February 3

Lou Criger (1872)

Slim Sallee (1885)

Larry MacPhail (1890)

Joe Stripp (1903)

Buck Ross (1915)

Dick Tracewski (1935)

Joe Coleman (1947)

Bake McBride (1949)

Fred Lynn (1952)

Ronald Williamson (1953)

Fred Toliver (1961)

Joe Klink (1962)

Scott Klingenbeck (1971)

Skip Schumaker (1980)

B. J. Garbe (1981)

Lucas Duda (1986)

Brooks Kriske (1994)

Rougned Odor (1994)

Larry MacPhail was the general manager of Cincinnati (1933-36) and Brooklyn (1938-42) and was president and part-owner of the Yankees (1946-47).  His son Lee MacPhail was president of the American League and his grandson Andy MacPhail was the general manager of the Twins (1985-94) and the president of the Cubs (2000-02), the Orioles (2007-2015), and the Phillies (2015-2020).

Ronald Williamson was a catcher in the Oakland organization from 1971-1973.  In 1988, he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death.  He was cleared in 1999 through DNA testing and became the subject of John Grisham’s first non-fiction book, “The Innocent Man.”  Williamson passed away from cirrhosis in 2004.

Outfielder B. J. Garbe was chosen by the Twins with the fifth pick of the 1999 draft.  He was with the Twins through 2004, ended his career in 2006, and never got higher than AA.

Right-hander Freddie Lee Toliver was with Minnesota from 1988-1989.  He was born in Natchez, Mississippi, but went to high school in San Gorgonio, California.  The Yankees drafted Toliver in the third round in 1979.  He was in the Yankees' organization for three years, pitching pretty well but never rising higher than Class A.  After the 1981 season, Toliver was sent to Cincinnati in a deal that brought Ken Griffey (Senior) to New York.  He was promoted to AAA in 1982, got a September call-up in 1984, and had his first good year at AAA in 1985, going 11-3, 3.24 in Denver.  In August of that year, however, Toliver was again a player to be named later, going to Philadelphia in a deal that involved Bo Diaz.  He was a Phillie for most of 1986 and 1987, although he spent time in the minors both seasons.  Shortly before the 1988 season, Toliver was traded to Minnesota for Chris Calvert.  He started the season in AAA, but came up to the Twins in mid-June and did not do too badly, going 7-6, 4.24 in 21 appearances, 19 of them starts.  He started 1989 for the Twins, but did poorly, making only seven appearances, five of them starts, before being sent back to the minors.  He was then traded to San Diego in late June for Greg Booker.  Toliver was with the Padres the rest of the season, then was once again a player to be named later, going to the Yankees.  He then spent three years back in the minors:  he was released by the Yankees in April of 1990 signed with California in late May, stayed in the Angels' system through 1991, started 1992 playing for an independent team, and went to the Pittsburgh organization in late July, 1992.  Toliver stayed with the Pirates' organization through 1993, spending about six weeks of 1993 in the Pirates' bullpen.  Toliver's career was basically over after that season, although he pitched briefly in the independent Western League in 1998.  For a guy who never had a full season in the majors, he didn't have a bad career:  78 appearances, 37 starts, and a lifetime ERA of 4.73.  As a Twin, Fred Toliver went 8-9, 4.95 in 28 appearances, 24 of them starts.  He was, for a while, the pitching coach at Los Angeles City College.  At last report, it appeared that Fred Toliver was living in Winter Garden, Florida.  He  was affiliated with a company called Player Development LLC, along with James Lofton and Derrel Thomas, but it appears that company is now out of business.

Left-hander Joseph Charles Klink was with the Twins for a couple of months at the start of the 1987 season.  Born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, he went to St. Thomas University, one of seven players that university has produced.  He was drafted by the Mets in the 36th round in 1983.  He was a reliever in Class A for the Mets for three seasons and pitched pretty well.  Before the 1986 season, however, Klink was traded with Billy Beane and Bill Latham for Pat Crosby and Tim Teufel.  He had a good year in AA in 1986 and made the Twins out of spring training in 1987.  He made twelve appearances out of the bullpen and wasn't that awful, really, but an outing in late May in which he gave up eight runs skews his numbers.  He went back to AAA in early June, and just before the 1988 season started was traded to Oakland for a player to be named later (Russ Kibler).  Klink split 1988 and 1989 between AA and AAA and pitched well.  He made the Athletics at the beginning of the 1990 season and stayed there two years, pitching pretty well in relief.  He suffered an injured elbow in 1991, however, and did not play at all in 1992.  He became a free agent after that season and signed with Florida for 1993.  He was with the Marlins all year but did not pitch well and was released after the season.  He signed with the Dodgers for 1994 but was sent to the minors and released in June.  Klink went to Cleveland for 1995 and had a good year at AAA, but did not get a shot at the majors.  He signed with Seattle for 1996 and was with the big club for about two weeks in May, pitching well in three appearances, but then was released and his career was over.  As a Twin, Joe Klink was 0-1, 6.65 in 23 innings.  Klink went 90 consecutive appearances without allowing a home run, the most by a left-hander since at least 1957.  At last report, he had returned to his home town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

