October 28

Tommy Tucker (1863)

Frank Smith (1879)

Hurley McNair (1888)

Doc Lavan (1890)

Johnny Neun (1900)

Lloyd Davenport (1911)

Joe Page (1917)

Bob Veale (1935)

Sammy Stewart (1954)

Bob Melvin (1961)

Lenny Harris (1964)

Larry Casian (1965)

Juan Guzman (1966)

Braden Looper (1974)

Nate McLouth (1981)

Jeremy Bonderman (1983)

Daniel Palka (1991)

Diego Castillo (1997)

Spencer Strider (1998)

Johnny Neun managed two major league teams, the Yankees in 1946 and Cincinnati from 1947-1948. Each time, he was replaced by someone who was nicknamed “Bucky”.

Left-hander Lawrence Paul Casian played for the Twins from 1990-1994. He was born in Lynwood, California, went to high school in Lakewood, California, attended Cal State-Fullerton, and was drafted by the Twins in the 6th round in 1987. He pitched very well in the low minors, but stumbled when promoted to AAA Portland in 1989. Switched to the bullpen in 1991, he began pitching significantly better. Casian got brief trials with the Twins from 1990-1992, but made the team for the full season in 1993. He had a good year out of the bullpen, appearing in 54 games and going 5-3 with a 3.02 ERA and an ERA+ of 144. Casian got off to a poor start in 1994, however, and the Twins placed him on waivers. He was selected by Cleveland and finished the season with the Indians, but continued to pitch poorly and was released. The Cubs signed him, and Casian split the next two and a half years between Chicago and AAA Iowa. He pitched very well in both places in 1995 and 1996, but got off to a poor start again in 1997, and was placed on waivers again. He was chosen by the Royals, but was released again after two months. Casian signed with the White Sox for 1998 and was at AAA for most of the season, pitching only four innings in the majors. He signed with the Devil Rays for 1999, but was released in spring training and was out of baseball. As a Twin, he was 9-7, 4.73 with a 1.49 WHIP and an ERA+ of 94. He appeared in 113 games and pitched 144.2 innings. Larry Casian was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for the University of Portland from 2006-2015.  At last report, he was a scout for the San Francisco Giants and was based in Portland, Oregon.

Outfielder Daniel Bennett Palka did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system from 2016-2017.  He was born in Greenville, South Carolina, went to high school in Greer, South Carolina, attended Georgia Tech, and was drafted by Arizona in the third round in 2013.  Originally a first baseman, he became primarily an outfielder in 2015.  He hit well in the low minors and had a solid Arizona Fall League season in 2015.  The Diamondbacks traded him in November of 2015 for Chris Herrmann.  He hit thirty-four home runs and posted an OPS of .848 in a 2016 split between AA Chattanooga and AAA Rochester.  He battled some injuries in 2017 and had a down year (though not all that bad), batting .274/.329/.431 in Rochester.  He was only twenty-five at that point, but the Twins gave up on him and put him on waivers.  He was claimed by the White Sox for 2018, came up to the majors in late April, and stayed all season as a semi-regular outfielder/DH.  He batted .240/.294/.484 with 27 home runs in 417 at-bats.  He got off to a horrible start in 2019, going 0-for-31 before finally getting a hit.  Immediately after he got the hit he was sent to AAA, returning for about a week in mid-summer and then as a September callup.  He ended the season batting just .107 in 93 plate appearances, although he did have a good year in AAA.   The White Sox released him shortly after the 2020 season started and he went to Korea, where he did not have a good year.  He signed with Washington for 2021 and had a solid year in AAA for them, but did not get called up to the majors.  He signed with the Mets for 2022 and had a slightly better year in AAA for them, but that did not get him called up to the majors, either.   He signed with Boston for 2023 and again was in AAA and doing okay when he was released at the end of July.  The Mets signed him in late August and he finished up the season in AAA there.   He played in Mexico in 2024 and had a fine season there.  A report says that he had signed to play in Mexico again in 2025, but if so he apparently changed his mind, as Daniel Palka has been an assistant baseball coach at the University of Rhode Island since 2025.

Infielder Diego Alejandro Castillo appeared in four games for the Twins in 2024.  He was born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, and signed as a free agent with the Yankees in 2014 at the age of sixteen.  He reached high-A in 2018, but through 2019 did not hit much.  It should be pointed out that he was very young for his league in those years.  He missed the COVID season of 2020, and was having a strong season in AA in 2021 when he was traded to Pittsburgh.  The Pirates promoted him to AAA and he reached the majors for them in 2022.  He did not hit, however, and was traded to Arizona after the season.  He had a very good season in AAA for the Diamondbacks, batting, .313 in 2013, but got only one major league at-bat.  He then had a very interesting off-season.  He was waived on January 5, claimed by the Mets, waived again on January 19, claimed by the Yankees, waived again on February 5, claimed by Philadelphia, waived again on February 16, claimed by Baltimore, and sold to Minnesota on April 5.  He spent most of the season in AAA, where he had a good but unspectacular season.  He appeared in four major league games for the Twins, going 2-for-6 with a double and two walks. He signed with the Mets for 2025 and was in AAA for them when he was sold to Kansas City in late May, for whom he remained in AAA and had a solid year.  He started 2026 in Mexico, but signed with Texas in late April and had an excellent year in AAA, although it did not result in a major league call-up.  In his major league career he has 269 at-bats, all but seven of them in 2022 with Pittsburgh.  He is batting .208/.257/.383.  He turns twenty-nine today, so he's not really a prospect.  Still, he's hit very well in AAA, and there's no conclusive evidence that he can't hit in the majors.  We suspect someone will sign him for 2027.

October 27

Joe Mulvey (1858)

Patsy Dougherty (1867)

Shad Berry (1878)

Clarence Palm (1907)

Ralph Kiner (1922)

Del Rice (1922)

Pumpsie Green (1933)

Lee Stange (1936)

Mike Lum (1945)

Pete Vuckovich (1952)

U. L. Washington (1953)

Barry Bonnell (1953)

Tom Nieto (1960)

Bill Swift (1961)

Bip Roberts (1963)

Brad Radke (1972)

Jason Johnson (1973)

Martin Prado (1983)

Kyle Waldrop (1985)

Jason Wheeler (1990)

Bill Swift was drafted by Minnesota in the second round in 1983, but he did not sign.

