February 17

Pat Pieper (1886)

Nemo Leibold (1892)

Wally Pipp (1893)

Ed Brandt (1905)

Red Barber (1908)

Rod Dedeaux (1914)

Roger Craig (1930)

Cliff Gustafson (1931)

Dick Bosman (1944)

Dave Roberts (1951)

Jamie Easterly (1953)

Mike Hart (1958)

Michael Jordan (1963)

Buster Olney (1964)

Cody Ransom (1976)

Scott Williamson (1976)

Juan Padilla (1977)

Josh Willingham (1979)

Pat Pieper was the public address announcer for the Chicago Cubs from 1916-1974.  For the first sixteen of those years, he made the announcements with a megaphone.

Rod Dedeaux and Cliff Gustafson were highly successful college baseball coaches, Dedeaux with USC and Gustafson with Texas.

Already known as a basketball star, Michael Jordan played one year of minor league baseball for AA Birmingham in the White Sox organization before returning to the less-challenging sport.

Buster Olney has covered baseball for many years, most prominently on ESPN.

Outfielder Michael Lawrence Hart played in thirteen games for the Twins in 1984.  Born in Milwaukee, he attended the University of Wisconsin and was drafted by Seattle in the 13th round in 1979.  He was in the Mariners' organization for four years.  The best of those years was 1980, when he hit .298 with an OBP of .402 for AA Lynn.  He did not duplicate those numbers in two years at AAA, but he still had a couple of decent seasons.  They were not good enough for the Mariners, however, and Hart was released after the 1982 season.  He signed with the Twins and was in their organization for three years.  He spent all of those years at AAA Toledo, with the exception of about six weeks in May and June of 1984.  He developed some power in Toledo, hitting 24 homers in 1985.  His averages were decent, but nothing to get excited about.  He got only 29 at-bats with the Twins, going 5-for-29 with a walk.  At the end of March, 1986, the Twins traded Hart to Baltimore for Ben Bianchi, Steve Padilla, and a player to be named later (Jeff Hubbard).  He was with AAA Rochester for two years, again hitting decently but not exceptionally.  He got another month and a half in the majors in 1987, getting 76 at-bats, but did not hit any better than he had for the Twins.  Hart's playing career came to and after the 1987 season.  Hart then went into coaching.  He was the head coach at Greenfield (Wisconsin) High School from 1988-1993 and was AAU coach for West Allis and Greendale (Wisconsin) from 1994-2000.  More recently, Mike Hart has been an assistant baseball coach at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  He then was a physical education teacher at Greenfield Middle School in Greenfield, Wisconsin until his retirement.

Right-handed reliever Juan Miguel Padilla did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them.  He was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, but attended Jacksonville University, one of eight major league players that University has produced.  He was drafted by the Twins in the 24th round in 1998.  He was in the Twins' system for six years posting an ERA under 3.5 every year except 1999, when he was overmatched in AA at age 22.  He saved 29 games and had an ERA of 3.31 in 65 innings at New Britain in 2002, and went 7-4, 3.36 with six saves in 91 innings for Rochester in 2003.  After the 2003 season, the Twins sent him to the Yankees as the player to be named later in their trade for Jesse Orosco.  Padilla had another fine year in AAA and made his major league debut in 2004, playing for the Yankees for two weeks in July.  He did pretty okay, posting a 3.97 ERA in 11.1 innings, but was placed on waivers in early September and claimed by Cincinnati, for whom he finished the season.  He became a free agent again after the season and signed with the Mets.  Padilla was having another excellent year in AAA when he was called up in mid-July of 2005.  He pitched very well for the Mets, going 3-1, 1.49 with a 1.02 WHIP in 36.1 innings.  Unfortunately, what could have been a positive turning point in his career became a negative one:  Padilla was injured, needed Tommy John surgery, and did not pitch for two years.  He was not the same pitcher when he tried to come back in 2008.  He pitched poorly in the minors for the Mets and was released in mid-July.  He then pitched in the Can-Am League through 2010 and did quite well.  In 2011 he pitched in the Atlantic League and in the Mexican League and did not do as well.  He continued to play winter ball for a couple of years, but then his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Juan Padilla was a staff cloud systems engineer for Leidos.  He also is a certified firearm safety instructor and owns JP's Tactical and Training in Westminster, Maryland.

Outfielder Joshua David Willingham played for the Twins from 2012-2014.  Born and raised in Florence, Alabama, he attended the University of North Alabama and was drafted by Florida in the seventeenth round in 2000.  His first couple of years in the minors were nothing special, although he did show an ability to draw walks early on.  His power started to develop in 2002, when he hit seventeen homers in the Florida State League.  He has never failed to hit double-digit home runs since then.  The Marlins brought him along very slowly.  He did not reach AA until 2003 and then had to spend all but a few weeks of 2004 there despite an OPS of over a thousand.  He was in the majors for those few weeks, but was in AAA almost all of 2005.  Defensive struggles may have been the reason he did not progress faster; he was tried at first and third base and at catcher in the minors.  An OPS of over a thousand again in 2005 got him a September call-up, and he never went back to the minors.  He was the Marlins’ regular left fielder from 2006-2008, putting up unspectacular but very solid numbers.  He was traded to Washington at the end of the 2008 season and played two season of outfield there, mostly in left.  He continued to be productive, but was traded again after the 2010 season, this time to Oakland, where he had another solid season.  A free agent after the 2011 season, he signed with Minnesota for 2012 and turned in his best season, going .260/.366/.542 with 35 homers and 110 RBIs and winning a Silver Slugger Award.  That was his last hurrah, however.  In 2013 he battled injuries and turned in the worst season of his career.   He was not much better in 2014 and was traded to Kansas City in August for Jason Adam.  He did little for the Royals, became a free agent after the season, and retired to his hometown of Florence.  He has founded the Josh Willingham Foundation to raise money for various projects that benefit children in Alabama.  He became the baseball coach for Mars Hill Bible School in Florence in 2022.