Right-hander Scott Edward Klingenbeck pitched for the Twins in 1995 and 1996.  He was born in Cincinnati, went to high school there, and then attended Ohio State.  He was drafted by Baltimore in the fifth round in 1992.  He pitched very well in the Orioles' minor league system.  He made an emergency start in June of 1994, but made his "real" debut in June of 1995, when he stayed in the big leagues for the rest of the season.  It wasn't all with Baltimore, though, because in early July Klingenbeck was traded to Minnesota with a player to be named later (Kimera Bartee) for Scott Erickson.  He made 18 appearances for the Twins, four of them starts, and did not pitch well.  He did pitch very well in Salt Lake in 1996, but again flopped in ten appearances (three starts) in the majors.  He was sent to Cincinnati in April of 1997, where he pitched fairly well in AAA, but not well enough to get back to the big leagues.  He pitched very well in AAA in 1998, and made four starts for the Reds in June, his last appearances in the majors.  Klingenbeck was released by Cincinnati in early July, finished out the season with Pittsburgh, went back to AAA for 1999, and then his career was over.  As a Twin, he was 1-3, 8.30 in 77 innings pitched over 28 games, seven of them starts.  After baseball, Scott Klingenbeck returned to the Cincinnati area and was involved in youth sports there until his untimely death on May 20, 2025 at the young age of fifty-four.

First baseman/outfielder Lucas Christopher Duda was with the Twins for about six weeks in spring training in 2019.  He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in Riverside, California, attended the University of Southern California, and was drafted by the Mets in the seventh round in 2007.  He had a very successful minor league career, got a September call-up in 2010, and made the team as a pinch-hitter and outfielder at the start of 2011.  He went 2-for-17 and was quickly sent back to AAA.  He did very well there, came back to the Mets in June, and stayed the rest of the season, finishing with a .292 average and an .852 OPS.  He was the Mets' starting right fielder at the start of 2012, but had a disappointing year and was sent back to AAA for a month before finishing the season in New York.  He was a semi-regular in 2013 but finally got a regular job at first base in 2014.  He held the job until he was traded to Tampa Bay at the July deadline of 2017.  He did not hit for a high average but he did show power, hitting 30 homers in 2014 and 27 in 2015.  He missed much of 2016 due to injury, but came back to hit 30 homers in 2017 in a season split between the Mets and the Rays.  That was the last good year of his career.  He was a free agent after the 2017 season and signed with Kansas City, but had a mediocre season and was sold to Atlanta at the August deadline.  The Twins signed him in February of 2019, but they really didn't have a spot for him and released him in mid-March.  He went back to Kansas City, did very little, was released in late July, was signed by Atlanta, and was released again in late August, bringing his playing career to and end.  It wasn't a bad career, really:  he played in the majors for all or part of ten seasons, he got over 3500 plate appearances, and hit 156 home runs.  His numbers are .239/.334/.448, not great but not awful by any means.  At last report, Lucas Duda was the batting coach for Lipscomb University in Nashville.

Right-handed reliever Brooks Joseph Kriske appeared in twelve games for the Twins in 2025.  He was born in Scottsdale, Arizona, went to high school in Palm Desert, California, attended USC, and was drafted by the Yankees in the sixth round in 2016.  He had been a reliever even in college, and has never started a game in professional baseball.  He missed all of 2017, presumably due to injury, and so did not reach AA until 2019.  He made his major league debut in the COVID season of 2020, making four appearances and pitching well in two of them but really badly in one.  He was back in AAA in 2021 when he was waived and selected by Baltimore, appearing in eight games with the Yanks and four with the Orioles.  At that point in his career, he had a career ERA of 14.40.  He went to Japan for 2022, signed with Kansas City for 2023, appeared in four games for the Royals, was released in July, and finished the year back in Japan.  He signed with Cincinnati for 2024 and had a good season in AAA for them, but was waived in August and selected by Baltimore.  A free agent after the season, he signed with the Cubs for 2025 and was mostly in AAA, but pitched well in four major league games.  He was waived again in early August and selected by the Minnesota.  He appeared in twelve games for them, pitched twelve innings, and went 0-1, 11.25, 2.33 WHIP.  He was once again a free agent after the season and signed with the Athletics for 2026.  His AAA numbers are pretty good:  9-5, 3.86, 1.20 WHIP with 228 strikeouts in 151.2 innings.  But his major league numbers are awful:  2-2, 9.53, 1.89 WHIP with 43 strikeouts (and 32 walks) in 39.2 innings.  He turns thirty-two today.  He can probably pitch a while longer in AAA, and may very well get more shots in the majors.  We wish him well.