Right-hander Albert Lee Stange pitched for the Twins from 1961-1964. He was born in Chicago, attended Proviso Township High School in Maywood, Illinois and then attended Drake University. While in high school, he was on the football team with Ray Nitschke. He was also an excellent bowler, and later was offered a sponsorship to go on the professional bowlers' tour. Stange was small for a pitcher, standing at 5' 9". He was signed by the Washington Senators as a free agent in 1957. Stange twice pitched over 200 innings in a minor league season; his high was 251 in 1960 at Class B Wilson, where he won 20 games. He opened the 1961 season with the Twins and pitched well in two games of mopup relief, but then spent the season with AAA Syracuse, returning to Minnesota in September. The next year, with the exception of a brief stint at AAA in 1963, he was in the majors to stay. Stange was used mostly as a relief in 1962, but then became a "swing man", a role he filled most of his career. His best year as a Twin was 1962, when he went 12-5 in 32 appearances, 20 of them starts, with an ERA of 2.62 and an ERA+ of 140. In June of 1964, the Twins traded Stange and George Banks to Cleveland for Mudcat Grant. He pitched fairly well for Cleveland for two years, and then was traded to Boston. With the Red Sox, he was used more as a reliever, although he still made some starts. He continued to pitch well through 1969. In 1970, however, he got off to a poor start, was traded to the White Sox, continued to pitch poorly, and was released. As a Twin, Lee Stange was 20-14 with a 3.61 ERA in 97 games, 37 of them starts. He had an ERA+ of 105. After his playing career, Stange became a pitching coach in both the majors and the minors, serving as the Twins' pitching coach in 1975. Lee Stange was the pitching coach for the Florida Tech Panthers in Melbourne, Florida for several years.  He passed away on September 21, 2018.

Catcher Thomas Andrew Nieto played for the Twins in 1987 and 1988. He was born in Downey, California and attended Oral Roberts University. He was drafted by St. Louis it the third round in 1981. He had been drafted twice previously: by Minnesota in the 31st round in June 1979, and by Pittsburgh in the third round of the secondary phase in January 1980. Nieto appears to have been only a part-time catcher even in the minors, as he only played 100 games or got 300 at-bats in a minor-league season once. He made his major league debut for the Cardinals in May of 1984, and was their reserve catcher the rest of the season. The following year, 1985, he set his career highs in games and at-bats, with 95 and 288, respectively. That was his only full season in the majors. Just prior to the 1986 season, Nieto was traded to Montreal. After one season there, he was traded to the Twins with Jeff Reardon for Al Cardwood, Neal Heaton, Yorkis Perez, and Jeff Reed. Nieto did nothing particularly remarkable for the Twins, and spent about half his time as a Twin in AAA Portland. After the 1988 season, the Twins traded him to Philadelphia with Eric Bullock and Tom Herr for Shane Rawley and cash. He split two seasons between the majors and AAA for the Phillies, spent 1991 with the Cardinals' AAA team, and then ended his playing career. As a Twin, Tom Nieto played 65 games and had 165 at-bats. His numbers were .152/.213/.224, with 1 home run and 12 runs batted in. He turned to managing and coaching after his playing career ended. Nieto has managed in the Cardinals and Yankees organization, and most recently has been with the Twins. He managed AA New Britain in 2009 and was promoted to manager of AAA Rochester from 2010-2011.  After his teams had consecutive poor seasons, however, Nieto was let go at the end of the 2011 campaign.  He was the manager of the GCL Yankees from 2012-2015 and was the manager of the Orem Owlz in the Angels organization in 2017.  He is a member of the Orel Roberts University Hall of Fame.  Tom Nieto passed away in Zephyrhills, Florida from a heart attack on March 27, 2026.

Right-hander Brad William Radke played for the Twins from 1995-2006. He was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, went to high school in Tampa, was drafted by the Twins in the 8th round in 1991, and never played with another organization. He posted decent numbers throughout his minor league career, but caught people's attention in 1994, when he was 12-9 with a 2.66 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP for AA Nashville. He started 1995 with the Twins and never returned to the minors, with the exception of a couple of rehab stints. Radke was prone to the gopher ball, especially early in his career, when he twice led the league in home runs allowed. He was an extremely durable pitcher for most of his career, making over thirty starts and pitching over 200 innings six years in a row and nine out of ten. He finished ninth in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1995, finished third in the Cy Young voting in 1997 (when he won twenty games for the only time), and made the all-star team in 1998. A control pitcher, Radke led the league in fewest walks per nine innings in 2001 and was in the top six every year of his career. For his career, Brad Radke was 148-139 with a 4.22 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and a 112 ERA+. Brad Radke was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2009.  His son, Kasey, pitched for the University of Tampa.  At last report, Brad Radke was living in the Tampa area and is involved in numerous charitable activities.

Right-hander Steven Kyle Waldrop appeared in seven games for the Twins at the end of 2011.  Born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, he was drafted by Minnesota in the first round in 2004.  He was initially a starter and did all right in that role, although he seemed to struggle when first promoted to a higher level.  He missed all of 2008 due to a shoulder injury, and when he came back in 2009, he was a relief pitcher, a role in which he has done pretty well.  He reached AAA in 2010 and has been there for two seasons, going 10-8, 3.19, 1.27 WHIP with 104 strikeouts in 166.2 innings (115 appearances).  He got a September call-up in 2011, going 1-0, 5.73, 1.46 WHIP in 11 innings (7 appearances).  In 2012, he spent most of the year in Rochester but came up to Minnesota in late August, going 0-1, 2.53, but with a 1.55 WHIP.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Pittsburgh for 2013, but missed most of the season with injuries.  He became a free agent after the season and did not sign with anyone, ending his playing career. After baseball, Kyle Waldrop graduated with a business degree at Cal State-Northridge.  At last report, he was living in Fort Myers, Florida and was the Florida Regional Sales Manager for Sprinturf, a type of artificial turf for athletic fields.

Left-hander Jason McDonald Wheeler appeared in two games for the Twins in 2017.  Born and raised in Torrance, California, he attended Loyola Marymount and was drafted by Minnesota in the eighth round in 2011.  He had a couple of unremarkable years in the minors but seemed to put things together in 2014, going 11-9, 2.67, 1.19 WHIP in a season split between Fort Myers and New Britain (with one start in Rochester).  He struggled when promoted to AAA in 2015 but did quite well there in 2016, going 11-6, 3.53, 1.20 WHIP.  In 2017, he was 4-1, 4.50 in Rochester and was promoted to the Twins for a few days in late May, presumably when the Twins needed a fresh arm for the bullpen.  He appeared in two games and allowed five runs (three earned) on six hits in three innings, giving him a mark of 0-0, 9.00, 3.33 WHIP.  He was sold to the Dodgers a few days later and was traded to Baltimore a month after that.  He did well enough in AAA for the Orioles, but he became a free agent and signed to play in Korea in 2018.  He did not do well there and was released by the Hanwha Eagles in mid-July.  At last report, Jason Wheeler was a tax attorney for Holland & Knight in Waltham, Massachusetts.  His brother, infielder Ryan Wheeler, played for the Twins in AAA in 2015 and played in 109 major league games from 2012-2014.