February 16

Alex Ferguson (1897)
Logan Hensley (1900)
Creepy Crespi (1918)
Atsushi Aramaki (1926)
Bobby Darwin (1943)
Terry Crowley (1947)
Bob Didier (1949)
Glenn Abbott (1951)
Jerry Hairston (1952)
Barry Foote (1952)
Bill Pecota (1960)
Eric Bullock (1960)
Dwayne Henry (1962)
Jerome Bettis (1972)
Eric Byrnes (1976)
Tommy Milone (1987)
Jeff Brigham (1992)
Marco Gonzales (1992)

Atsushi Aramaki was a dominant pitcher in Japan in the 1950s and is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.

Better known as an NFL running back, Jerome Bettis is a part-owner of the Altoona Curve and the State College Spikes.

Outfielder Arthur Bobby Lee Darwin played for the Twins in the early-to-mid 1970s. Born in Los Angeles, he attended high school in Watts and was signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Angels in 1962. The signing was not as outfielder, but as a pitcher. He made his big-league debut that same year, getting a September call-up and pitching 3.1 innings. He also batted once and struck out, which was a sign of things to come. It would be seven years before he made a major league appearance again. Based on sporadic minor-league records, he appears to have struck out quite a few batters, but also walked a lot of batters. He spent five years in the Baltimore system, never getting higher than AA. He had a good year for AA Elmira in 1968, going 10-6, 2.21 with a 1.12 WHIP. At that point, Darwin was left unprotected and was selected by the Dodgers in the Rule 5 draft. He started 1969 with the Dodgers, but pitched sporadically and poorly, and did no better when he was sent to AAA. He was now 27 years old and did not appear to be a prospect at all, but apparently someone noticed that this Darwin kid was a pretty fair hitter, and moved him to the outfield. He spent two years in the minors working on his batting, playing in the big leagues for a little over a month in 1971. After the season was over, the Dodgers traded Darwin to the Twins for Paul Powell. Minnesota immediately made him a starting outfielder, initially putting him in center, then shifting him to right. He showed some power, averaging over twenty homers per season, and did well when he made contact. Making contact, however, was the problem: Darwin led the league in strikeouts every year that he was a regular player. As a Twin, Bobby Darwin hit .257/.318/.417 in 1,817 at-bats, striking out 453 times. In June of 1975, with Darwin off to a slow start, the Twins traded him to Milwaukee for Johnny Briggs. The Brewers gave Darwin a chance as a regular, but gradually reduced his playing time. He was traded to the Red Sox in June of 1976, was traded to the Cubs in May of 1977, and was released in August, ending his career. Still, for a guy who went undrafted and spent his first eight professional years trying to be a pitcher, Bobby Darwin didn't do too badly. His grandson, Andrew Darwin, was selected in the 2008 amateur draft, but apparently did not sign. An internet search for Bobby Darwin leads to information about singer Bobby Darin and about a song by country artist Tracy Lawrence called "Bobby Darwin's Daughter." Upon ending his playing career, however, our Bobby Darwin became a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers, a job he held for many years until his retirement.  At last report, he was living in Los Angeles.

Outfielder/first baseman/designated hitter Terrence Michael Crowley did not play for the Twins, but was their hitting coach from 1991-1998. He was born in Staten Island, New York, went to high school there. He attended the Brooklyn campus of Long Island University and was drafted by Baltimore in the eleventh round in 1966. He was decent, but nothing to attract anyone's attention, until 1969, when he hit .282 with 28 homers for AAA Rochester. That earned him a September call-up, and in 1970 Crowley got his first full year in the big leagues as a bench player, batting .257 with five homers in 152 at-bats. He was used almost exclusively against right-handed pitching, a pattern which would hold throughout his career. In 1971 Crowley took a step backward, going to AAA for most of the year, although he spent about six weeks in Baltimore, where he was used almost entirely as a pinch-hitter. In 1972 he was back in the majors and got the most playing time he would get in a big league season, playing in 97 games and batting 247 times. He hit only .231, although he did hit 11 home runs. His playing time was roughly cut in half in 1973, his production fell, and he was sold to Texas after the season. Crowley never played a game for the Rangers, though--he was sold again, this time to Cincinnati, just before the season. He was used primarily as a pinch-hitter for the Reds for two years, and did about as well as one could expect in that role. He was traded to Atlanta in April of 1976, was released in early May after getting only six at-bats, and three weeks later re-signed with Baltimore. He spent part of 1976 and most of 1977 in Rochester (hitting .308 there in 1977), then was a reserve for the Orioles through 1982. His best year was 1980, when he hit .288 with 12 home runs in 233 at-bats. Crowley was released by the Orioles just before the 1983 season, signed with Montreal, and retired after the season. He became the Baltimore batting coach in 1985, was the batting coach for the Twins from 1991 through 1998, and then went back to Baltimore, where he was the batting coach through 2010. After that, he opted for semi-retirement, agreeing to serve as a special advisor and roving minor-league coach for the Orioles in 2011. In June, however, he became the Orioles’ bullpen coach, replacing Rick Adair, who became the pitching coach. He returned to his role as a special advisor for the Orioles in 2012 and remained in that role until his retirement.  He was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 2024.

