April 17

Alexander Cartwright (1820)
Cap Anson (1852)
Tom Needham (1879)
Jake Daubert (1884)
Buzz Arlett (1912)
Solly Hemus (1923)
Tsutomu Wakamatsu (1947)
Denny Walling (1954)
Craig Worthington (1965)
Marquis Grissom (1967)
Gary Bennett (1972)
Ryan Raburn (1981)
Jed Lowrie (1984)
Deolis Guerra (1989)

Alexander Cartwright was instrumental in developing the rules for the game of baseball.

Buzz Arlett was a star in the low minors from 1934-1941, and probably would have been for several more years had World War II not intervened.  He had a career average of .319 with a slugging average of .480, but never played above Class C.

Tsutomu Wakamatsu was a star in Japan from 1971-1989, making the all-star team eleven times.  His career average of .319 is second to Leron Lee on the all-time list of players with at least four thousand at-bats.

Right-hander Deolis Alexander Guerra did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for several years.  He was born in San Felix, Bolivar, Venezuela and signed with the Mets as a free agent in 2005 at the age of sixteen.  He had a good year in low A in 2006 but a poor year in high A in 2007.  Following that season, he was traded to the Twins along with Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, and Kevin Mulvey for Johan Santana.  He spent several years in the Twins system not doing much.  He never posted an ERA under four in any season and was generally over five.  The Twins promoted him to AA in 2009 and that's pretty much where he stayed through 2012.  He was a starter through 2010, then moved to the bullpen.  He missed most of 2013 due to an injury, finally got a full season in AAA in 2014, and then became a free agent, signing with Pittsburgh.  Amazingly, he had a tremendous year in the bullpen for AAA Indianapolis, going 2-1, 4 saves, 1.23 ERA, 0.79 WHIP in 36,2 innings (25 appearances).  The Pirates decided he'd finally found something and promoted him to the majors in late June.  He started out well, throwing seven shutout innings over four appearances, but got progressively worse and was sent down after a July 30 debacle in which he gave up six runs in an inning and a third.  That outing made his numbers look a lot worse than they would otherwise.  He was chosen by the Angels in the rule 5 draft and had a fine 2016 season for them, going 3-0, 3.21, 1.11 WHIP.  He spent about half of the 2017 season in the majors, and while he didn't repeat his 2016 line he still did decently enough in the majors and was excellent in AAA  A free agent after the season, he signed with Texas.  He had a good year with AAA Round Rock but did not get a call to the majors.  Again a free agent after the season, he signed with Milwaukee for 2019 and had another fine year in AAA but got only one major league appearance.  The Brewers waived him after the season and he was claimed by Philadelphia for 2020.  He made nine appears for them but did not pitch well and became a free agent after the season.  He signed with Oakland for 2021, was released in late March, but was re-signed the next day.  He stayed with the Athletics for the entire season and went 4-1, 4.11, 1.11 WHIP with 62 strikeouts in 65.2 innings.  Unfortunately, he was injured in spring training of 2022, had Tommy John surgery, and missed the entire season. Oakland re-signed him for 2023 and he made six minor league appearances, but he accomplished very little and was released in August.  He has pitched in the Mexican League since 2024 and done pretty well.  He turns thirty-seven today.  He can probably keep pitching in the Mexican League for another couple of years if that's what he chooses to do.

April 16

Dutch Leonard (1892)
Paul Waner (1903)
Babe Phelps (1908)
Pete Hughes (1915)
Pete Suder (1916)
Joe Bauman (1922)
Rich Rollins (1938)
Bernie Allen (1939)
Garry Roggenburk (1940)
Jim Lonborg (1942)
Bob Montgomery (1944)
Bruce Bochy (1955)
Curt Young (1960)
Fernando Vina (1969)
Antonio Alfonseca (1972)
Kelly Dransfeldt (1975)
Nolan Arenado (1991)

Pete Hughes was a star in the low minors from 1937-1952. His incomplete career numbers are a .350 average and a .637 slugging percentage, but for some reason he never played above Class B.

Joe Bauman hit 72 home runs for Roswell in the Longhorn League in 1954.

Kelly Dransfeldt was drafted by Minnesota in the seventh round in 1993, but did not sign.

Rich Rollins, Bernie Allen, and Garry Roggenburk all played for the Twins at the same time. I wonder how unusual it is for a team to have three players who share the same birthday. They also all were born or raised in the state of Ohio. Rollins and Allen were also business partners for a while.