October 26

Frank Selee (1859)

Kid Gleason (1866)

Lee Tannehill (1880)

Dick Hoblitzel (1888)

Tommy Griffith (1889)

Snuffy Stirnweiss (1918)

Bud Byerly (1920)

Toby Harrah (1948)

Mike Hargrove (1949)

Steve Rogers (1949)

Dave Coleman (1950)

Harry Chappas (1957)

Gil Heredia (1965)

Mark Sweeney (1969)

Francisco Liriano (1983)

Danny Coloumbe (1989)

Dominic Leone (1991)

Frank Selee was the manager of the Boston Beaneaters from 1890-1901, winning the National League pennant five times.  He also managed the Cubs from 1902-1905 until his health forced him to retire.

Outfielder David Lee Coleman did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 1979. Born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, he signed with Boston as a free agent in 1970. He was in Class A for three years, then began to advance up the minor league system. His numbers weren’t awful, but were not terribly impressive, either. He reached AAA for the first time in 1974, arriving to stay in 1975. He began 1977 in Boston as a reserve outfielder and stayed through the end of May, but appeared in only eleven games and started only two of them. He was used four times as a pinch-hitter, twice as a pinch runner, and three times as a defensive replacement. He went 0-for-12, drawing a walk and scoring once, then was sent back to AAA. His best AAA season came in 1978, when he hit .270 with 24 homers for AAA Pawtucket. By then, however, he was 27 and was no longer considered a prospect. In February of 1979 the Red Sox traded Coleman to Minnesota for Larry Wolfe. He spent the year in Toledo, cracking 20 home runs but hitting only .237. He moved on to the Yankees’ organization after the season, playing in AAA Columbus for two years. His playing career came to an end after the 1981 season; his 0-for-12 in 1977 would be his major league career record. It appears that Dave Coleman returned to the Dayton area after his playing career ended.  His son, Chris, played baseball at Wright State University before starting a career in dentistry.

Left-hander Francisco Casillas Liriano played for the Twins from 2005-2012. Born and raised in San Cristobal in the Dominican Republic, he was signed by the San Francisco Giants in 2000. His early minor-league numbers don't seem that impressive until you realize that he was still a teenager posting ERAs in the threes in Class A. He was apparently injured in 2003, as he pitched in only five games. In November of 2003, Liriano was traded, along with Boof Bonser and Joe Nathan, to Minnesota for A. J. Pierzynski and cash, a trade some observers believe worked out well for Minnesota. The Twins moved him up slowly, but after a half-season in Rochester in which he went 9-2 with a 1.78 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP in 2005 he received a September call-up. He started 2006 in the bullpen, but was moved to the starting rotation in mid-May. He had a tremendous season, going 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA and a WHIP of 1.00, but then blew out his elbow. Liriano missed all of the 2007 season. He tried to start 2008 in Minnesota, but was ineffective and went back to Rochester. After three solid months there, he was back with the Twins in August and pitched fairly well, although not like his 2006 season. His 2009 season was not good, but he came back to throw the ever-living fire out of the ball in the Winter League that off-season. He came back strong in 2010, going 14-10, 3.62 with a WHIP of 1.26 and leading the league in fewest home runs per nine innings. He won the Comeback Player of the Year award in 2010.  Unfortunately, in 2011 he put himself in position to win that award again, as he stumbled to a 9-10, 5.09 campaign before being shut down toward the end of the season, although he did throw a no-hitter.  Twins fans were hoping for a resurgence in 2012, but it was not to be, and in late July Liriano was traded to the White Sox for Eduardo Escobar and Pedro Hernandez.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Pittsburgh and had his best season since 2010 and arguably his best season since 2006.  He continued to pitch well for them through 2015, but was having a poor year in 2016 when he was traded to Toronto. on August 1.  He pitched well for the Blue Jays the rest of the season.  He started 2017 with the Blue Jays, pitched poorly, was traded to Houston at the July trade deadline, and continued to pitch poorly.  He signed with Detroit for 2018 and managed to stay in their rotation, but really was not very good.  Back with Pittsburgh in 2019, however, he did fairly well coming out of the bullpen.  He signed with Philadelphia for 2020 but was released shortly before the season started.  He had interest from other teams, but opted out of the 2020 season.  He signed with Toronto for 2021 but was released at the end of spring training, bringing his playing career to an end.  It wasn't all either he or Twins fans hoped it would be, but he played in the majors for fourteen seasons, and there aren't a lot of people who can say that.  No information about what Francisco Liriano is doing now was readily available.

Left-handed reliever Daniel Paul Coulombe was with the Twins from 2020-2022 and again in 2025.  He was born in St. Louis, attended high school in Scottsdale, Arizona, attended Texas Tech, and was drafted by the Dodgers in 2012.  He got a September call-up in 2014 after a good season split between high-A and AA.  He went back to AAA in 2015 and again did well, getting about a month and a half in the majors.  The last month of that time in the majors was with Oakland, as the Athletics purchased him in September.  He started 2016 in AAA, but came to the majors in early May and stayed through mid-June of 2018.  He was decent--not particularly good, not particularly terrible.  He was sent back to AAA midway through the 2018 season despite the fact that he was pitching about the same as he always had.  A free agent after the season, he signed with the Yankees for 2019, was released on the first of July, signed with Milwaukee in mid-July, was released in late August, and signed back with the Yankees again for the rest of the season.  He was in AAA all of that time, became a free agent, and signed with Minnesota for 2020.  He appeared in two games that year, started 2021 in AAA, came up to the majors in late June, and stayed the rest of the season.  He had a solid half-season for the Twins, posting an ERA of 3.67 and a WHIP of 1.22.   He was off to a fine start in 2022 when he was injured and was unable to return.  He signed with the Twins again for 2023, but was sold to Baltimore before the season started.  He had an excellent season for them and was an important part of their bullpen.  He was even better in 2024, but missed about half the season due to injury.  He returned to the Twins in 2025 and was tremendous in forty games, posting an ERA of 1.16 and a WHIP of 0.97.  He was traded to Texas at the deadline for Garret Horn, and did not pitch well for the Rangers.  He signed with Boston for 2026, but did not pitch well there, either, and was released in mid-July.  As a Twin, he was 4-2, 2.24, 1.16 WHIP in 80.1 innings (81 games).  He figured it out kind of late, but he was an excellent reliever for several seasons.  He turns thirty-seven today.  Teams are always looking for pitching, and he is left-handed, so it's possible someone will give him another shot.  If not, well, he had a pretty good career.