Outfielder Eric Gerald Bullock got seventeen at-bats for the Twins in 1988. He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in South Gate, California, and was drafted by Houston in the first round of the secondary phase of the 1981 draft. He hit for a high average with a fair number of doubles throughout the minor leagues. In 1985, he hit .319 at AAA Tucson, and hit .384 there in 1986 (though in only 151 at-bats). The Astros were reluctant to give him a chance, however; in both years he was briefly in the majors, but got only a total of 46 at-bats. Once again sent back to AAA in 1987, he was having a down year when he was traded to Minnesota for Clay Christiansen in June. The Twins left Bullock in AAA the rest of that year and most of 1988, but brought him to the majors in late July. He was used almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter, playing in 16 games and getting 17 at-bats. He went 5-for-17 with three walks and no extra-base hits. After the season, Bullock was traded to Philadelphia with Tom Herr and Tom Nieto for Shane Rawley. He had another decent year in AAA, batted four times in the majors, and became a free agent after the 1989 season. He signed with Montreal for 1990, had another decent year, and got two more at-bats in the majors. Finally, in 1991, Eric Bullock got a full year in the majors. Again, he was used almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter, playing in 73 games but coming to bat only 82 times. He began 1992 in in the majors as well, but was sent down at the end of April after only five at-bats. He would never return to the big leagues: he was at AAA for the Expos for the remainder of the season, went to the Mets' organization for 1993, was out of baseball in 1994, and went to the Padres' organization in 1995 before his career came to an end. A lifetime .294 hitter in the minors, he never got more than 72 at-bats in a major league season. He did some minor league coaching in 1999 for Ft. Wayne. At last report, Eric Bullock was an operations supervisor for DHL Supply Chain, a National Personal Training Institute in Glendale, Arizona.

Left-hander Tomaso Anthony Milone pitched for the Twins from 2014-2016. Born and raised in Saugus, California, he attended USC and was drafted by Washington in the tenth round in 2008. He showed an inability to win that season, going 1-6 in Class A despite a 3.51 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He found the ability to win the next season, going 12-5 in Class A in 2009, 12-5 in AA in 2010, and 12-6 in AAA in 2011, posting excellent ERAs and WHIPs in each season. He made his major league debut in 2011 as a September call-up and did well in five starts, going 1-0, 3.81, 1.23 WHIP in 26 innings. The Nationals traded him to Oakland as part of a multi-player deal that off-season and he was in the Athletics' starting rotation all of 2012 and 2013. He did well both years, going a combined 25-19, 3.92, 1.28 WHIP. He started 2014 in the Athletics' starting rotation and was again pitching well but Oakland soured on him, sending him down at the all-star break and trading him to Minnesota at the end of July for Sam Fuld. After one AAA start the Twins brought him up and placed him in the starting rotation, where he made one decent start and four pretty bad ones. It was mystifying how someone who had such a track record of success in the majors could suddenly become so awful. The mystery was solved when it was revealed that he had been trying pitch through a neck injury, a plan that worked out about as well as it usually does. He pitched well for the Twins in twenty-three starts in 2015. After that season, we wrote, "There's no reason Tommy Milone should not be in the starting rotation for the Twins in 2016." Well, he was, but he didn't stay there. He made four not-very-good starts in April, was sent to the bullpen and then to the minors, came back to the rotation in late June, made three fairly good starts and four not-good ones, went back to the bullpen and then back to the minors, and finished out the season in the Twins' bullpen. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Milwaukee. He made six appearances with them, was waived in early May, and was claimed by the Mets. He battled a knee injury the rest of the season, making just eleven appearances, and became a free agent. He signed a minor league contract with Washington for 2018 and spent most of the year at AAA, making five appearances with the Nationals. He signed with Seattle for 2019 and was in the majors most of the season, pitching well at times but also giving up a lot of home runs. He signed with Baltimore for 2020 and did well in six starts, but did poorly when traded to Atlanta at the end of August. He was released at the end of the season, signed with Toronto for 2021, pitched well in AAA but poorly in the majors, was released in August, signed with Cincinnati, and pitched poorly in three AAA starts. He signed with Seattle for 2022 and pitched well in AAA, but not in seven appearances with the Mariners. In 2023 it was the reverse--he pitched poorly in AAA but did well in two appearances with Seattle.  A free agent after the season he pitched in Mexico in 2024 and did not do very well, bringing his playing career to an end. As a Twin, Tommy Milone was 12-11, 4.79, 1.45 WHIP.  No information about what he has done since 2024 was readily available.