Third baseman Richard John Rollins played for the Minnesota Twins from 1961-1968. He was born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, went to high school in Parma, Ohio, attended Kent State, and signed with Washington as a free agent in 1960. He spent less than two years in the minors, coming up to what was now the Minnesota Twins for a couple of months in 1961 and making the team to stay out of spring training in 1962. He made the all-star team in his first full major league season, hitting .298 with 16 home runs. Rollins finished eighth in MVP voting that year. 1963 was just as good, as Rollins hit .307, again hitting 16 homers and again receiving some MVP consideration. He fell off some after that, and after hitting .249 in 1965 Rollins fell to part-time status, sharing time at third with Harmon Killebrew from 1966-1968. He was left unprotected in the expansion draft after the 1968 season and was chosen by the Seattle Pilots. He was plagued by injuries, had a poor year as a part-time player in 1969 and was released by the now Milwaukee Brewers in May of 1970. He signed with Cleveland, finished the year there, and his playing career came to an end. As a Twin, he hit .272/.333/.394 in 3,048 at-bats stretching over eight seasons. After leaving baseball, he worked for the Cleveland Cavaliers for a while. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. He lived in Akron, Ohio in retirement.  Rich Rollins passed away on May 13, 2025.

Second baseman Bernard Keith Allen played for the Twins from 1962-1966. Born and raised in East Liverpool, Ohio, he attended Purdue, where he was also the quarterback on the football team, and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1961. He had a rather undistinguished 1961 season at Class A Charlotte, but in 1962 he was the Twins’ regular second baseman. He did surprisingly well, hitting .269 with 12 homers and finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting. That would turn out to be his best year in the majors. He fell to .240 in 1963, and a knee injury in 1964 which would bother him the rest of his career turned him into a part-time player, with Jerry Kindall seeing significant time at second base. In 1965 he fell even further, spending much of the year at AAA Denver. He was back with the Twins in 1966, this time sharing second base with Cesar Tovar, but his batting never really came back, and after the season he was traded to Washington with Camilo Pascual for Ron Kline. Allen had an awful year in 1967, but came back to relative mediocrity for the next three seasons, in which he was the mostly regular for the Senators at second base. He fell to part-time status in 1971, but rebounded to a .266 batting average, his best since his rookie year. After the season, Allen was traded to the Yankees. He was a reserve infielder there until mid-August of 1973, when he was sold to Montreal. He was released after the 1973 season, ending his playing career. As a Twin, he hit.246/.316/.366 in 1,595 at-bats stretching over five seasons. He was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021. At last report, Bernie Allen was living in Carmel, Indiana.

Left-handed reliever Garry Earl Roggenburk was with the Twins in 1963, 1965-1966. Born and raised in Cleveland, he attended the University of Dayton. He played basketball as well as baseball, leading his team to the NIT championship in 1962 (he still holds the school record with 32 rebounds in one game). He was drafted by the San Francisco Warriors, but signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1962. He had a tremendous season as a starter in 1962 at Class A Erie, and was in the majors at the start of 1963. He was not worked very hard, but pitched well when given a chance, going 2-4, 2.16 in 50 innings. He did not play in 1964 for reasons that are not clear. Roggenburk started 1965 in AAA Denver, pitched well there, and was back in the big leagues by mid-July. He was again used sparingly but pitched well, going 1-0, 3.43 in 21 innings. He again started 1966 in Denver and was seldom used when he returned to the majors. Finally, since they weren’t using him, the Twins sold Roggenburk to Boston in September of 1966. As a Twin, Garry Roggenburk was 4-6, 3.02. He pitched in 60 games, two of them starts, and pitched 83.1 innings. He had a fine year in AAA Toronto in 1967, mostly used as a starting pitcher. He started 1968 in Boston and pitched well in four outings, but was apparently injured, as he made only four more appearances in AAA the rest of the season. He began 1969 with Boston, but was sold to the Seattle Pilots in late June. Roggenburk made a handful of appearances for them, then retired at the end of July. He did some coaching after that, working in the Red Sox’ organization. He was the general manager of the Winter Haven Red Sox from 1978-1983. He then became a real estate appraiser in Cleveland, an occupation he stuck with until he retired. He is a member of the University of Dayton Hall of Fame and a member of the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. At last report, Garry Roggenburk was living in Avon, Ohio.  His grandson, Luke Roggenburk, pitched for St. Bonaventure.