February 2

Orval Overall (1881)

George Halas (1895)

Willie Kamm (1900)

Wes Ferrell (1908)

Red Schoendienst (1923)

George Toma (1929)

Don Buford (1937)

Max Alvis (1938)

Dale Murray (1950)

John Tudor (1954)

Pat Tabler (1958)

Buddy Biancalana (1960)

Scott Erickson (1968)

Melvin Mora (1972)

Ronny Cedeno (1983)

Jason Vargas (1983)

Brad Peacock (1988)

Logan Darnell (1989)
Matthew Boyd (1991)

Better known as a football coach, George Halas was an outfielder and played in 12 games for the Yankees in 1919.

Groundskeeper George Toma is a charter member of the Groundskeepers' Hall of Fame.  It is hoped that he will eventually be a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame as well.

Right-hander Scott Gavin Erickson pitched for the Twins from 1990-1995.  Born in Long Beach, California, he attended high school in Cupertino, California and then went to the University of Arizona.  He was drafted by the Twins in the fourth round in 1989.  Erickson pitched very well in the minors, but did not stay there long, making his major league debut in June of 1990.  He was apparently ready, as he went 8-4, 2.87 in seventeen starts at age 22.  The next year was the best of his career:  he was 20-7, 3.18, made the all-star team, finished second in Cy Young voting, and was seventeenth in MVP balloting.  He also began to experience some arm trouble, a problem that would plague him the rest of his career.  He had another solid year in 1992, but then his effectiveness as a Twin was pretty much over.  Erickson had back-to-back seasons with an ERA over five, leading the league in losses in 1993.  His ERA was again over five in July of 1995 when he was traded to Baltimore for Scott Klingenbeck and a player to be named later (Kimera Bartee).  He struggled at first as an Oriole but then got things back together, going 16-7, 3.69 in 1997.  In 1998, Erickson led the league in starts, complete games, and innings pitched.  He was still decent in 1999, but after that seven years of pitching over 200 innings (plus another when he pitched 196) finally took their toll.  He struggled through an injury-plagued 2000 campaign, going 5-8 in the three months that he was healthy enough to pitch.  Erickson missed all of 2001 due to injury, tried to comeback in 2002 and didn't pitch well, and missed all of 2003 due to injury.  He then struggled through three more years, pitching for the Mets and Rangers in 2004, the Dodgers in 2005, and the Yankees in 2006.  He also was in the minors for part of each of those seasons before finally calling it a career.  He attempted a comeback in 2008, but after pitching in Mexico decided he could not pitch well enough to continue.  As a Twin, Scott Erickson was 61-60, 4.22 in 153 starts and nearly a thousand innings.  He had his ups and downs, but at his best he was a very good pitcher.  He is a member of the University of Arizona Sports Hall of Fame.  He was the owner of a movie production company called HomeTeam Productions.  He was the pitching coach of the Carolina Mudcats (Cleveland, A) in 2012 and was the pitching coach of the AZL Indians in 2013.  Scott Erickson was a baseball broadcaster for the Pac-12 Network from 2015-2024.  In 2020, he was charged with reckless driving, allegedly as a result of a street race in which two children were killed by the other driver.  He denied any wrongdoing, and the case was resolved with Erickson making a public service announcement about the importance of safe driving.  He has, however, been named as a defendant in a civil suit which has not been resolved at last report.  Other than that, no information about what Scott Erickson is currently doing is readily available.