Right-hander Jeff John Brigham did not play for the Twins, but was in AAA for them in 2024.  He was born in Federal Way, Washington, went to high school in Auburn, Washington, attended the University of Washington, and was drafted by the Dodgers in the fourth round in 2014.  He wasn't with the Dodgers long, as he was traded to Miami at the 2015 deadline.  He was a starting pitcher for much of his minor league career.  Injuries limited him to just eleven high-A starts in 2017, but he did well in them, and had a fine 2018 split between AA and AAA.  He reached the majors that season as a September call-up, making four starts with the Marlins which did not go very well.  He moved to the bullpen in 2019 and was excellent in AAA, but was pretty average in the majors.  He made just one appearance in the 2020 COVID season and missed all of 2021 due to injury.  His 2022 was again split between AAA and the majors, and he pitched well in both spots.  At this writing, however, that was his last good season.  He was traded to the Mets after the season.  He started 2023 in the majors and pitched well at times, but could not sustain it and was worse when sent to AAA.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Minnesota and spent 2024 in AAA St. Paul, where he didn't get a lot accomplished.  He signed with Arizona for 2025, had a poor year in AAA, and did worse in four major league appearances.  He signed with the Cubs for 2026.  He turns thirty-four today.  There's obviously something about him that teams like, but he's really only had one good half-season in the majors in all that time.  His major league numbers are 4-10, 4.85, 1.37 WHIP in 120.2 innings.  We wish him well, and he has a great first name, but it seems like he's probably about out of chances.

February 15

Sliding Billy Hamilton (1866)
Charlie Irwin (1869)
Jimmy Ring (1895)
George Earnshaw (1900)
Larry Goetz (1900)
Lorenzo Ponza (1915)
Chuck Estrada (1938)
Ron Cey (1948)
Rick Auerbach (1950)
Joe Hesketh (1959)
Mark Davidson (1961)
Melido Perez (1966)
Ugueth Urbina (1974)
Alex Gonzalez (1977)
Luis Ugueto (1979)
Russell Martin (1983)
Johnny Cueto (1986)
Mark Canha (1989)
Tzu-Wei Lin (1994)

Lorenzo Ponza invented the modern pitching machine.

Larry Goetz was a National League umpire from 1936-1957.

Outfielder John Mark Davidson played for the Twins from 1986-1988.  His father, Max Davidson, was a minor league outfielder from 1947-1954.  Mark Davidson was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and attended both the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Clemson.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the eleventh round in 1982.  He was up and down in the minors, but got people's attention in 1985, when he hit .302 with 25 home runs for AA Orlando.  He did not do as well in 1986, when he was promoted to AAA, but still was with Minnesota for about two months as a reserve outfielder.  He did nothing that year, batting only .118 in 68 at-bats, but was with the Twins for all of 1987 and most of 1988.  He was decent as a reserve in 1987, batting .267, but fell to .217 in 1988.  Davidson started 1989 in the minors, then was traded to Houston in May for a player to be named later (Greg Johnson).  Houston initially kept him in AAA, but brought him to the majors for the second half of the season.  He split 1990 between AAA and the majors and was with Houston all of 1991 (always as a reserve).  He became a free agent after the season and signed with the Cleveland organization, spending two years at AAA before ending his playing career.  As a Twin, Mark Davidson hit .219/.283/.287 in 324 at-bats spread over three seasons.  At last report, Mark Davidson was living in Statesville, North Carolina and was working in marketing for Wikoff Color Corporation, which makes packaging and containers.  His son, infielder Logan Davidson, reached the majors in 2025, playing for Sacramento and the Angels.

Infielder Luis Enrique Ugueto did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 2007.  He was born in Caracas, Venezuela, went to high school in Maracay, Venezuela, and signed with Florida as a free agent in 1996.  He had no power, and while he had some decent minor league batting averages, he did not hit for a terribly high average.  He stole some bases, but not a huge number, and did not draw a ton of walks, either.  He was considered a tremendous defensive player, however, and because of that he played in the minors for quite a few years.  He stayed in rookie and A ball through 2001, hitting a combined .243.  His last year in Class A, he hit .263/.330/.342.  After the 2001 season, he was selected by Pittsburgh in the Rule 5 draft and was sold to Seattle the same day.  He spent the 2002 season in the majors but was used mostly as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement, appearing in 62 games but making only 25 plate appearances.  He was in the majors for about a month in 2003 in a similar role, appearing in twelve games and getting six plate appearances.  He was in AAA for the Mariners in 2004 and actually had the best year of his career, hitting .271/.341/.440 in Tacoma, but it was not good enough.  He became a free agent after the season and was in AAA with Kansas City in 2005; however, he was suspended twice for using performance-enhancing drugs and was released in August.  He played in Taiwan in 2006; then the Twins signed him in 2007.  He was mostly in Ft. Myers, appearing in seven games for Rochester, and hit a combined .223/.288/.299.  He played in Italy in 2008 and for Laredo in the independent United Baseball League in 2009.  It is unclear what he was doing in 2010, but in 2011 he played briefly for Yuma of the North American League.  He played for Anzoategui in the Venezuelan league that winter, but did not catch on with anyone for 2012.  He continued to play winter ball for a couple more years, but then his playing career came to an end.  His major league record is .214/.290/.321 in 74 games (28 at-bats).  He was managing Aragua in the Venezuelan League, but was let go in November of 2021.  He was a coach in the Braves organization in 2023-2024.  At last report, he was a coach for Magallanes in the Venezuelan League.