April 15

Jim Creighton (1841)
Ed Abbaticchio (1877)
Chaney White (1894)
Ed Bailey (1931)
Willie Davis (1940)
Ted Sizemore (1945)
Jeromy Burnitz (1969)
Milton Bradley (1978)
John Danks (1985)
Chris Tillman (1988)

Jim Creighton was a star pitcher from 1857-1862, before the National League was created.  He passed away from a ruptured hernia in 1862 at the age of twenty-one.

Until Henry Aaron came along, Ed Abbaticchio held the “first in the alphabet” record.  Now, of course, David Aardsma has them both beat.  Abbaticchio is now eighth in alphabetical order, behind, among others, ex-Twin Fernando Abad.

There do not appear to be any major league players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

April 14

Cannonball Redding (1890)
Marvin Miller (1917)
Gordon Gillespie (1926)
Don Mueller (1927)
Marty Keough (1934)
Pete Rose (1941)
Joe Lahoud (1947)
Ron Schueler (1948)
David Justice (1966)
Greg Maddux (1966)
Greg Myers (1966)
Mike Trombley (1967)
Brad Ausmus (1969)
Steve Avery (1970)
Gregg Zaun (1971)
Kyle Farnsworth (1976)
Cory Gearrin (1986)
Jacob Barnes (1990)

Cannonball Redding was a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues.

Marvin Miller was the head of the Major League Baseball Players association from 1966-1983.

Gordon Gillespie holds the record for most wins by a college baseball coach.

It must be kind of a bummer for a big league ballplayer to not only not be the best player born on the day and year he was born, but to not even be the best player with his first name born on the day and year he was born.

Right-hander Ronald Richard Schueler pitched for the Twins in 1977. Born and raised in Catherine, Kansas, Schueler was drafted by Atlanta in the third round of the secondary phase of the January draft in 1967. He struggled in his early years in the minors, but put things together in 1969, when he was used primarily in relief for AA Shreveport. He then had an excellent year as a starter in 1971, a year he split between AA Savannah and AAA Richmond. He made the Braves out of spring training in 1972 and never returned to the minors. He was with Atlanta for two seasons, making about an equal number of appearances as a starter and as a reliever. He was a valuable pitcher for the Braves in both years, but they didn’t seem to know what to do with him, and traded him to Philadelphia after the 1973 season. The Phillies placed him in the starting rotation for the first half of 1974 and he did reasonably well, but he was shifted to the bullpen in mid-July and mostly stayed there the rest of his career. Schueler was up and down in his career as a Phillie, but was fairly decent for the most part. Just before the 1977 season, he was sold to Minnesota. In his one season with the Twins, Ron Schueler went 8-7, 4.41. He pitched in 52 games, seven of them starts, and worked 134.2 innings. Schueler became a free agent after the season and signed with the White Sox, where he stayed for two years. His 1978 was pretty similar to his 1977, but he was injured much of 1979 and pitched poorly when he did pitch. His playing career came to an end after that season. After his playing career ended, Schueler became a major league pitching coach, working for the White Sox, Athletics, and Padres through 1986. He then worked in the Athletics front office through 1990, when he became the general manager of the White Sox. He held the job through 2000, then went into semi-retirement. He was a special consultant to the White Sox through 2002, was a special assistant for the Cubs in 2003, a special assistant for the Cardinals from 2005-2007, a special assistant for the Giants from 2008-2009, a special adviser to the general manager for the Washington Nationals from 2010-2013, and a scout for the Orioles from 2014-2018.  His daughter, Carey, was the first woman to be drafted by a major league baseball team when the White Sox drafted her in the forty-third round in 1993 (she did not sign).  At last report, Ron Schueler was living in the Phoenix area.

Catcher Gregory Richard Myers was with the Twins for almost two seasons, 1996-1997. Born and raised in Riverside, California, he was drafted by Toronto in the third round in 1984. He generally put up high batting averages in the minors, though he stumbled a couple of times when first promoted. Oddly, his first major league action came as a September call-up following one of those stumbles: he hit only .246 in his first year at AAA, but was promoted in September of that year. He got another brief trial in 1989 and had his first full year in the majors in 1990. He was a part-time catcher for the Blue Jays through 1992, when he was traded to California. He held the same status for the Angels through 1995. He was a mediocre hitter to this point; not great, not totally awful. His averages had ranged from .236 to .262, his home run total from five to nine. Myers was a free agent after the 1995 season and signed with Minnesota. Tom Kelly managed to get one of the best years of Myers’ career out of him, as Myers hit .286 in 1996, sharing catching duties with Matt Walbeck. He was backing up Terry Steinbach in 1997 when he was traded to Atlanta in early September for a player to be named later (Steve Hacker). As a Twin, he hit .279/.323/.429 in 494 at-bats. A free agent after the season, he signed with the Padres. Myers stayed with San Diego through July of 1999, when he was again traded to Atlanta. He again became a free agent after the season. Myers was with Baltimore through June of 2001, was with Oakland through 2002, and then made a full circle by signing back with Toronto for 2003. That year, at age 37, he had the best season of his career, hitting .307 with 15 home runs. He was injured most of 2004, and played briefly in 2005, retiring in late April of that year. Greg Myers played in parts of 18 seasons, despite never getting as many as 330 at-bats in any of them. He was an assistant baseball coach at his high school Riverside Poly, in his hometown of Riverside, California for a couple of years. He was inducted into that school’s Hall of Fame in 2009.  At last report, Greg Myers was offering private baseball instruction at Riverside Batting Cages & Pro Shop.