Left-hander Logan Reece Darnell appeared in seven games for the Twins in 2014.  He was born in Nashville, went to high school in Madison, Tennessee, attended the University of Kentucky, and was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round in 2010.  He was promoted to AA in 2011 despite not having been all that impressive at lower levels.  Not surprisingly, it took him a while to have success there.  He did well there in 2013, though, and was promoted to Rochester by mid-season.  He had a solid 2014 in Rochester and made seven appearances in the big leagues, getting a couple of brief callups during the season and another in September.  He pitched well in three relief appearances but not well at all in four starts.  Perhaps coincidentally, he moved to the bullpen in Rochester in 2015 and had another solid season, but was not called up to the Twins.  Returned to a starting role, he again pitched pretty well in Rochester in 2016, but was not called up and was sidelined in late July with a sore shoulder.  He became a free agent after the season.  He pitched in the Atlantic League until July, then finished the year in AA with Tampa Bay, not doing all that well.  He signed with Washington for 2018 but had an undistinguished year in AA.  In 2019 he pitched in the Mexican League and in the Atlantic League, not doing very well in either place.  He had a poor year in Tawian in 2020, although he did decently in Venezuelan Winter League this off-season. That, however, was the end of his playing career.  At last report, Logan Darnell was an assistant baseball coach for Davidson Academy in Nashville.

February 1

Billy Sullivan (1875)

Rosey Rowswell (1884)

Candy Jim Taylor (1884)

Frank Lane (1896)

Carl Reynolds (1903)

Paul Blair (1944)

Danny Thompson (1947)

Mark Souza (1954)

Ernie Camacho (1955)

Cecilio Guante (1960)

Tim Naehring (1967)

Kent Mercker (1968)

Rich Becker (1972)

Brett Anderson (1988)

Sean Manaea (1992)

Rosey Rowswell was a broadcaster for Pittsburgh from 1936-1954.  Bob Prince considered Rowswell his mentor.

Candy Jim Taylor was a star player and manager in the Negro Leagues for many years.

Frank Lane was the general manager of the White Sox (1948-55), St. Louis (1956-57), Cleveland (1958-60), Kansas City (1961), and Milwaukee (1971-72).

Infielder Danny Leon Thompson played for Minnesota from 1970-1976.  He was born in Wichita, attended high school in Capron, Oklahoma, and went to college at Oklahoma State.  Thompson was drafted by the Twins in the first round in 1968.  He had a couple of good years in the lower minors, hitting .302 at AA Charlotte in 1969.  He was hitting only .247 in 1970 at AAA Evansville when he was called up to the Twins, putting the minors behind him for good.  He became the Twins' regular second baseman, replacing an injured Rod Carew, but unfortunately he couldn't hit like Carew, batting only .219 that year.  Thompson became a reserve in 1971, but got another crack at starting in 1972.  He had his best year as a big leaguer, batting .276.  He even got minor consideration for the MVP award that year, finishing 23rd in the voting.  It would turn out to be the only year he got even 400 at-bats in the majors.  He was still the mostly-regular shortstop in 1973, but missed significant time to injuries and hit only .225.  Before the 1974 season, Thompson was diagnosed with leukemia.  He continued to play baseball, however, and remained the Twins' primary shortstop through 1975, although he lost significant time to players like Jerry Terrell, Luis Gomez, and Sergio Ferrer.  His batting gradually came back in those years, and after hitting .270 in 1975 Thompson regained the everyday shortstop job.  He was the still the regular in 1976 when he was traded on the first of June to Texas along with Bert Blyleven for Mike Cubbage, Jim Gideon, Bill Singer, Roy Smalley, and $250,000.  As a Twin, Danny Thompson hit .251/.289/.316 in just over two thousand at-bats.  Thompson was used as a utility player in Texas for the remainder of the year, and then his playing career was over.  Sadly, Danny Thompson passed away from leukemia on December 10, 1976.  The following year, Harmon Killebrew helped found the Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament, which is held in late August each year in Sun Valley, Idaho.  Since it's founding, the tournament has raised over ten million dollars for leukemia and cancer research.

Left-hander Kenneth Mark Souza did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for two seasons.  He was born in Redwood City, California, and was drafted by Kansas City in the first round of the January draft in 1974.  He both started and relieved in his first pro season, but was primarily a relief pitcher after that.  He struggled in his first couple of pro seasons, but turned in a fine year in 1976 at Class A Waterloo when he was still only twenty-two.  The Twins chose him in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft and sent him to AA Orlando for 1977, where he went 5-4, 4.67, 1.41 WHIP in 28 appearances (81 innings).  He was apparently injured after that, because he missed all of the 1978 season, and after that season the Twins released him.  He signed with Oakland and was in their minor league system from 1979-1981, not pitching particularly well.  His best year with the Athletics was 1980, when he went 7-5, 3.35 in 41 appearances (86 innings) for AAA Ogden, but with a WHIP of 1.52.  He spent about a month in the majors that year, going 0-0, 7.71 in five appearances (seven innings) for Oakland.  At last report, Mark Souza was a district sales manager for Hyundai Motors America in Roseville, California.

