. Still, he did get one, which is one more than most of us get.  He was inducted into the University of Texas Hall of Fame in 1992 and into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020. Jim Gideon was an employee benefits broker at William Gammon Benefits and then with Higginbotham Associates, both in Austin, Texas, until his retirement.

Left-hander Brian James Looney did not pitch for the Twins, but he was in their minor league system in 1997. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, went to high school in Cheshire, Connecticut, attended Boston University, and was drafted by Montreal in the tenth round in 1991. Most of his first two years in the minors were spent in Class A, where he pitched very well. He made eight starts in AA in 1993, then was jumped to the majors for a September call-up, pitching six innings over three games. He had a fair-to-middling year in AAA in 1994, making one big league appearance in early June. The Expos then apparently gave up on him, sending him to Boston after the 1994 season “as part of a conditional deal”. He pitched decently, but no more in AAA for the Red Sox for two years, but pitched poorly in three appearances in the majors in 1995. After the 1996 season, Boston sent him to Minnesota as the player to be named later for Pat Mahomes. He was apparently injured part of the 1997 season, as he made only 17 relief appearances and pitched a total of 24.2 innings for AAA Salt Lake. He did well in the innings he pitched, but was let go after the season. He then bounced around the minors for several more years, but never made it back to the big leagues. He was in AAA with the Yankees in 1998, with Detroit and Philadelphia in 1999, with Florida and Cleveland in 2000, was back in the Yankees’ system in 2001, was with Pittsburgh and Baltimore in 2002, and with Colorado in 2003. He then pitched in the Atlantic League through 2005. It is unclear where he went after that, but he pitched in Italy in 2008.  At last report, Brian Looney was the owner of Hamden Yards, a baseball instructional facility in Hamden, Connecticut.

Right-handed starter Christopher Alan Archer pitched for the Twins in 2022.  He was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, went to high school in Clayton, North Carolina, and was drafted by Cleveland in the fifth round in 2006.  He did not do much in the low minors, but he did strike out quite a few guys, so the Cubs traded for him before the 2009 season.  He was much better for them, reaching AA in 2010 at the still young age of twenty-one.  The Cubs then traded him to Tampa Bay before the 2011 season in a multi-player deal that included, among others, ex-Twins Sam Fuld and Matt Garza.  He reached the majors in 2012 and came up to stay in 2013.  He had some fine years for the Rays, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2013, making the all-star team in 2015 and 2017 (leading the league in starts both years), and finishing fifth in Cy Young voting in 2015.  He also led the league in losses in 2016, but he had an ERA of 4.02, a FIP of 3.81, and a WHIP of 1.24, indicating that he was mostly the victim of bad luck.  2017, however, was the last really good year he had.  He wasn't terrible in 2018, but was traded at the July deadline for Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows, and a player to be named later who turned out to be Shane Baz.  That was quite a win for the Rays, although it clearly wasn't Archer's fault.  2018 is when he started having injuries that have plagued him the rest of his career to this point.  He was okay the rest of 2018, had a down year in 2019, did not play in 2020, and became a free agent.  The Rays signed him back for 2021, but could not work any magic with him and he became a free agent again after the season.  The Twins signed him for 2022, and he went 2-8, but with an ERA of 4.56 and a WHIP of 1.32 in twenty-five starts.  The downside, of course, is that he pitched only 102.2 innings in those starts, which is barely over four innings per start.  He became a free agent again after the season and went unsigned, so his playing career is presumably over.  At last report, Chris Archer was an assistant in baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Outfielder/first baseman Jordan Thomas Luplow played for the Twins for the last two months of 2023.  He was born in Visalia, California, went to high school in Clovis, California, attended Cal State--Fresno, and was drafted by Pittsburgh in the third round in 2014.  He took a while to get going, spending three years at various levels of Class A, but took off in 2017, starting at AA, moving up to AAA, and making his major league debut in late July of that year.  He didn't hit, however, and so started 2018 back in AAA.  He again got called up in July, and he again didn't hit.  He was traded to Cleveland after the season.  He spent most of the season in the majors and had his first good year, batting .276 with fifteen homers and an OPS of .923 as a part-time player.  He went back not hitting in the COVID year of 2020, and when he did not hit again in the first part of 2021 he was traded to Tampa Bay.  He was okay as a part-time player for the Rays but was traded to Arizona after the season.  He again did not hit and became a free agent after the 2022 season.  He signed with Atlanta for 2023, was waived in early April and claimed by Toronto, was waived again in early August and claimed by Minnesota.  As a Twin, he batted .206/.315/.349, numbers which are in line with his career numbers.  A free agent again after the season, he signed with Atlanta, was released in spring training, and signed with Philadelphia.  He spent the 2024 season in AAA, where he was okay but nothing special.  He turns thirty-one today.  In the old days, when teams carried five or six outfielders, he might have had a role on a major league squad.  Today, however, it appears that Jordan Luplow's playing career is probably about over.