Right-hander Michael Scott Trombley pitched for the Twins from 1992-1999 and again briefly in 2002. He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, grew up in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, attended Duke, and was drafted by Minnesota in the fourteenth round in 1989. Used mostly as a starter in the minors, Trombley pitched quite well, posting a WHIP below 1.3 every year through 1992. He made his debut in the majors in 1992, coming up in mid-August and pitching very well, going 3-2, 3.30. His first full year in the majors was 1993, but he struggled, posting an ERA of 4.88 and a WHIP of 1.50. He split the next three years, 1994-1996, between AAA and the majors. He continued to struggle in Minnesota until 1996, when he was moved to the bullpen for good. He also developed a split-finger fastball that year. He came up to the Twins in early June of that year and went 5-1, 3.01 in 68.2 innings. Trombley then was in the majors to stay, and remained with the Twins through 1999. He was a valuable member of their bullpen in those years, making numerous appearances and posting ERAs in the vicinity of four. After the 1999 season, Trombley became a free agent and signed with Baltimore. He was with the Orioles until late July of 2001, and pitched for them about like he had been pitching for the Twins. On July 31, 2001, the Orioles traded Trombley to the Dodgers. He struggled in 19 appearances and was released at the end of spring training in 2002. The Twins re-signed him in mid-April, but things did not work out. In five appearances for the Twins, Trombley gave up seven runs on ten hits in four innings. He was released in early June, ending his playing career. As a Twin, Mike Trombley was 30-34, 4.53. He pitched in 365 games, 36 of them starts, and pitched 645.2 innings. He lived in Florida until 2008, spent a year in North Carolina, and moved back to his home town of Wilbraham, Massachusetts in the summer of 2009. He currently a financial advisor and managing partner of Trombley Wealth Management, which was founded by his father.

Right-hander Cory Nathanial Gearrin pitched in one game for the Twins in 2020. He was born in Chattanooga, went to high school in Evensville, Tennessee, attended Mercer University, and was drafted by Atlanta in the fourth round in 2007. A reliever all the way, he struggled initially but got it going in 2009, reached AAA in 2010, and made his major league debut with the Braves in late April of 2011. He was shuttled between AAA and the majors for a while but got a full year with Atlanta in 2013 and did okay. In the spring of 2014, however, he needed Tommy John surgery and missed the entire season. The Braves released him and he signed with San Francisco for 2015. He again went back-and-forth between AAA and the majors until 2017, when he spent the entire season with the Giants and had an excellent season. He bounced around after that, though. He started 2018 with San Francisco, was traded to Texas in July, and was traded to Oakland in August. He was a free agent after the season, signed with Seattle for 2019, was put on waivers in August, and was claimed by the Yankees. He was up and down in those years, never great, never awful. He signed with the Twins for 2020. He appeared in one game, on August 9. He pitched two scoreless innings, giving up no hits, two walks, and striking out one. He then was sent back to the Twins' alternate site so they could bring in a fresh arm, and there he stayed the rest of the season. He became a free agent and went unsigned, bringing his playing career to an end.  He was never a star, but in parts of nine seasons he went 13-12, five saves, 3.61, 1.31 WHIP in 337 games (304 innings).  At last report, Cody Gearrin was a deputy mayor for strategic development and executive leadership for Hamilton County, Tennessee.

April 13

Herman Long (1866)
Kid Elberfeld (1875)
Jake Stahl (1879)
Claude Hendrix (1889)
Dewey Creasy (1900)
Ben Cantwell (1902)
Pete Quesada (1904)
Roxie Lawson (1906)
Bill Deegan (1935)
John Stephenson (1941)
Jeff Bittiger (1962)
Mark Leiter (1963)
Doug Strange (1964)
Ricardo Rincon (1970)
Kevin Ohme (1971)
Steve Pearce (1983)
Hunter Pence (1983)
Lorenzo Cain (1986)

Air Force General Pete Quesada was one of the original owners of the expansion Washington Senators.  He also was the first head of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Bill Deegan was an American League umpire from 1971-1980.