Utility player Tzu-Wei Lin played three innings for the Twins in 2021.  He was born in Kaohsiung County, Taiwan, and signed with Boston as a free agent in 2012.  He started out as a shortstop, but started playing a variety of positions in 2016.  He did not hit much, even in the low minors, never posting an OPS as high as .700 through 2016.  He was however, still pretty young.  He finally had a good offensive season in AA in 2017, although he did not hit when promoted to AAA that year.  Still, he spent about a month and a half in the majors in 2017 and did fairly well.  In 2018 it clicked for him at AAA, as he batted .307 with an OPS of .810 in 277 at-bats.  He was in the majors the rest of the season as a reserve and again did okay, batting .246 with an OPS of .744.  That's as good as it's been for him so far, though.  He started 2019 in the majors, but played little and didn't do much when he did play.  Sent back to AAA, he didn't hit there, either.  He was in the majors in all of the shortened 2020 season, but batted just .154 in 52 at-bats.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with the Twins.  He played in seven games in AAA and in one game in the majors, going to left field in the eighth inning of a game in Cleveland on April 26, but not coming to bat.  He missed the rest of the season due to injury and once again became a free agent after the season.  He signed with the Mets for 2022, hit poorly in AAA, and was released in mid-August.  He finished out the season playing for Long Island in the Atlantic League and had a strong year in Australia over the off-season.   He was back in Long Island at the start of 2023, then went to Taiwan, where he has played for Rakuten and has not hit much. He turns thirty-two today.  His major league numbers are .223/.298/.316 in 193 at-bats.  Perhaps he'll stay with Rakuten, or perhaps he'll go back to the Atlantic League, where he has hit well in the past.  But the chances of him ever playing in the major leagues again are slim to non-existent.

February 14

Joe Gerhardt (1855)

Arthur Irwin (1858)

Pretzels Getzien (1864)

Morgan Murphy (1867)

Candy LaChance (1870)

Bob Quinn (1870)

Earl Smith (1897)

Frank Duncan (1901)

Mel Allen (1913)

Red Barrett (1915)

Len Gabrielson (1940)

Ken Levine (1950)

Larry Milbourne (1951)

Will McEnaney (1952)

Dave Dravecky (1956)

Alejandro Sanchez (1959)

John Marzano (1963)

Kelly Stinnett (1970)

Damaso Marte (1975)

Tyler Clippard (1985)

Brooks Lee (2001)

Bob Quinn was a long-time executive for the St. Louis Browns, the Boston Red Sox, and the Boston Braves.  He was later the director of the Hall of Fame.

Ken Levine has been a broadcaster for Baltimore, San Diego, and Seattle.  He has also worked on a number of television programs, notably including "Cheers" and "Frazier".

John Marzano was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 1981, but he did not sign.

There have been eight major league players with the last name "Valentine".  The most recent was Joe Valentine, a reliever for Cincinnati from 2003-05.  The best was Ellis Valentine, who played from 1975-83 and 1985, mostly for Montreal.  One became a manager, Bobby Valentine.

Infielder Lawrence William Milbourne played for the Twins for a little less than two months in 1982.  Born in Port Norris, New Jersey, he signed with Baltimore as a free agent in 1969.  He hit .305 in rookie ball, but that wasn't enough to satisfy the Orioles, who released him the next spring.  Milbourne was out of baseball in 1970, but signed with San Francisco for 1971.  He hit .301 in Class A and was selected by California that November in the Rule 5 draft.  Something was apparently worked out, because he was in AA for 1972.  Left unprotected again, he was selected by St. Louis in the next year's Rule 5 draft.  Again, something must have been worked out, because he was in AAA for 1973.  It was deja vu all over again that November; he was left unprotected and chosen in the Rule 5 draft, this time by Houston.  He stayed in the big leagues all of 1974, but was seldom used, getting most of his playing time as a defensive replacement for Tommy Helms.  He split the 1975 and 1976 seasons between Houston and AAA, getting about 150 major league at-bats both years.  Milbourne was traded to Seattle just before the 1977 season.  That trade enabled him to stick in the big leagues, as he was a reserve infielder for the Mariners for four seasons.  His best year as a Mariner was 1979, when he hit .278 in 356 at-bats.  Seattle traded Milbourne to the Yankees in November of 1980.  He had his highest average in the big leagues as a Yankee in 1981, hitting .313 in 163 at-bats.  In May of 1982, the Yankees sent Milbourne, Pete Filson, John Pacella, and cash to Minnesota for Roger Erickson and Butch Wynegar.  He was the Twins' starting second baseman for about a month but didn't hit, lost the job, and was traded to Cleveland on July 3 for Larry Littleton.  As a Twin, Larry Milbourne hit .235/.283/.265 in 98 at-bats.  He was the regular second baseman for Cleveland for the rest of the season and hit .275, but was sold to Philadelphia in 1983.  He was sold back to the Yankees in July of 1983, and was traded back to Seattle before the 1984 season.  He was a reserve infielder for the Mariners for all of 1984, went back to the minors in 1985, and was released in August, ending his career.  He then went into minor league coaching and managing, coaching for the Mets in the late 1980s and managing in the St. Louis organization in the early 1990s.  He also played in the Seniors' League in the late 1980s.  After that, however, Milbourne appears to have left baseball, and at last report was living in Vineland, New Jersey.  He is a member of the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame.