October 25

Jack Doyle (1869)

Smoky Joe Wood (1889)

Bobby Robinson (1903)

Jack Kent Cooke (1912)

Lee McPhail (1917)

Russ Meyer (1923)

Bobby Thomson (1923)

Bobby Brown (1924)

Roy Hartsfield (1925)

Chuck Schilling (1937)

Al Cowens (1951)

Roy Smalley (1952)

Rowland Office (1952)

Tito Landrum (1954)

Danny Darwin (1955)

Andy McGaffigan (1956)

Steve Decker (1965)

Keith Garagozzo (1969)

Pedro Martinez (1971)

Wilkin Ramirez (1985)

Juan Soto (1998)

Jack Kent Cooke, better known as the owner of the Washington Redskins and the Los Angeles Lakers, owned the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team in the International League from 1951-1964.  He made several unsuccessful attempts to bring major league baseball to Toronto and is a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Lee MacPhail was the general manager of the Baltimore Orioles from 1958-1965 and of the New York Yankees from 1966-1973.  He was the president of the American League from 1974-1983.  He is the son of Larry MacPhail and the father of Andy MacPhail.

Second baseman Charles Thomas Schilling retired as a Twin, although he never played a game in their organization. He was born in Brooklyn, went to Manhattan College, and signed with Boston as a free agent in 1958. He advanced rapidly and justifiably so, hitting .314 with 30 doubles in AAA in 1960 at age 22. He was in the big leagues to stay the next season. He was the Red Sox’ starting second baseman from 1961-1963, leading the league in plate appearances in 1961. He hit .259 with 25 doubles in his rookie year and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting. That was as good as it would get for Schilling, however; he injured his wrist early in 1962 and it bothered him for the rest of his career. After two years hitting in the .230s he became a reserve in 1964 and 1965. On April 6, 1966, he was traded to Minnesota with Russ Nixon for Dick Stigman and a player to be named later (Jose Calero). He traveled with the team for a couple of weeks but did not play, and when the Twins wanted to send him to AAA he decided to retire. He returned to New York, becoming a high school math teacher and baseball coach on Long Island. He played competitive softball until age 69, when he retired. He remained in the New York area until 2017, when he moved to the Philadelphia area to be closer to his children and grandchildren.  Chuck Schilling passed away on March 30, 2021 in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Infielder Roy Frederick Smalley III is the son of infielder Roy Smalley, Jr. and the nephew of Gene Mauch. He was born in Los Angeles and attended USC. Smalley was drafted by Texas with the first pick of the 1974 draft. He had been drafted four times previously: by Montreal (35th round, June 1970), Boston (4th round, January 1971), St. Louis (2nd round, June 1971), and by Boston again (5th round, January 1972). Smalley spent very little time in the minors, reaching the Rangers in 1975 and playing semi-regularly for them. He hit only .228 that year and had a similar average for the first two months of 1976, when he was traded along with Mike Cubbage, Jim Gideon, and Bill Singer to the Twins for Bert Blyleven and Danny Thompson. Other than a poor 1977, Smalley regularly posted averages in the .270s for the Twins. In 1978, he added some power, hitting 19 home runs that year and 24 the next. That next year, 1979, Smalley got off to a tremendous start, hitting over .400 on May 20 and still batting .373 at the end of June before regression to the mean caught up with him. Smalley made his only all-star team that year and finished 16th in the MVP voting. In April of 1982 the Twins sent Smalley to the Yankees for Paul Boris, Ron Davis, and Greg Gagne. He continued to play about as well as he had previously, but began to suffer from back problems. He was traded in June of 1984 to the White Sox. He finished the season with them, and in February of 1985 was traded back to the Twins for Ron Scheer and "not the" Randy Johnson. He was with the Twins for three more years as a DH/infielder. He was still producing offensively at close to the same rate he had, and probably could have played a couple more years, but retired after the Twins World Championship of 1987. As a Twin, he hit .262/.350/.401 in approximately nine seasons. Roy Smalley was an analyst for FSN/Bally Sports North for several seasons. He currently owns a restaurant near Target Field and is involved in the Special Oympics.

Left-hander Keith John Garagozzo made seven appearances for the Twins in 1994. He was born in Camden, New Jersey, attended the University of Delaware, and was drafted by the Yankees in the 9th round in 1991. He had a good year and a half in Class A from 1992-1993. The Twins selected him in the rule 5 draft in November of 1993, and he started the season with them, despite the fact that he had pitched in only 17 games above class A. He appeared in seven games in April of 1994, pitching 9.1 innings and posting a 9.64 ERA, and then was returned to the Yankees. Switched to the bullpen, Garagozzo pitched ineffectively for AAA Columbus and then was released. He made a brief comeback in the Marlins organization in 1996, but then was done. After leaving baseball, Keith Garagozzo returned to New Jersey, then moved to Florida, and at last report was a senior business development manager for NewLane Finance in Boca Raton.

Outfielder Wilkin Emilio (Arias) Ramirez played thirty-five games for the Twins in 2013.  Born and raised in Bani, Peravia, Dominican Republic, he signed with Detroit as a free agent in 2003.  He had a decent but unspectacular season in rookie ball, then missed all of 2004 due to injury.  Upon his return, his minor league numbers were fairly decent but unspectacular.  He reached AAA in 2008 and made his major league debut in 2009.  He appeared in fifteen games, nine of them as a pinch-runner, and went 4-for-11 with a triple and a home run.  He was traded to Atlanta on July 31, 2010 for a player to be named later or cash, which sounds similar to "future considerations".  He was mostly in AAA in 2011 but spent about six weeks in the majors.  He appeared in twenty games, ten as a pinch-hitter and three as a pinch-runner, and went 6-for-26 with two doubles.  A free agent after the 2011 season, he signed with Minnesota for 2012.  He started at AA but spent most of the season at AAA, where he hit .276/.316/.451 in 370 at-bats.  He started 2013 with the Twins as a part-time player before getting injured in late May.  He missed nearly three months, coming back for about two weeks in August.  He didn't do badly when he did play, batting .272/.302/.370.  However, the Twins took him off the forty-man roster and sent him outright to Rochester, where he played in 2014 and 2015.  He didn't do a whole lot there and became a free agent after the 2015 season.  He played in twenty-five games for Bridgeport in the Atlantic League in 2016, then his playing career came to an end.  At last report, he was the owner of the Wilkin Ramirez Baseball Academy in Lake Worth, Florida.