Right-hander Jeffrey Scott Bittiger pitched in three games for the Twins in 1987. He was born in Jersey City and went to high school in Seacaucus, New Jersey. Bittiger was drafted by the Mets in the seventh round in 1980. His minor league numbers were fairly solid–his best year was 1982 with AA Jackson, when he went 12-5, 2.96 with a WHIP of 1.22 and 190 strikeouts in 164 innings. He was promoted to AAA in 1983 and spent three seasons at AAA Tidewater, where his numbers may not have been eye-popping but were not too bad, either. The Mets traded Bittiger to Philadelphia prior to the 1986 season. He won 13 games at AAA and pitched well enough to get a September call-up, but the Phillies gave up on him and released him after the season. He signed with Atlanta, was released at the end of spring training, and signed with Minnesota in mid-April of 1987. He spent most of the season at AAA, but was called up in September and started a game during the Twins’ stretch run, defeating the White Sox and giving up only a run on six hits in seven innings. He then made two poor relief appearances, however, and was released after the season. As a Twin, Jeff Bittiger was 1-0, 5.40, giving up five runs on eleven hits in 8.1 innings. His one good start must have impressed Chicago, however, as the White Sox signed him for 1988. Bittiger got the most big-league playing time of his career that season; after seven excellent starts at AAA, he came up to Chicago in mid-May and stayed the rest of the season. He was mostly used in relief, although he made occasional starts. He was unexceptional, but decent enough for the White Sox to keep him in AAA for 1989. He was in AAA almost all season, making only two appearances in the majors but having another fine season at AAA. The White Sox traded him to the Dodgers after the season. He moved on to the Indians organization for 1991, the Athletics’ system for 1992, and the Royals’ chain for 1993, not doing too badly but never getting another chance in the majors. He played in the Northern League in 1994, went back to the Oakland organization for 1995, and then played for the Fargo-Moorhead Red Hawks in the Northern League from 1996-2002. Jeff Bittiger was a scout for the Athletics, a player personnel consultant for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, and was on the staff of the Lehigh Valley Baseball Academy. His son Eric played college baseball for four years.  Jeff Bittiger passed away from cancer on July 19, 2025.

Left-hander Kevin Arthur Ohme was drafted by the Twins, but did not play for them. Born in Palm Beach, Florida, he was drafted by Minnesota in the ninth round in 1993. He was in the Twins’ farm system for seven seasons, used mostly in relief, although he made 11 starts for AA Hardware City in 1995. He pretty much topped out at AA, posting an ERA of 3.85 in two seasons there. He had three seasons for AAA Salt Lake, with an ERA over five in the first two. Even the third season, 1999, when his ERA was 3.83, was deceiving, as he had a WHIP of 1.52 that year. The Twins let him go after 1999 and he went to Japan for two years, playing for the Nippon Ham Fighters. He came back to the United States in 2002 and signed with St. Louis. Ohme had two undistinguished years at AAA Memphis, but in 2003 he appeared in two major league games for the Cardinals, giving up no runs on three hits in 4.1 innings. The Cardinals did not re-sign him after that season, but he went to spring training with the Angels for 2004. That spring, he injured his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery. It did not work out, and Kevin Ohme’s playing career ended. He is one of the few players to retire with a major league ERA of 0.00. He also got a hit in his only major league at-bat, giving him a lifetime average of 1.000. Kevin Ohme is currently the Minister of Recreation for the First Baptist Church of Brandon, Florida. He also coaches youth baseball.