Outfielder Alejandro (Pimentel) Sanchez got 16 at-bats with the Twins in 1986.  He was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, and signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in 1978.  He gradually worked his way through the Phillies' system, making his mark by batting .306 with 13 homers for AAA Oklahoma City in 1982.  That got him a September call-up.  He started 1983 with Philadelphia, but played in only two games, batting once, before being sent back to the minors.  He had a poor year there, but still got another September call-up.  It was his swan song in Philadelphia, however, as he was traded to San Francisco during spring training of 1984.  Sanchez had a tremendous year in Phoenix in 1984, hitting .318 with 26 home runs.  That got him a September call-up again, and it also got him another spring training trade, as he was sent to Detroit.  1985 was the closest he came to a full year in the majors, as he came up in late April and stayed the rest of the season.  He was strictly a reserve, however, batting only 133 times and hitting .248, although with six home runs.  In the off-season, Sanchez was sent to Minnesota with Chris Pittaro for Dave Engle.  He started the 1986 season with the Twins but played in only eight games in a month, going 2-for-16, before being sent back to AAA.  He became a free agent again after the season and signed with Oakland.  He hit .310 at AAA in 1987, but got only three at-bats in the big leagues, the last three he would have.  He was in AAA all of 1988, and then his playing career seemingly came to an end.  In 1997, however, he made a comeback of sorts, playing for two years in independent leagues before retiring again in 1998, this time for good.  At last report, Alejandro Sanchez had returned to the Dominican Republic.

Right-hander Tyler Lee Clippard pitched for the Twins in 2020.  He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, went to high school in New Port Richey, Florida, and was drafted by the Yankees in the ninth round in 2003.  He reached AA in 2006, AAA in 2007, and made six starts for the Yankees in 2007 as a twenty-two-year-old, not doing very well.  He was traded to Washington after the season and spent almost all of 2008 in AAA, making just two starts for the Nationals.  The Nationals converted him to relieving in 2009 and he took to it immediately, dominating the International League before being promoted to the majors in late June.  He was a solid reliever for Washington through the 2014 season.  He got one shot at being a closer, in 2012 and it was his worst season with the Nationals, although it certainly wasn't awful:  2-6, 3.72, 1.16 WHIP.  He then started moving around.  He was traded to Oakland for 2015 and traded to the Mets at the July deadline that year.  He signed with Arizona as a free agent for 2016 and was traded to the Yankees at that year's July deadline.  He started 2017 with the Yankees but was again traded in July, this time to the White Sox.  A few weeks later he was traded again, to Houston.  He was with Toronto in 2018 and with Cleveland in 2019.  He struggled in 2017 but otherwise was a fine reliever through all those moves.  He signed with Minnesota  for 2020 and was again a fine reliever, going 2-1, 2.77, 0.89 WHIP with 26 strikeouts in 26 innings (and 26 games).  A free agent again, he signed with Arizona for 2021.  He missed half the season due to injury, but once healthy he had another fine year.  A free agent once more, he signed with Washington for 2022.  He went to AAA and had a good year there, but struggled in four major league appearances and was released in late August.  It seemed like he still might have been able to help someone, but apparently no one who mattered thought so, because his playing career ended at that point.  At last report, Tyler Clippard was living in Tampa, Florida.

Infielder Brooks Thomas Lee has played for the Twins since 2024.  Born and raised in San Luis Obispo, California, he attended Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and was drafted by the Twins with the eighth pick of the first round in 2022.  After an outstanding college career, he went to Class A in 2022 and did very well in AA in 2023, though he struggled when promoted to AAA.  He had an excellent AAA season in 2024, however, and reached the majors in July.  Other than a rehab assignment, he spent all of 2025 in Minnesota, playing mostly shortstop but also seeing substantial time at second and third.  He has not hit well so far in his major league career, batting .232/.279/.357 in 659 at-bats.  His minor league numbers are substantially better than that, and as he turns twenty-five today he still has some time to improve.  It appears he will play an important part in the Twins infield in 2026.

February 13

Chick Fulmer (1851)

Bill Bradley (1878)

Hal Chase (1883)

Eddie Foster (1887)

Marvin Barker (1912)

Sal Bando (1944)

Donnie Moore (1954)

Jerry Browne (1966)

Matt Mieske (1968)

Kevin Stocker (1970)

Howie Clark (1974)

Nathan Eovaldi (1990)

Gilberto Celestino (1999)

Nathan Eovaldi is the only player in major league history whose last name begins with "Eo".

Infielder Howard Roddy Clark had eight at-bats for the Twins in 2008.  Born in Huntington Beach, California, Clark was drafted by Baltimore in the 27th round in 1992.  He advanced slowly through the Orioles minor league system, spending two years in rookie ball, two years at Class A, and two years in AA before making his AAA debut in 1998.  He then went back-and-forth between AA and AAA from 1998-2000.  Along the way, he posted solid but unspectacular numbers.  He had a good batting average, hit a good number of doubles, and had a far number of walks, but appears to have lacked any one outstanding skill that would have attracted the attention of the Orioles' front office.  Clark became a minor-league free agent after the 2000 season and went unsigned, playing in the Mexican League and the independent Western League.  He rejoined the Orioles in 2002, went to Rochester, and hit .309.  He finally made his major league debut that season, spending about three weeks with the Orioles.  Clark became a free agent again after the season and signed with Toronto.  He was in the Blue Jays organization in both 2003 and 2004, staying in the majors for about half of each season.  He was in AAA for Pittsburgh in 2005, for Baltimore in 2006 (getting seven big league at-bats), went to 2007 spring training with San Diego, was released, signed with Toronto in May, got two more months in the big leagues, and signed with the Twins for 2008.  According to the Mitchell Report, it was in 2005 that Clark used performance enhancing drugs, although they don't seem to have particularly helped him.  At any rate, Clark hit .293 in 2008 for Rochester, and was with the Twins for about a week in May.  As a Twin, Howie Clark went 2-for-8, with both his hits being doubles.  A free agent again after the season, Clark went back to the Blue Jays' organization for 2009 and was in AAA all season.  He re-signed with Toronto for 2010, was sent to AAA, but did not play and was released in early May.  He was out of baseball the rest of the season.  He tried to come back in the Mexican League in 2011, but did not make a team and his playing career ended.  He then went into coaching.  He was the assistant batting coach of the Baltimore Orioles from 2017-2018.  Howie Clark was going to be the batting coach for the Charlotte Knights (AAA, White Sox) in 2020.  He was the assistant batting coach for the major league White Sox in 2021-2022.  He moved on to the Cardinals organization after that, and will be the batting coach for AAA Springfield in 2026.