Outfielder Richard Godhard Becker played for Minnesota in the mid-1990s.  He was born in Aurora, Illinois, and went to high school there.  He was drafted by the Twins in the third round in 1990.  He hit pretty well in the low minors, batting .316 with Class A Visalia in 1992, but also showed a propensity for striking out, doing so approximately 120 times each year in 1992 and 1993.  Despite that, he made his major league debut in September of 1993.  Becker started the 1994 season as the Twins' regular center fielder, but the Twins also had a guy named Puckett who could play center, so Becker was sent back to AAA at the end of April despite the fact that he was hitting .303.  He hit .316 at Salt Lake the rest of the season, and came back to the big leagues in September.  He started 1995 in Salt Lake, but was promoted to Minnesota in June and was once again the starting center fielder.  He didn't do much that year, but in 1996, Becker had his first full year in the majors and made the most of it, hitting .291 with 12 homers and 31 doubles.  It would be his best season:  in 1997, he dropped to .264 with 10 homers and 130 strikeouts, and that off-season he was traded to the Mets for Alex Ochoa.  The change did not do him good; placed in a reserve role, he batted only .190 and was placed on waivers in mid-June.  He was chosen by Baltimore and finished the season there, but did not do much better and was released.  He came back some after that, not doing too badly as a reserve outfielder for Milwaukee, Oakland, and Detroit during the 1999 and 2000 seasons.  Becker went back to the minors in 2001, playing AAA for Detroit and Florida, and played in the Northern League in 2002 before ending his career.  As a Twin, Rich Becker hit .267/.349/.379 in nearly fifteen hundred at-bats.  At last report, he was living in Cape Coral, Florida.

January 31

Bob "Death to Flying Things" Ferguson (1845)

Zane Grey (1872)

George Burns (1893)

Pinky Hargrave (1896)

Pedro Cepeda (1906)

Don Hutson (1913)

Jackie Robinson (1919)

Ernie Banks (1931)

Hank Aguirre (1931)

Nolan Ryan (1947)

Fred Kendall (1949)

Ted Power (1955)

Ed Wade (1956)

Francisco Oliveras (1963)

Yuniesky Betancourt (1982)

Caleb Thielbar (1987)

Tommy LaStella (1989)

Tyler Kinley (1991)

Alex Claudio (1992)

Better known as an author of western novels, Zane Grey played outfield for two years in the low minors, batting .323 in 86 games.  He also wrote several books about baseball.

Pedro Cepeda is the father of Orlando Cepeda and is considered by some to have been a better player; he was known as the Babe Ruth of Puerto Rico.

Don Hutson, a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, played in the low minors from 1936-1937, hitting .301 in 194 games.

Ed Wade was the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1998-2005 and the Houston Astros from 2007-2011.

Right-hander Francisco Javier (Noa) Oliveras made his major league debut with the Twins, pitching for them in 1989.  He was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico and signed with Baltimore as a free agent in 1980.  He played his first full season at AA in 1982 at age 19 and did quite well, posting a 3.55 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.  He struggled after that, however, not posting another ERA below four until 1987, when he again spent most of the season at AA.  He became a minor league free agent after the 1987 season and signed with Minnesota.  Most of his time in the Twins' organization was spent in AAA, but he was in the majors for the months of May and June of 1989.  He pitched about like you'd expect someone with his track record to pitch:  in 12 games, eight of them starts, he went 3-4, 4.53 with a WHIP of 1.42 and an ERA+ of 92.  Oliveras began 1990 with AAA Portland, but was traded to San Francisco at the end of May for a player to be named later, who turned out to be Ed Gustafson.  He played for the Giants most of the rest of 1990, nearly all of 1991, and most of 1992, working primarily as a reliever.  He did a good job for them, posting an ERA in the mid-threes and WHIPs around 1.2.  He became a free agent after the 1992 season and signed with Texas.  Things did not go well for him there:  he failed to make the team, had a poor year in AAA, and was released after the season.  He showed up in 1998, playing for Nashua in the independent Atlantic League, but other than that he was done as an active player.  No information about Francisco Oliveras since then was readily available.