Outfielder/first baseman Steven Wayne Pearce did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 2012.  Born and raised in Lakeland, Florida, he attended Indian River Community College in Fort Pierce, Florida, then went to the University of South Carolina.  He was drafted by Pittsburgh in the eighth round in 2005.  He hit well in the low minors.  He started 2007 in Class A, then went to AA, then to AAA, and finished the year in the majors as a September call-up, hitting .294.  He shuttled back and forth between AAA and the majors for the rest of his time with the Pirates, playing in 185 major league games over five seasons.  He was mostly a first baseman in the minors, but played mostly outfield for Pittsburgh.  He hit fairly well in AAA, but was never put into a major league lineup regularly to show what he could do.  A free agent after the 2011 season, he signed with Minnesota for 2012, but was released in late March.  That started an eventful year for him:  he signed with the Yankees, was sold to Baltimore in early June, was selected off waivers by Houston in late July, was sold to the Yankees in late August, and was selected off waivers by Baltimore again in late September.  He remained with Baltimore in 2013 and got almost a full season in the majors, although that full season consisted of 119 at-bats.  He actually did fairly well, hitting .261 with an OPS of .782.  At that time, we wrote, "One wishes he had gotten a chance to show what he could do in the majors as a regular, but he's thirty-one now, so the chances are that won't happen."  Well, he wasn't quite a regular in 2014, but he played in 102 games, and he showed us what he could do, hitting .293 with 21 homers and an OPS of .930.  He was essentially a utility player in 2015, starting games in left field, right field, first base, second base, and DH.  He could not repeat his 2015 success, batting only .218 with 15 homers and an OPS of .711.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Tampa Bay and was having a fine season as a part-time player for them when he was traded to Baltimore on August 1.   He did little for the Orioles in limited playing time and was again a free agent.  He signed with the Blue Jays for 2017 and had a decent season as a part-time outfielder.  He remained with Toronto at the start of 2018 and was again having a fine year when he was traded to Boston in late June.  He continued to bat well there in 2018, but had a poor year in 2019, after which he retired.  Through persistence and hard work, Steve Pearce had a fine major league career.  At last report, he was living in Tampa, coaching softball, playing golf, and fishing, which sounds like a pretty good life.

April 12

Vic Willis (1876)
Addie Joss (1880)
Bill Bailey (1888)
Eric McNair (1909)
Bill Wight (1922)
Bob Zuk (1927)
Johnny Antonelli (1930)
Terry Cooney (1933)
Charlie Lau (1933)
Woodie Fryman (1940)
Vicente Romo (1943)
Terry Harmon (1944)
Mike Macfarlane (1964)
Paul LoDuca (1972)
Antonio Osuna (1973)
Brad Brach (1986)
Pedro Hernandez (1989)
Dennis Santana (1996)

Bob Zuk was a long-time scout who was responsible for signing, among others, Reggie Jackson, Willie Stargell, and Gary Carter.

Terry Cooney was an American League umpire from 1975-1992.

Left-hander Pedro Michel Hernandez appeared in fourteen games for the Twins in 2013. He was born in Barquimsimeto, Venezuela and signed with San Diego as a free agent in 2006. He did very well in rookie ball but struggled in his first two tries at Class A. He took a substantial step forward in 2011, pitching well in both A and AA, although he struggled in four AAA starts. He was traded to the White Sox after the 2011 season in a deal for Carlos Quentin. He started very well in AA in 2012 and also did well in three AAA appearances. He made what one presumes was an emergency start for the White Sox on July 18 in Boston, allowing eight runs on twelve hits in four innings. He was traded to Minnesota with Eduardo Escobar on July 28 for Francisco Liriano. The Twins sent him to Rochester, where he struggled in four starts, going 0-2, 5.19, 5.00 WHIP. He began 2013 in Rochester but was promoted to Minnesota early in the season. He was placed in the starting rotation but did not do particularly well and was sent back to Rochester in late May. He didn't do a lot in Rochester, either, but still made an emergency start for the Twins in June and was given a September call-up, when he was placed back in the starting rotation. He continued to not do particularly well there. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Colorado. He again pitched poorly in AAA in 2014, but still made what one presumes was an emergency start for the big club. He was a free agent after the season, went unsigned, and pitched for St. Paul in the American Association in 2015, doing fairly well. He pitched in the Mexican League in 2016 and then played winter ball, but it appears that he did not play in 2017. He made four appearances with the Texas AirHogs in the American Association in 2018, but that was it for him.  As a Twin, he was 3-3, 6.83, 1.82 WHIP in fourteen appearances (56.2 innings), twelve of them starts. At last report, Pedro Hernandez was offering private pitching instruction in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Right-hander Dennis Anfernee Santana did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them for about three weeks in 2023.  He was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic and was signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in 2013.  For the most part he pitched pretty well in the minor leagues, reaching AA in 2017 and AAA in 2018.  He made one appearance in the majors in 2018.  He made the Dodgers out of spring training in 2019, but was sent back to AAA after three poor appearances.  He had a bad year in AAA as well.  He was with the Dodgers in the COVID year of 2020, but did not do very well then, either.  He again pitched poorly for the Dodgers at the start of 2021, and they gave up on him and traded him to Texas in mid-June.  He did much better as a Ranger, posting an ERA of 3.63 in 39.2 innings (39 games).  He got his first full season in the majors in 2022, going 3-8, 5.22, 1.33 WHIP in 58.2 innings (63 games).  He had an eventful off-season--sold to Atlanta in November, waived and claimed by Minnesota in late February, waived again and claimed by the Mets in mid-March.  He was with New York for the first two weeks of the season, then went to AAA, where he had a poor year and was "granted free agency" in August.  He signed with the Yankees for 2024, but was waived in mid-June and claimed by Pittsburgh.  With the Pirates, he suddenly became an effective pitcher, going 1-1, 2.44, 0.93 WHIP with fifty strikeouts in 44.1 innings.  More impressively, his walk rate, which had 4.7 per nine innings, dropped to 2.2.  He had an even better year for Pittsburgh in 2025.  He turns thirty today.  It's possible that he'll lose the strike zone as quickly as he found it, but right now it looks like Dennis Santana will be an effective pitcher for at least a few more years.