Outfielder Gilberto Celestino played for the Twins from 2021-2022. He was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and signed with Houston in 2015.  He put up decent, but not eye-catching, numbers in the low minors until 2018, when he batted .323 with an OPS of .868 in 127 at-bats for low-A Tri-City.  He was then traded to the Twins in July with Jorge Alcala for Ryan Pressly.  He was still just nineteen years old at that point.  He continued to put up decent, but not eye-catching numbers through 2019.  He did not play in 2020, of course, but did very well in 2021 in 49 games of AAA, batting .290 with an OPS of .827.  He did not do so well in 23 major league games, batting just .136.  He was with the Twins for all of 2022 and did better, but still batted just .238 with an OPS of .615.  He was injured in 2023, and had a decent but unspectacular season in AAA when he could play.  A free agent, he signed with Pittsburgh for 2024, and was again decent but unspectacular in AAA before being sold to the Cubs in late July.  He played in just five AAA games for them before being released in mid-August.  He signed with the Mets for 2025 and had a good season in AAA, but did not get a shot at the majors.  He turns twenty-seven today and is a free agent.  In his major league career, all with the Twins, he has batted .222/.292/.300 in 370 at-bats.  He draws some walks, has some speed, and is a good defensive player.  His best chance is to sign a AAA contract and hope someone gets hurt, giving him a chance to be a fourth outfielder.

February 12

Pants Rowland (1878)

Chick Hafey (1903)

Tom Parker (1912)

Dom DiMaggio (1917)

Joe Garagiola (1926)

Pat Dobson (1942)

Mike Martin (1944)

Ray Corbin (1949)

Lenny Randle (1949)

Don "Full Pack" Stanhouse (1951)

Cam Bonifay (1952)

Greg Johnston (1955)

Chet Lemon (1955)

Joe Bitker (1964)

Ryan Lefebvre (1971)

Chris Snyder (1981)

Cole De Vries (1985)

Todd Frazier (1986)

Clarence "Pants' Rowland spent his life in baseball.  A catcher, he went on to manage the Chicago White Sox to the World Championship in 1917.  He was an American League umpire from 1923-1927.  He was also a minor league manager and executive, and was president of the Pacific Coast League from 1944-1954.  He is a member of the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame.

Mike Martin won over 2,000 games as the head coach of Florida State.

Cam Bonifay was the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1993-2001 and is currently working in the Cincinnati organization.

Ryan Lefebvre appeared in six minor league games for the Watertown Indians in 1993.  He was a Twins broadcaster in 1997 and 1998 before moving to Kansas City in 1999, where he has been a broadcaster for the Royals ever since.

Joe Bitker was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in the 1984 January draft, but he did not sign.

This is a great day for players with colorful nicknames.  In addition to those listed above, we have Sweetbread Bailey (1895), Kiddo Davis (1902), Dutch Dietz (1912), Monk Dubiel (1918), and Woody Main (1922).

Right-hander Alton Ray Corbin pitched for the Twins from 1971-1975 and spent his entire professional baseball career with them.  He was born and raised in Live Oak, Florida and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1967.  He was used as both a starter and reliever in his first couple of years in the minors, but became a full-time starter in 1969.  He pitched quite well throughout the minors, and after a good year at AA Charlotte in 1970, he skipped AAA and went right to the majors in 1971 at age 22.  He was briefly in the rotation in June, but was mostly used as a "swing man", starting eleven games and relieving in 41.  He struggled with his control that year, but got better as his career went on.  Corbin started the season in the bullpen in 1972, but joined the rotation in late June and had a fine year, winning only eight games but posting a 2.62 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.  He moved back to the bullpen for most of 1973, starting only seven games, and had another fine year, with an ERA of 3.03 and a WHIP of 1.24.  It went downhill after that, however; used as both a starter and a reliever again, he did not do well in either role.  He had another down year in 1975, was sent back to the minors in July, and was released in May of 1976.  For his career, Ray Corbin was 36-38, 3.84 in 652.1 innings.  He made 181 appearances, 63 of them starts.  One can't help but wonder if he might have had a longer career if the Twins had ever settled on a role for him.  No information about what Ray Corbin is doing now was readily available.

Outfielder Gregory Bernard Johnston played briefly for the Twins in 1980 and 1981.  Born in Los Angeles, he was drafted by San Francisco in the 12th round in 1975.  He advanced a level per year, reaching AAA in 1978.  He hit .296 with moderate power at AAA in 1979, resulting in a promotion to the majors in late July of that year.  He was used primarily as a pinch-hitter, batting .203 in only 74 at-bats.  At the start of the 1980 season, Johnston was purchased by Minnesota.  He again hit .296 with moderate power at AAA, getting  September call-up and hitting .185 in 27 at-bats.  Johnston began 1981 with the Twins, but was sent back to the minors at the end of April after getting only 16 at-bats and hitting .125.  He hit only .235 at AAA Toledo, and his career in the United States came to an end at the age of 26.  As a Twin, Greg Johnston hit .163 in 43 at-bats.  While in the minors, Johnston pitched three innings, giving up no runs and only one hit.  He played in Japan in 1982, but then his playing career ended.  No information about what he has done since then was readily available; in fact, there was a post at city-data.com several years ago in which one of his children was looking for him.