Left-handed reliever Caleb John Thielbar pitched for the Twins from 2013-2015 and again from 2020-2023. He was born in Northfield, Minnesota, when to high school in Randolph, MInnesota, attended South Dakota State, and was drafted by Milwaukee in the eighteenth round in 2009.  He pitched very well in rookie ball, but struggled when promoted to Class A in 2010 and was released after the season.  He spent most of 2011 with St. Paul in the American Association, but signed with Minnesota in mid-August and made three good appearances with Fort Myers before the season ended.  He started 2012 in Fort Myers but got all the way to Rochester before the season ended.  He began 2013 in Rochester, was promoted to Minnesota in May, and stayed there the rest of the season.  He showed he belonged there, going 3-2, 1.76, 0.83 WHIP in 49 appearances (46 innings).  He was often used as a LOOGY, as he faced one batter in six of his appearances and two in five others.  However, he was also effective in getting right-handed batters out when given the chance.  He didn't do as well in 2014, but as often happens to relievers, a few bad outings made his numbers look worse than they otherwise would have been.  He started 2015 in Minnesota and pitched well except for one bad outing, but he was sent back to Rochester at the end of April.  He pitched well there, too, but was waived in early August and taken by San Diego.  He became a free agent after the season, went unsigned, and had an outstanding year for St. Paul in the American Association.  He signed with Miami for 2017, but was released at the end of spring training and went back to St. Paul, where he had an even better year.  He signed with Detroit for 2018 and pitched pretty well in a season split between AA and AAA, but did not get a call to the majors.  He again pitched very well in AAA for the Tigers in 2019, but again did not get a call to the majors and was sold to Atlanta at the August deadline.  He signed back with the Twins for 2020 and had an excellent season, going 2-1, 2.25 with a 1.15 WHIP.  He continued to be very good through 2023.  In 2024, however, he had a bad year and was allowed to become a free agent, signing with the Cubs for 2025.  He bounced back strongly for them, having arguably the best season of his career.  As a Twin, Caleb Thielbar was 23-12, 3.38, 1.19 WHIP in 320 innings (347 games).  He turns thirty-nine today and has re-signed with the Cubs for 2026.  It's hard to tell what the future holds, but age is the only reason to think he won't have another good year.

Right-hander Tyler Harrison Kinley appeared in four games for the Twins in 2018.  He was born in Plantation, Florida, went to high school in Davie, Florida, attended Barry University (one of three major leaguers to have attended there), and was drafted by Miami in the sixteenth round in 2013.  He pitched well in the low minors, but didn't do much when moved to higher levels.  In 2017, in his second try at AA, he went 1-2, 8 saves, 5.19 ERA, 1.73 WHIP in his age twenty-six season.  That doesn't sound like a pitcher who's ready for the majors, but the Twins took him in the Rule 5 draft and started him out there in 2018.  He made four appearances in April, and to no one's surprise except, possibly, the Twins, he allowed nine runs in 3.1 innings for an ERA of 24.30.  The Twins returned him to Miami and he had a decent year in AAA.  He got a September call-up and did pretty well except for one disastrous appearance in which he gave up five runs in a third of an inning.  He started 2019 in the majors, did not do well, was sent back to AAA in early June, pitched very well there, came back in August, and was a very good reliever the last two months of the season.  The Marlins waived him, however, and he was taken by Colorado for 2020.  He was decent, but no more in 2020 and 2021, but was having a tremendous year in 2022 when he tore the flexor in his elbow.  He did not pitch in the majors again until August of 2023, and sadly was not very good in his comeback.  He was able to play a full season in 2024, but still was not very good. He was having another poor season for the Rockies in 2025 when he was traded to Atlanta at the deadline and suddenly became really good again.  He turns thirty-five today and is a free agent.  It's hard to tell what he'll do in 2026, but as desperate as teams are for pitching, it seems like someone would give him a shot.

January 30

Tony Mullane (1859)

General Stafford (1868)

Walt Dropo (1923)

Sandy Amoros (1930)

Charlie Neal (1931)

Davey Johnson (1943)

Matt Alexander (1947)

Roger Cador (1952)

Joe Kerrigan (1954)

Dave Stegman (1954)

Jorge Cantu (1982)

Jeremy Hermida (1984)

Luis Garcia (1987)

Roger Cador was an outfielder in the Braves organization, reaching AAA.  He was the head baseball coach at Southern University from 1984-2017.   He was the first coach of a historically black university to win a game in the NCAA Division I baseball tournament, beating #2-ranked Cal State Fullerton 1-0 in 1987.

Dave Stegman was drafted by Minnesota in the tenth round in 1972, but did not sign.

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

January 29

Ray Hayworth (1904)

Wilson Redus (1905)

Pancho Coimbre (1909)

Bill Rigney (1918)

Hank Edwards (1919)

Frank Gravino (1923)

Bobby Bolin (1939)

Sergio Ferrer (1951)

Steve Sax (1960)

Mike Aldrete (1961)

John Habyan (1964)

Jason Schmidt (1973)

Jose Abreu (1987)

Alex Avila (1987)

Hank Conger (1988)

Pancho Coimbre was a star in the Caribbean Leagues and the Negro leagues in the 1940s.  Roberto Clemente said that Coimbre was a better player than Clemente was.  Coimbre played two full seasons in the Puerto Rican League in which he did not strike out.