April 11

Pop Corkhill (1858)

Ossee Schrecongost (1875)

Matsutaro Shoriki (1885)

Sam Chapman (1916)

Barney McCosky (1917)

Jim Hearn (1921)

Bob Casey (1925)

Sid Monge (1951)

Bret Saberhagen (1964)

Turner Ward (1965)

Sean Bergman (1970)

Robin Jennings (1972)

Jason Varitek (1972)

Trot Nixon (1974)

Todd Dunwoody (1975)

Kelvim Escobar (1976)

Mark Teixeira (1980)

Andres Blanco (1984)

Alejandro De Aza (1984)

Kenta Maeda (1988)
Adael Amador (2003)

Matustaro Shoriki is known as the father of Japanese baseball.

Bob Casey was the Twins' public address announcer from 1961 until his death in March of 2005.

Jason Varitek was drafted by the Twins in the first round in 1993, but did not sign.

Right-hander Sean Frederick Bergman made fifteen appearances for the Twins in 2000.  Born and raised in Joliet, Illinois, Bergman attended Southern Illinois University and was drafted by Detroit in the fourth round in 1991.  His minor league record is rather mixed.  He had an excellent half-season for Class A Lakeland in 1992 and pitched well for AAA Toledo in 1994, but did not do so well in 1991 or 1993.  Bergman was with the Tigers for about five weeks in 1993 and about two weeks in 1994, not pitching particularly well either time.  He had his first full year in the majors in 1995, making 28 starts, and continued to not pitch particularly well, going 7-10, 5.12.  In March of 1996 the Tigers traded Bergman to San Diego.  He began the year in the starting rotation but was moved to the bullpen in mid-June, where he was actually fairly effective the rest of the season.  He could not continue his bullpen success in 1997, and was not effective as a starter either, so after the season the Padres traded him to Houston.  Moved back to the rotation in 1998, he had what was easily his best year in the majors, going 12-9, 3.72 with a WHIP of 1.31.  He could not repeat his success in 1999 and was released at the end of August, finishing the year with Atlanta.  The Braves waived him after the season, and Minnesota selected Bergman for 2000.  He began the season in the Twins’ rotation and made 14 starts, two of which were fairly good.  As a Twin, Sean Bergman was 4-5, 9.66 with a WHIP of 2.12 in 68 innings.  The Twins released him in late June and he finished the season in AAA with Florida.  He signed with Tampa Bay for 2001, was released in spring training, and caught on with Colorado.  He got off to a good start at AAA Colorado Springs and was sold in April to the Kinetsu Buffaloes in Japan, where he pitched through 2002.  Returning to the United States in 2003, he pitched at AAA for Florida that year and for Baltimore in 2004 before ending his playing career.  Bergman had only one year with an ERA under four and only two with an ERA under five, but made 117 major league starts over eight seasons.  Sean Bergman was the pitching coach at the Division II University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio, for a few years, and is currently the owner of Pitch Right, a company which produces pitching instructional videos.  He also teaches physical education at Hicksville Elementary School in Hicksville, Ohio.