October 24

Ned Williamson (1857)
Bill Kuehne (1858)
Lou Sockalexis (1871)
Ossie Bluege (1900)
Jack Russell (1905)
Jim Brosnan (1929)
Rawly Eastwick (1950)
Omar Moreno (1952)
Gary Serum (1956)
Ron Gardenhire (1957)
Junior Ortiz (1959)
Danny Clay (1961)
Rafael Belliard (1961)
Gene Larkin (1962)
Arthur Rhodes (1969)
Rafael Furcal (1977)
Chris Colabello (1983)
Eric Hosmer (1989)
Nick Gordon (1995)
Rafael Devers (1996)

Third baseman Ossie Bluege played for the franchise in Washington for eighteen years and remained in the organization for many years after that. He is credited as being the first third baseman to guard the lines in the late innings. He is also credited as the scout who discovered Harmon Killebrew.

Right-hander Gary Wayne Serum pitched for the Twins from 1977-1979. He was born in Fargo but mostly grew up in Minnesota, going to high school in Alexandria. He attended St. Cloud State and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1975 after attending a tryout camp. Serum was primarily a relief pitcher in the minors, although he started ten games in 1976. He came through the minors rapidly and reached the Twins by late July of 1977 at age 20. Serum pitched 22 innings for the Twins that year, but was in their starting rotation for much of 1978. He pitched quite well for a 21-year-old: 9-9, 4.10 ERA, 94 ERA+, 1.26 WHIP. That was to be as good as it got, however. Returned to the bullpen for most of 1979, he was used sporadically, and was ineffective when he did pitch. The Twins seemed to give up on him rather quickly. He had a fairly good year in the Toledo bullpen in 1980, but his reward was to be sent to AA in 1981. He was the Orlando closer that season, but had a poor year and was released. Serum pitched in the Yankees organization in 1982, but then was out of baseball. His entire major-league career was with the Twins. Gary Serum was 10-12 with a 4.72 ERA in 62 appearances, 28 of them starts. At last report, Gary Serum was co-owner of a restaurant called Serum's Good Time Emporium in Anoka, Minnesota. If any citizens live near Anoka, it might be fun to stop by today and see if you could wish him a happy birthday.

Infielder Ronald Clyde Gardenhire did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for a year and was their manager from 2002-2014. He was born in Butzbach, West Germany. He attended Okmulgee High School in Oklahoma, and then went to the University of Texas at Austin. Gardenhire was drafted by the Mets in the sixth round in 1977. He spent three years in the minors, advancing a level each year and reaching AAA in 1981. His numbers were not all that impressive, but he battled his tail off and received a September call-up in 1981. In 1982, he was the Mets' regular shortstop. A .240 average without walks, power, or stolen bases didn't cut it, however, and Gardenhire was back in the minors for most of 1983. He was a utility infielder for the Mets for most of 1984 and 1985, but went back to AAA in 1986 and did not return to the majors as a player. After the 1986 season, Gardenhire was traded to the Twins for Dominic Iasparro. He spent one year at AAA Portland and then turned to managing. He managed three years in the Twins' minor-league system and became a coach in the big leagues in 1991. Ron Gardenhire took over as the Minnesota manager in 2002, and remained in the job until the end of the 2014 season. During his time as manager, the Twins won six division titles in nine years, advancing to the league championship series once. In his last four years, of course, the Twins were much less successful. How much credit Ron Gardenhire should get for their success, or how much blame he should get for their lack of it, is difficult to say. Regardless, a manager whose teams lost over ninety games for four consecutive years is going to be held responsible, and he was. He was back with the Twins as a special assistant to the general manager in 2016, was the bench coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2017, and became the manager of the Detroit Tigers in 2018.  He resigned late in the 2020 season due to health concerns, and has been retired since then.  Ron Gardenhire was inducted into the Twins' Hall of Fame in 2022 and was given the Herb Carneal Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024.  His son, Toby, is the major league field coordinator for the Twins.

Catcher Adalberto (Colon) "Junior" Ortiz played for the Twins from 1990-1991. He was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico and was signed by the Pirates as a free agent in 1977. His minor league record is a mixed bag, with his best year clearly coming in 1980, when he hit .346 with 12 homers for AA Buffalo. He got a September call-up in 1982, and became the Pirates back-up catcher in 1983, a role he would keep the rest of his career. The vagaries of small sample size are evident in his career: he hit .336 in 1988 and .335 in 1990, but only .198 in 1984 and .209 in 1991. In June of 1983, the Pirates traded Ortiz to the Mets, but they got him back in the 1984 rule 5 draft. He stayed in Pittsburgh until just before the 1990 season, when he was traded to the Twins with Orlando Lind for Mike Pomeranz. While with the Twins, Ortiz was Scott Erickson's personal catcher, including catching him in the playoffs and World Series in 1991. He became a free agent after 1991 and spent the next two years with Cleveland. From there, he went to Texas in 1994 and the White Sox in 1995 before calling it a career. At last report, Junior Ortiz was living in Billings, Montana.

Right-hander Danny Bruce Clay never played for the Twins, but he was signed by them as a free agent in 1982. Born in Sun Valley, California, Clay attended Loyola Marymount. He spent more than four seasons in the Twins' organization. Clay pretty much topped out in Class A, although he did win 13 games for AA Orlando in 1985 (with a 4.48 ERA). On June 24, 1987, the Twins traded Clay along with Tom Schwarz for Dan Schatzeder and cash. The Phillies converted Clay to relief, and he got off to a tremendous start with AAA Maine in 1988, going 5-1 with an ERA of 0.99 and a WHIP of 0.95 in 45.1 innings. That earned him about 2 1/2 months in the big leagues. The hot start was an illusion, however. In 17 appearances for the Phillies, Clay went 0-1, 6.00 and was sent back to the minors. He did have a good year at AAA again in 1990, but this time no one was fooled and his career was over.  One source indicates he is working in manufacturing in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, but that could not be confirmed.

First baseman/outfielder/DH Eugene Thomas Larkin played for the Twins from 1987-1993. He was born in Flushing, New York, went to Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York, then attended Columbia University, where he broke many of Lou Gehrig's baseball records. He was drafted by the Twins in the 20th round in 1984. He progressed one level every year, batting over .300 at each stop. He also compiled 35 home runs in a little over three minor league seasons. He was promoted to the Twins in May of 1987 and stayed there for over six years. Larkin was a steady, solid contributor through the Twins during his time there. He regularly posted batting averages in the .260s, and when he was allowed to play regularly he hit 20-30 doubles and drew a pretty good number of walks. Larkin's career numbers were .266/.348/.374, with 32 homers, 131 doubles, and an OPS+ of 98. He is, of course, remembered for his game-winning hit in game 7 of the 1991 World Series. Larkin was injured for much of 1993, playing in only 56 games, although when healthy he continued to hit much as he had before. He went to spring training with the Twins in 1994, but did not make the team and his career was over. One suspects that he could have found a job with someone had he tried, but either his health was not up to it or he simply had no desire to go to another team. Larkin currently lives in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, where he is the co-owner of Nevers Larkin Baseball Training and Players Only, Inc.  He is also a senior vice president with Wealth Enhancement Group. He also is a regular at the Twins' annual fantasy baseball camp.