Right-hander Cole William De Vries played for the Twins in 2012-2013.  He was born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, went to high school in Eden Prairie, went to the University of Minnesota, and was signed as a free agent in 2006.  He pitched well in the low minors in 2007 and 2008 but struggled when promoted to New Britain in 2009.  He was shifted to the bullpen in 2010 and did even worse.  As an undrafted free agent who had struggled for two years at AA, his future did not look very promising.  The Twins stuck with him, though, and in 2011, still in the bullpen, he did very well in New Britain and did not do badly when promoted to Rochester.  He went back into the starting rotation for the Red Wings in 2012 and made twelve starts for them, going 3-5, 4.37 but with a 1.21 WHIP.  He then was promoted to Minnesota, and while he didn't blow anybody away he did fairly well.  In seventeen appearances, sixteen of them starts, De Vries went 5-5, 4.11, 1.21 WHIP in 87.2 innings.  In 2013, however, he battled injuries.  He made ten starts in Rochester, pitching poorly, and did not do well in a September call-up to the majors.  He was released after the season and elected to retire.  As a Twin, he was 5-7, 5.08, 1.33 WHIP in 102.2 innings.  At last report, Cole De Vries was living in the Twin Cities and was a realtor with Edina Realty.

February 11

Jimmy Ryan (1863)

Leon Ruffin (1912)

Kenjiro Tamiya (1928)

George Alusik (1935)

Downtown Ollie Brown (1944)

Ben Oglivie (1949)

Tom Veryzer (1953)

Todd Benzinger (1963)

Scott Pose (1967)

J. R. Towles (1984)

Dansby Swanson (1994)

Darren Baker (1999)

Kenjiro Tamiya is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, playing from 1949-1963.  He began as a pitcher, and came within one out of pitching the first perfect game in Nippon Pro Baseball history.  A shoulder injury required him to switch to the outfield in 1952.  He was a seven-time all-star.

Outfielder Scott Vernon Pose did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 1995.  He was born in Davenport, Iowa, went to the University of Arkansas, and was drafted by Cincinnati in the thirty-fourth round in 1989.  He hit for high averages with quite a few walks in the minors, reaching AA in 1991.  He hit .342 in AA Chattanooga in 1992, but was left unprotected after the season and was chosen by Florida in the Rule 5 draft.  He was the starting center fielder in the first game the Marlins ever played, but quickly lost the job and was back in the minors by late April.  He stayed in AAA for several years.  He was released by the Marlins in March of 1994 and signed with Milwaukee.  A free agent after the season, he signed with the Dodgers for 1995 but was released in mid-April.  The Twins signed him on June 1 and sent him to Salt Lake, where he hit .310/.395/.364 in 203 at-bats.  He was a free agent again after the season, signed with Cleveland for 1996, but was traded to Toronto during spring training.  He was once again a free agent after the season and signed with the Yankees for 1997.  He actually spent most of that season in the big leagues as a reserve outfielder, hitting .218 in 87 at-bats.  He stayed in the Yankees’ organization in 1998, then moved on again, this time to Kansas City.  He spent two full seasons in the majors with the Royals, his only two full seasons in the majors, but was basically a defensive replacement, appearing in 133 games but getting only 185 at-bats.  He was in AAA for Houston in 2001 and for Texas and the Dodgers in 2002, after which his playing career ended.  At last report, Scott Pose was living in the Raleigh-Durham area.  He was a baseball analyst for the Big Ten Network and for the Durham Bulls.  He was also a regional sales manager for Coloplast, which develops products and services that make life easier for people with very personal and private medical conditions.

Catcher Justin Richard (J. R.) Towles did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 2012.  Born and raised in Crosby, Texas, he attended Collin College in Dallas and North Central Community College in Gainesville, Texas before being drafted by Colorado in the twentieth round in 2004.  He hit very well in Class A in 2005 but for some reason, possibly having to do with defense, he was made to repeat Class A in 2006.  He had another fine year and continued to hit well when promoted to AA in 2007 and made his major league debut that year as a September call-up.  He began 2008 as the Astros starting catcher but did not hit, getting sent back to AAA in early June.  That was the pattern for the rest of his time with the Astros:  he would hit well in the minors, but do nothing in the majors.  He became a free agent after the 2011 season, signed with Minnesota, and was sent to Rochester.  The Red Wings had quite the catching crew that year:  Towles, Drew Butera, and Rene Rivera, with a few games by Danny Lehmann thrown in.  If you can't rise to the top among that crew, it's not a good sign for your career, and Towles couldn't:  he hit .214/.280/.315 in 168 at-bats.  He bounced around after that, playing in AAA for St. Louis and Los Angeles in 2013, starting 2014 with Bridgeport, signing with Texas in late August, and becoming a free agent after the season.  He did not sign with anyone, bringing his playing career to an end.  His major league stats all came in his five partial seasons with Houston, ending in 2011:  he hit .187/.267/.315 in 428 at-bats.  He is a member of the Lexington Legends Hall of Fame.  At last report, J. R. Towles was a coach with Drillbit Roughnecks youth baseball in the Houston area.