Outfielder Robin Christopher Jennings did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for much of the 2000 season.  He was born in Singapore and holds the distinction of being the only major league player to have been born there.  He attended high school in Annandale, Texas, and was drafted by the Cubs in the thirty-third round in 1991.  He put up unspectacular but solid numbers in the minors, developing power in 1995 when he was at AA.  He opened 1996 in the majors but essentially wasted his time there, never starting a game and making fourteen pinch-hitting appearances before being sent to AAA in mid-May.  He had solid seasons in AAA in 1996 and 1997, getting a September call-up both years.  He missed some time with a broken hand in 1998, but came back in 1999 to hit .309 at AAA Iowa and spend about a week and a half with the Cubs.  Chicago never really gave him a chance, and when he became a free agent after the 1999 season he signed with Minnesota.  The Twins didn’t give him a chance, either:  despite hitting .310/.371/.536 in Salt Lake, they not only did not call him up to the majors, they released him in late July.  He signed with Cincinnati and finished out the season in AAA with them.  He divided 2001 among Oakland, Colorado, and Cincinnati, getting a handful of major league at-bats with each club.  Jennings was still in AAA with the Reds through 2003, but his moment had passed, and he was released after the 2003 season.  He signed with Tampa Bay for 2004, but was released at the end of spring training.  He appears to have been out of baseball for three years; if he was in Japan or in independent leagues or something, his record does not show it.  He tried to come back with Washington in 2007, dividing the season between AA and AAA.  He did okay, but no more, and was released in early June, ending his playing career for good.  At last report, Robin Jennings was living in Sarasota, Florida and had a variety of business and philanthropic interests.  He was also involved in youth baseball there.

Outfielder Todd Franklin Dunwoody did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 2004 and 2005.  Born and raised in the Lafayette, Indiana area, he was drafted by Florida in the seventh round in 1993.  He was young and took a while to get started, but the Marlins stuck with him and were rewarded when he started to hit at Class A Kane County in 1995.  He progressed fairly rapidly after that and reached the majors for about six weeks in 1997.  He got the most playing time of his career with the Marlins in 1998, spending most of the year with the club as their starting center fielder.  Unfortunately, he hit only .251 with an OPS of .672 and struck out 113 times.  He would never get extended time as a regular again.  He split 1999 between AAA and the majors and was traded to Kansas City after the season.  He came back to the majors in early June of 2000 and stayed the rest of the year, playing regularly for about six weeks.  He did not hit, though, and was again a free agent after the season.  The Cubs signed him for 2001 and he again split the season between AAA and the majors.  He moved on to Cleveland for 2002 where he got his last major league playing time, going 0-for-6.  He kept trying, though, going to the Cardinals organization for 2003 and back to the Cubs for 2004.  The Cubs traded him back to Cleveland in early April, but he was released in mid-May.  The Twins signed Dunwoody about a week later and sent him to AAA Rochester.  He hit .305 there, but did not get another chance at the majors.  He stayed with the Red Wings for 2005 but hit only .247 and his playing career came to an end.  He served as the hitting coach for the South Bend Silver Hawks for a while.  At last report, Todd Dunwoody has returned to his hometown of Lafayette, Indiana, and was the owner of On Deck Baseball/Softball School.

Right-hander Kenta Maeda pitched for the Twins from 2020-2023.  He was born in Senboku-gun, Japan and began pitching for the Hiroshima Carp in the Japan Central League in 2008.  He had six consecutive seasons with an ERA below 2.50, with a low of 1.53 in 2012.  He also had a WHIP below 1.10 in those six seasons, with three of them below 1.00.  He was with the Carp through 2015, compiling a record of 97-67, 2.39, 1.05 WHIP.  He signed with the Dodgers for 2016, and while he did not match his Japanese numbers he was still a solid starter for them for four seasons.  He went 47-35, 3.87, 1.15 WHIP in those years, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2015.  After the 2019 season, he was traded with Jair Camargo to Minnesota for Luke Raley, Brusdar Graterol, and future considerations.  He had an outstanding (though obviously shortened) 2020, going 6-1, 2.70, with a league-leading 0.75 WHIP, and finishing second in Cy Young balloting.  He was not nearly as good in 2021, missing a couple months of the season and posting an ERA of 4.66, although some of the decline may have been injury-related.  He had Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2022.  He came back in 2023 and had a solid season.  As a Twin, he was 18-14, 4.02, 1.12 WHIP with 310 strikeouts in 277.1 innings (53 games).  He became a free agent after the 2023 season and signed with Detroit for 2024, but had a poor year.  He was not better for them in 2025 and was released in early May.  He signed with the Cubs a week and a half later, pitched poorly in AAA, was released in early August, signed with the Yankees a couple days later, continued pitching poorly in AAA, and became a free agent after the season.  He is pitching in Japan in 2026, but it's not going any better for him.  He turns thirty-eight today.  We wish him well, but it appears to be time for Kenta Maeda to move on to the next phase of his life.