First baseman/outfielder Christopher Adrian Colabello played for the Twins from 2013-2014. He was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, went to high school in Milford, Massachusetts, and attended Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts. If it was your assumption that he was the only major league player to have come from that school, you were correct. He was not drafted out of college, nor was he signed as a free agent. Instead, he played in the independent CanAm League for seven years, all but 43 games of it with Worcester. He hit over .300 every year there and posted an OPS of .903. Finally, in February of 2012, the Twins signed him and sent him to New Britain, where he was essentially expected to be roster filler. Instead, he hit .284/.358/.478 with 19 homers and 98 RBIs in 134 games. Promoted to Rochester in 2013, he did even better, hitting .352/.427/.639 with 24 home runs in 89 games. He was called up for about three weeks in the first half of the season, then came up to stay after the all-star break. He spent time in right field and at DH, but became the mostly-regular first baseman after the trade of Justin Morneau. He did not do a lot, although he did get some clutch hits. He started the 2014 season as a DH/right fielder for the Twins and got off to a hot start, but then he tried to play through an injury, tailed off rapidly, and was back in Rochester by late May. He came back to Minnesota in July but again didn't do much and was sent back out in early August. As a Twin, Chris Colabello hit .214/.284/.364 in 365 at-bats. The Twins gave up on him after the 2014 season, allowing Toronto to claim him on waivers. Healthy again, he had an excellent season as a part-time player, hitting .321/.367/.520 in 333 at-bats. Early in 2016, however, he was suspended for eighty games for using performance enhancing drugs. Colabello has maintained his innocence, but regardless he had to serve the suspension. He played in AAA when he came back but did poorly and was not called up to the Blue Jays. He signed with Cleveland for 2017, but didn't do much in AAA and was released in July. He signed with Milwaukee and did better in AAA, but did not get a call-up.  He played in winter ball following the 2017 season, then played in Italy in 2018.  He was back in the United States in 2019, playing in independent ball for Kansas City and SugarLand.  He probably could have done that again in 2020 had things gone differently.  He played for Team Italy in various international tournaments, including the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualifying tournament.  It appears that he is the co-founder of Pelotero, which puts together webinars to teach people about hitting.

Utility player Nicholas Chad Gordon played for the Twins in 2021.  He was born in Avon Park, Florida, went to high school in Orlando, and was drafted by Minnesota in the first round (the fifth pick) in 2014.  His minor league record was solid but unspectactular--no bad years, but nothing that really jumps out at you, either.  He reached Class A in 2015, high-A in 2016, AA in 2017, and AAA in 2018.  He had a fine year for Rochester in 2019, but missed time due to injury.  He started 2021 in AAA but came up to the majors in May and stayed the rest of the season.  He was an infielder in the minors, but when he came to the Twins he mostly played center field.  He batted .240/.292/.355 in 200 at-bats for the Twins, numbers that were probably not helped by the fact that he was learning to play a new position.  In 2022 he was a mostly regular without a regular position, seeing significant time in left, center, at second, and at short.  he responded with a fine season, posting an OPS of .743.  2023, however, was a lost year for him--he got off to a slow start, fractured his shin in mid-May, and missed the rest of the season.  The Twins traded him to Miami after the season for Steven Okert.  A part-time outfielder for them, he batted just .227.  He signed with Baltimore for 2025, was sold to Kansas City in early April, and was released on the first of May.  That brought an end to his playing career.  He apparently has recorded some music with major league infielder Jazz Chisholm. He comes from a baseball family--his father, Tom Gordon, was a fine relief pitcher, and his brother, Dee Strange-Gordon, was an all-star infielder.  No information about what Nick Gordon has done since his release by the Royals was readily available.

October 23

William Hulbert (1832)

Mike Sullivan (1866)

Lena Blackburne (1886)

Rube Bressler (1894)

Felton Snow (1905)

Barney Brown (1907)

Billy Sullivan (1910)

Vern Stephens (1920)

Ewell Blackwell (1922)

Jim Bunning (1931)

Greg Thayer (1949)

John Castino (1954)

Dwight Lowry (1957)

Al Leiter (1965)

Todd Sears (1975)

David Riske (1976)

John Lackey (1978)

Bud Smith (1979)

Kyle Gibson (1987)

William Hulbert was one of the founders of the National League and was its president from 1877 until his death in 1882.

Infielder Lena Blackburne discovered and marketed the mud from the driver beds near the Delaware River in New Jersey that has been rubbed on every major league baseball used since the 1950s.

Right-hander Gregory Allen Thayer played for the Twins in 1978.. Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he went to high school in St. Cloud, Minnesota, attended St. Cloud State, and was drafted by the Giants in the 32nd round in 1971. He was small for a professional pitcher, standing 5' 11" and weighing 182 pounds. Thayer spent two years in the low minors for San Francisco, pitching neither well nor terribly, but was released in April of 1973. He was out of baseball that season, but the Twins signed him in September. Thayer was in AA Orlando most of the next four seasons, compiling an ERA of around 3.00.  For some of that time, his roommate was Terry Ryan. He was only promoted above AA once in that span, in 1975, when he pitched 39 innings for AAA Tacoma. One suspects the main reason for that was control problems; he averaged about 5 walks per nine innings. Thayer made the Twins at the start of the 1978 season, pitching in a middle relief/mopup role. He did about as well as you would expect someone in that role to pitch, but still walked too many batters: he was 1-1 with a 3.80 ERA in 20 appearances, giving up less than a hit per inning but walking 30 in 45 innings. He was sent back to the minors in late June. Thayer was in AAA Toledo through 1979, but continued walking people. He moved on to the Toronto organization in 1980, but his professional career was over after that. He did not give up baseball, however. In 1992, he pitched for the Sartell Muskies amateur team, helping them win the Class C state championship. He made regular appearances at an annual Minnesota Twins alumni game hosted by the St. Cloud River Bats and was a coach for the Sauk Rapids legion baseball team.  He is a member of the St. Cloud State Hall of Fame.  Greg Thayer passed away on December 19, 2025, in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Infielder John Anthony Castino played for the Twins from 1979-1984. He was born in Evanston, Illinois and went to high school in Winnetka, Illinois. He then attended Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. He was drafted by the Twins in the third round in 1976. In 1977, he hit .326 with 17 home runs at Class A Visalia. He continued to hit well the next year at AA Orlando, and was installed as the regular third baseman for the Twins in 1979. Castino hit .285 that year and shared the Rookie of the Year award with Alfredo Griffin. He hit .302 in 1980, but then began to decline, due partly to back problems. A move to second base in 1982 probably did not help matters, either. He bounced back with a solid 1983 campaign, hitting .277 with 11 homers, but after that his injuries became too much for him. He played eight games in 1984, and then his career was over. In just over five seasons, John Castino hit .277/.329/.398 for the Twins. After leaving baseball, he got an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and was the senior vice president of Wealth Enhancement Group, a Minneapolis-based financial planning and advisory services firm, until his retirement in 2013.  Upon retiring, he moved to New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