Frank Gravino played in the minors from 1940-1942 and 1946-1954.  He has been called the greatest slugger in Northern League history, hitting 108 home runs in two seasons there.

William Joseph Rigney managed the Twins for approximately two and a half seasons from 1970-1972.  Born in Alameda, California, Rigney went to high school in Oakland.  He entered organized baseball in 1938, playing shortstop for various minor-league teams, mostly on the west coast.  As the farm system had not been fully developed yet, most of these teams were independent teams.  He went into the military after the 1942 season, serving in the Coast Guard, and did not return to baseball until 1946.  When he returned, it was in the majors--Rigney was a mostly regular infielder for the New York Giants, playing primarily at third base.  He spent his entire major league career with the Giants, a career which spanned eight seasons.  His best years were 1947-1949, when he averaged .271 and averaged 11 homers per season.  Rigney was primarily a second baseman the first two of those years, playing more shortstop in 1949.  He never was quite a full time player, playing between 110 and 130 games per season.  In 1950 he was replaced at shortstop by Alvin Dark, and became a reserve for the next four seasons.  After his major league career ended, he became the player-manager of the Minneapolis Millers from 1954-1955.  He became manager of the Giants in 1956, replacing Leo Durocher, and went to San Francisco with the club.  He was the first manager of the Angels, running the team from 1961-1969, and then became manager of Minnesota.  He won the division with the Twins in 1970, their second consecutive division title, but the team fell apart in 1971 and he was fired mid-way through the 1972 season.  He managed the Giants again in 1976.  Rigney also did some broadcasting for both the Giants and the Athletics, did some scouting, and worked in the Athletics' front office.  He was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.  Bill Rigney passed away on February 20, 2001, in Walnut Creek, California.

Infielder Sergio (Marrero) Ferrer played for Minnesota briefly from 1974-1975.  He was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1970.  He was quite small (5'7", 145 lbs), but hit for a good average with a pretty fair number of walks in the low minors.  His numbers dropped when he was promoted to AA in 1973 at age 22, and he was left unprotected after the season.  The Twins selected Ferrer in the Rule 5 draft.  He began 1974 as Minnesota's starting shortstop and did quite well, batting .313 for the first month of the season.  Oddly, he started only two more games after that, being replaced at shortstop first by Jerry Terrell and then by Danny Thompson.  He was still batting .281 when he was sent back to the minors in late May.  He had a good year in AAA, and was back with the Twins at the start of 1975.  He was their starting shortstop again for about three weeks and didn't do all that badly, but he again lost the job to Thompson and was back in the minors by early June.  After the season, Ferrer was traded to Philadelphia for Larry Cox.  He was in AAA for the Phillies in 1976 and was traded to the Yankees after the season, spending 1977 playing at AAA for them.  After that season he was traded to the Mets and pretty much stopped hitting.  Ferrer was in the big leagues for most of the 1978 season, but was used exclusively as a pinch runner and defensive replacement, appearing in only 37 games and getting only 33 at-bats.  He was back at AAA for 1979, getting only a September call-up.  Ferrer hung on in AAA through 1981, finishing his career in the Cincinnati organization.  As a Twin, Sergio Ferrer hit .261/.322/.326 in 138 at-bats.  He played in the Seniors League in 1989.  At last report, Sergio Ferrer had returned to Puerto Rico and was coaching youth baseball there.

Catcher Alexander Thomas Avila played for the Twins in 2020.  He was born in Hialeah, Florida, went to high school in Southwest Ranches, Florida, attended the University of Alabama, and was drafted by Detroit in the fifth round in 2008.  He played fifty-eight games in Class A that year, went to AA in 2009, and made his major league debut in August of 2009.  He was up and down in his early years with the Tigers, posting an OPS of .965 in 2009, .656 in 2010, ,895 in 2011, and .736 in 2012.  He then went into a prolonged down phase, at least at the plate, staying below a .700 OPS through 2015.  A free agent after that season, he went to the White Sox but took his hitting woes with him.  Returning to Detroit in 2017 he bounced back, batting .274 with an OPS of .869.  He was traded to the Cubs at the July deadline, then signed with Arizona and played for the Diamondbacks from 2018-2019.  A free agent again, he signed with Minnesota for 2020.  He did not hit, batting just .184, but he had an OBP of .355 in 62 plate appearances.  A free agent once more, he signed with Washington for 2021 and was their reserve catcher, missing a couple of months due to injury.  Even in his good years he was rarely a full-time catcher, topping four hundred at-bats only once, in 2011.  He also made his only all-star appearance that season.  He drew a good number of walks and has a little power, swatting double-digit home runs four times.  His career numbers are .233/.348/.393 in 3638 plate appearances (1052 games).   One suspects someone would've signed him for 2022, but he opted to retire instead.  At last report, Alex Avila was an analyst for MLB Network.