Catcher Dwight Lowry had seven at-bats for the Twins in 1988. He was born in Lumberton, North Carolina and attended the University of North Carolina. He was drafted by the Tigers in the 11th round in 1980. He did not hit well in the minors; his best year was 1982, when he hit .277 in his second year at Class A Lakeland. He reached AA in 1983 and AAA in 1984, He was in the majors part of that year, serving as Lance Parrish's backup in April, May, and September for Detroit's World Championship team. Lowry was back in the minors in 1985, but spent most of 1986 with the Tigers, again as the backup catcher. He played sparingly in both AAA and the majors in 1987, but then was released by the Tigers. He actually had played about as well as you could expect a backup catcher to play: a .282 average with 5 homers in 220 at-bats. The Twins signed Lowry in October of 1987. He was with them coming out of spring training in 1988, but after going 0-for-7 was sent to the minors in late April, never to return. Out of baseball in 1989, Lowry came back in 1990, hitting .310 in 187 at-bats for the Expos' AAA team in Louisville. When that did him no good, however, he turned to coaching and managing in the Tigers' organization. He was the Tigers' Player Development Man of the Year in 1996. Sadly, while managing the Jamestown Jammers in 1997, Dwight Lowry died of a heart attack on July 10 at the age of 39. The Tigers named their player development award the Dwight Lowry award. Dwight Lowry was inducted into the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame in 1998.

First baseman Todd Andrew Sears played for the Twins in 2002-2003. He was born in Des Moines, went to high school in Ankeny, Iowa, and then attended the University of Nebraska. He was drafted by the Rockies in the third round in 1977. He spent three years in Class A, putting up solid and steadily increasing numbers. He started 2000 in AA, and was traded in July to Minnesota for Butch Huskey and Todd Walker. He was promoted to AAA Edmonton in 2001, and hit over .300 there for two consecutive years. He also hit 33 home runs in that span, and got a September call-up to the Twins in 2002. He had two stints with the Twins in 2003, totaling about a month and a half, and was with Rochester the rest of the year. In September, Sears was traded to the Padres for Alex Garcia. He spent the rest of the season in San Diego, but would never play in the majors again. He was with the Padres' organization in 2004, went to the Marlins for 2005, started 2006 with the Mariners, was released in June, and went back to the Marlins for the rest of 2006 and all of 2007 before finally calling it a career. As a Twin, Todd Sears hit .260/.326/.390, with two home runs and 11 runs batted in. Sears went back to college after his pro career ended, receiving a degree in business administration from the University of Nebraska in August of 2009. At last report, he was the owner and operations manager of Complete Game Baseball, a baseball instructional school in the Kansas City area.

Left-hander Robert Allan “Bud” Smith did not play for the Twins, but made three appearances at AAA Rochester in 2005. He was born in Torrance, California, went to high school in Bellflower, California, attended Los Angeles Harbor Community College, and was drafted by St. Louis in the fourth round in 1998. He pitched very well in the minors and advanced rapidly, reaching the majors in June of 2001 at age 21. He made sixteen appearances for the Cardinals, fourteen of them starts, and went 6-3, 3.83 with a 1.22 WHIP and a no-hitter. He finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting, and big things were expected. They didn’t happen. He developed shoulder problems. Smith underwent various surgeries over the years to repair the damage, but nothing really worked. He started 2002 in the Cardinals’ rotation and went 1-5, 6.94. He was sent to the minors and traded to Philadelphia in late July. He never got back to the big leagues. The shoulder continued to bother him; he stayed in the Phillies’ organization through 2004, but appeared in only 21 games. The Phillies let him go, and Smith signed with Minnesota as a free agent for 2005. He made three relief appearances in Rochester, going 1-0, 4.76 in 5.2 innings. He played for Long Beach in the Golden Baseball League in 2006-2007, then his playing career ended. At last report, Bud Smith was a scout in southern California for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Right-hander Kyle Benjamin Gibson pitched for the Twins from 2013-2019.  Born and raised in Greenfield, Indiana, he attended the University of Missouri and was drafted in the first round by Minnesota in 2009.  He pitched well at three different spots in 2010, struggled when promoted to AAA in 2011, then underwent Tommy John surgery.  He made thirteen appearances in 2012, most of them rehab appearances in the low minors.  He pitched very well for Rochester in 2013, going 7-5, 2.92, 1.16 WHIP.  He was promoted to Minnesota for about two months, and that did not go so well.  He began 2014 in the Twins' rotation, however, and was a solid contributor there in 2014-2015.  In 2016, however, he was part of the total system failure:  he went 6-11, 5.07, 1.56 WHIP in a season in which he missed a month due to injury.  2017 started out as more of the same, but after stinking it up for the first four months of the season he pitched quite well in August and September, going 6-2, 3.55.  At that point, we asked, "Has he finally turned a corner, or were those two months an illusion?"  It looked like he finally turned a corner--in 2018 he went 10-13, 3.62, 1.30 WHIP.  In 2019, however, he took a step backwards, posting an ERA of 4.84 and a WHIP of 1.44.  At the time we thought injuries and illness may have been a factor, but he was worse in 2020.  He was also with Texas in 2020, as the Twins allowed him to become a free agent.  It looked like it might be about the end of the line for him, but he bounced back in 2021 to have an outstanding two-thirds of a season for the Rangers, posting an ERA of 2.87.  He then was traded to Philadelphia at the July deadline and went back to being who he'd been in 2020, posting an ERA of 5.09.  In 2022 he was good enough to stay in the rotation, but that's all, again posting an ERA just over five.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Baltimore and did a little better, but not a lot--he won fifteen games primarily by good run support from the offense.  Again a free agent, he signed with St. Louis and had a fairly good year in 2024.  Once more a free agent, he signed back with Baltimore for 2025 but pitched poorly in four starts and was released in late May.  He signed with Tampa Bay and pitched well in four AAA starts, but when he wasn't recalled to the majors he opted out of his contract and announced his retirement on July 17.  He is currently the co-host of a podcast, "Serving It Up", with ex-Twin Lance Lynn and Matt Holliday.  He is also a vice-president with Big League Impact, which focuses on poverty relief, food security, and education.

October 22

Kid Carsey (1870)

Bill Carrigan (1883)

Johnny Morrison (1895)

Jumbo Elliott (1900)

Jimmie Foxx (1907)

Wilbur Wood (1941)

Jamie Quirk (1954)

Frank DiPino (1956)

Keith Osik (1968)

Hector Carrasco (1969)

Ichiro Suzuki (1973)

Michael Barrett (1976)

Brad Thomas (1977)

Eli Whiteside (1979)

Robinson Cano (1982)

Darren O'Day (1982)

Carlos Torres (1982)

Right-hander Hector (Pacheco) Carrasco pitched for the Twins from 1998-2000 and again in 2001. Born and raised in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, he was signed by the Mets as a free agent in 1988. After four seasons in their minor-league system, three of them in rookie ball, Carrasco was released. He signed with Houston and had a good year for Class A Asheville in 1992. He was then traded to the Marlins, and after spending 1993 in Class A was traded to the Reds. After six years in the minors, three in rookie leagues and three in Class A, Cincinnati decided Carrasco was ready for the big leagues. He made the most of the opportunity. Pitching exclusively out of the bullpen, he pitched in 45 games, posting an ERA of 2.24, a WHIP of 1.28, and an ERA+ of 187. Carrasco would remain in the Cincinnati bullpen for three and a half years, performing well in a middle relief/setup role. In July of 1997, he was traded to the Royals. After the season, he was chosen by Arizona in the expansion draft, but was placed on waivers at the end of spring training. Carrasco was selected by the Twins and spent nearly three seasons in the Twins' bullpen. He remained in the middle relief/setup role, and did a decent job for the Twins over that time. In September of 2000, he was traded to Boston for Lew Ford. A free agent after the season, Carrasco signed with the Blue Jays, but was released near the end of spring training and returned to Minnesota. His pitching in 2001 was about the same as it had been. A free agent again after the season, he was signed by Texas, but did not play for them, and was out of baseball in 2002. He signed with Baltimore for 2003 and appeared in 40 games for the Orioles, but was let go after the season and again was out of baseball in 2004. The Nationals took a chance on him in 2005, and Carrasco turned in what may have been his best season at age 35: a 2.04 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 199 ERA+ in 64 games, 5 of them starts. Once again a free agent, he signed with the Angels, for whom he had a good season in 2006. He did not do well in a half season in 2007, however, and was released. After that he pitched in the minors for Washington, Pittsburgh, the Cubs, and three teams in the Atlantic League.  He pitched in the Mexican League in 2011-12, doing well in 2011, but not so well in 2012.  His playing career was over after that.  It was a pretty good one, though.  It is unclear what Hector Carrasco is doing now, although one report indicated that he was living in Los Angeles.

Left-hander Bradley Richard Thomas pitched for the Twins in 2001 and again in 2003-2004. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, he was signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in 1995. The Dodgers quickly soured on him, releasing him in May of 1997 after only one year of rookie ball. Minnesota signed him three days later, and he slowly worked his way up the Twins' system. In 2001, at AA New Britain, Thomas went 10-3 with a 1.96 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. He had a couple of brief trials with the Twins that year, making five starts. Thomas spent the next two years at AAA. He pitched poorly in 2002 and was hurt part of 2003, but did better when he came back. Thomas received a September call-up in 2003, working 4.2 innings over three games. He started 2004 in Minnesota, but after three ineffective relief appearances was sold to Boston. As a Twin, he appeared in 11 games, five of them starts, and went 0-3, 9.89 in 23.2 innings. He pitched briefly in AAA for the Red Sox and then went to Japan. He tried to come back to the United States in 2007, signing with the Mariners, but after a mediocre season in AAA he was released and it appeared his chances for a big league career had ended. He then went to Korea, where he became a star closer in the Korean league, setting a record for saves. He also pitched in the 2009 World Baseball Classic for Australia. After the 2009 campaign, he signed with Detroit and surprisingly enough made the team in 2010. Even more surprisingly, he didn’t do too badly, going 6-2, 3.89 in 49 appearances, two of them starts. He was injured for most of 2011 and did not pitch well in the majors when he did pitch, although he did not do too badly in eight AAA appearances.  He was a free agent after the 2011 season and went unsigned.  He played in Taiwan from 2012-2014, pitching for the Brother Elephants.  At last report, Brad Thomas had returned to Australia and had a number of business interests, including Brad Thomas' Big League Xperience Baseball Academy, Tickled Pink Travel, and The Core Group, which appears to be involved in mineral processing.

Catcher Dustin Eli Whiteside never played for the Twins, but he was in their farm system for a time. Born in New Albany, Mississippi, he attended Delta State University, and then was drafted by the Orioles in the sixth round in 2001. Whiteside never hit much in the minors, although he did hit 18 homers with AA Bowie in 2004. He reached AAA in 2005, and played in nine games for the Orioles that year, going 3-for-12. He went back to the Orioles' minor-league system for the next two years, becoming a free agent after the 2007 season. The Twins signed him and sent him to Rochester for 2008, but he was released at the end of April. Signed by the Giants, he came back to the majors with them at the end of May, and was their reserve catcher the rest of the season. As such, he caught a no-hitter by Jonathan Sanchez and hit his first major league home run, a grand slam. In 2010 he played his first full season in the majors at age 30.  He slumped to .197 as a part-time catcher in 2011, however, and spent most of 2012 in AAA, appearing in only twelve major league games.  He had an eventful off-season following 2012:  he was waived by the Giants in November and claimed by the Yankees, waived by the Yankees in December and claimed by Toronto, then waived by Toronto the same day and claimed by Texas.  He spent the year at AAA Round Rock but hit only .187 as a part-time catcher.  A free agent again after the 2013 season, he signed with the Cubs and got back to the majors again for about two weeks in 2014.  He signed with Atlanta for 2015, but chose instead to become the bullpen catcher for the San Francisco Giants.  He retained that job through 2017 but does not appear to have held it after that.  in 2021, however, he returned to the Giants as a roving minor league catching instructor.