Catcher/first baseman Hyun Choi Conger did not play for the Twins, but was a coach for them from 2022-2025.  He was born in Federal Way, Washington, went to high school in Huntington Beach, California, and was drafted by the Angels in the first round in 2006.  He hit very well throughout the minors, sporting high averages and decent power.  He made his major league debut as a September call-up in 2010.  He was a part-time catcher for the Angels in 2011, backing up Jeff Mathis, but did not hit, batting just .209 with an OPS of .638.  As a consequence, he spent most of 2012 in AAA, where he had a fine year.  He finally got his first full season in the majors in 2013, sharing time with Chris Iannetta.  He did okay, but was nothing special.  2014 was similar, and after that season he was traded to Houston.  He was again a part-time catcher, sharing time with Jason Castro, and again did not hit much.  He was sold to Tampa Bay after the season and shared time with Curt Casali in 2016, but when he again did not hit he was sent to AAA, never reaching the majors again.  He signed with Arizona for 2017, spent half the season in AAA, and was released in late July.  He played a handful of games in Mexico in 2018, then his playing career was over.  He batted .274/.334/.439 in AAA, but just .221/.294/.366 in the majors.  He was a catching coach in the KBO, and became the catching and first base coach for the Twins in 2022, later becoming the assistant bench coach.  He left the Twins after the 2025 season, and is the bench coach for the Baltimore Orioles in 2026. He is one of two major league players named "Conger", the other being 1940s pitcher Dick Conger.

January 28

George Wright (1847)

Ducky Holmes (1869)

Bill Doak (1891)

Michael Murray (1896)

Percy Miller (1897)

Lyn Lary (1906)

Bob Muncrief (1916)

Pete Runnels (1928)

Bill White (1934)

Fredi Gonzalez (1964)

Kevin Tolar (1971)

Jermaine Dye (1974)

Magglio Ordonez (1974)

Lyle Overbay (1977)

Nate Jones (1986)

Hunter Renfroe (1992)

Fredi Gonzalez managed the Florida Marlins from 2007-2010 and managed the Atlanta Braves from 2011-2016.

Left-hander Kevin Anthony Tolar did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 2004.  Born and raised in Panama City, Florida, he was drafted by the White Sox in the ninth round in 1989.  He definitely gets points for persistence, because it would take him eleven years to reach the majors.  He was in rookie ball in 1989 and in Class A from 1990-1993 for the White Sox; they didn’t hit him very well, but he struggled due to control problems, walking from six to eight batters per nine innings.  The White Sox gave up on him and released him in April of 1994.  He was out of baseball that year, but signed with Pittsburgh in 1995.  The Pirates converted him to relief, where he didn’t exactly get pinpoint control, but he did improve.  He split 1995 between Class A and AA with the Pirates, was in AA for Cleveland in 1996, mostly in AA with the Mets in 1997, with AA for Pittsburgh and AAA in Cincinnati in 1998, and in AAA with Pittsburgh in 1999.  He pitched well in AAA in 2000 for Detroit and finally made his major league debut, getting a September call-up.  He again pitched well in AAA for Detroit in 2001, spending about a month in the majors.  He was back in AAA in 2002 for Pittsburgh.  He went to Boston in 2003 and started the season in the majors, but lasted only three weeks before going back to AAA.  He signed with Minnesota for 2004, but was released at the end of spring training.  He signed with the Cubs and played in AAA with them that season.  He split 2005 in AAA with Arizona and Toronto, split 2006 between the Mexican League and the Atlantic League, and was in the Atlantic League at the start of 2007.  He signed to play for a team in Taiwan in June of 2007, and played for Aragua in the Venezuelan Winter League from 2006-2008.  He appeared in twenty major league games, going 0-0, 6.62.  He pitched 17.2 innings, allowing 13 hits and 16 walks.  He appeared in 680 minor league games, 307 of them in AAA.  Overall, he was 70-56, 3.50 with 45 saves in the minors; in AAA, he was 31-11, 3.73 with 22 saves.  It appears that Kevin Tolar is currently an affiliate for GeneWize, a health, beauty, and wellness company which is a subsidiary of Genelink, Inc. and is located in his home town of Panama City.