September 25

Pat Malone (1902)

Phil Rizzuto (1917)

Johnny Sain (1917)

Sal Butera (1952)

Glenn Hubbard (1957)

Geno Petralli (1959)

Oscar Munoz (1969)

David Weathers (1969)

Tony Womack (1969)

Wil Nieves (1977)

Joel Pineiro (1978)

Rocco Baldelli (1981)

Vance Worley (1987)

Ben Rortvedt (1997)

Right-hander John Franklin Sain did not play for the Twins, but was their pitching coach from 1965-1966. He was born in Havana, Arkansas and signed with Detroit as a free agent in 1936. He was in Class D for four seasons, the best of which was the last when he went 18-10, 3.27 in 1939. He was let go after that season and signed with the Boston Braves. They sent him to Class A for two seasons, then brought him to the majors in 1942. He was fairly mediocre that year, pitching mostly out of the bullpen, then missed the next two years due to military service. When he came back in 1946 he was a starter, and a great one. He won twenty games four of the next five years, had over twenty complete games in four of the next five years, and averaged over 273 innings in those five years. He was famously part of the 1948 pennant winning Braves whose rotation was “Spahn and Sain, then pray for rain,” although their third and fourth starters, Bill Voiselle and Vern Bickford, don’t appear to have been all that bad. That 1948 season, in which he pitched a league-leading 314.2 innings, appears to have taken something out of him, because even though he won twenty games again in 1950 he was never the same pitcher. He was traded to the Yankees late in 1951 and did have some good years with them, years in which his innings were limited by pitching in as a reliever part of the time. In 1954 he was used exclusively in relief as their closer, although the term was not in use at the time. He pitched 77 innings in 45 games, posted an ERA of 3.16 and a WHIP of 1.05, and led the league with 22 saves. That was his last good year, however; when he got off to a poor start in 1955 he was traded to the Kansas City Athletics and was released in mid-July, ending his playing career. After his career he became a pitching coach for Kansas City (1959), the Yankees (1961-1963), Minnesota (1965-1966), Detroit (1967-1969), the White Sox (1971-1975), and Atlanta (1977, 1985-1986). He was known for emphasizing throwing and de-emphasizing conditioning exercises such as running, saying “You don’t run the ball over the plate. If running did it, they’d recruit pitchers off track teams.” His pitchers loved him, and were often successful under him, but he frequently clashed with managers, which is why he moved around a lot. In 1985, he was on the same coaching staff as Leo Mazzone, who later became a renowned pitching coach in his own right. Johnny Sain passed away on November 7, 2006 in Downers Grove, Illinois, and was buried in his home town of Havana, Arkansas.

Catcher Salvatore Philip Butera played for the Twins from 1980-1982 and again in 1987. He was born in Richmond Hill, New York and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1972. He was never a strong hitter in the minors, and spent nearly four years in AAA. He had a good year in 1979, however, hitting .297 at AAA Toledo, and made it to the big leagues with the Twins the next year. Butera was a backup catcher for the Twins from 1980-82, hitting for a fair average, drawing a decent number of walks, and providing no power whatsoever. Near the end of 1983 spring training, the Twins traded Butera to Detroit for Stine Poole and cash. He was in AAA Evansville for most of 1983. He again batted .297 at AAA, but got only five at bats with Detroit. Released after the season, he signed with Montreal. With AAA Indianapolis most of 1984, Butera won the backup catcher job with the Expos in 1985. He batted only .200, however, and was traded to Cincinnati after the season in a multi-player swap. Butera was the Reds’ reserve catcher for 1986 and early 1987, but was released in May. The Twins re-signed him three days later. Butera batted only .171 for the Twins in 1987, but went 2-for-3 in the ALCS and got a World Series ring. Released by the Twins in March of 1988, he signed with Toronto, which is where he finished his career in 1989. He also played for the Orlando Juice in the short-lived Senior Professional Baseball Association. As a Twin, Sal Butera had 489 at-bats spread over four seasons. He batted .233/.303/.274, hitting one home run (off Dave Schmidt) and driving in 40 runs.  He is a member of the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame. He has done some minor-league managing and scouting, and was the bullpen coach for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1998. Sal Butera is currently a scout for Toronto. His son, Drew Butera, played for the Twins from 2010-2013.

Right-hander Juan Oscar Munoz appeared in ten games for the Twins in 1995. He was born in Hialeah, Florida, went to the University of Miami, and was drafted in the fifth round by Cleveland in 1990. Munoz was in the Cleveland organization for two seasons, pitching well at Class A, but not as well for AA Canton-Akron as a 21-year-old. In late March of 1992, Munoz was traded along with Curtis Leskanic to the Twins for Paul Sorrento. He had a good year for AA Nashville in 1993, but that was pretty much where he topped out. He had high ERAs with AAA Salt Lake in 1994 and 1995, but he had winning records, and it was a hitters’ league, so the Twins called him up for the last two months of 1995. He appeared in ten games for the Twins, making three starts. He again had a winning record, going 2-1, but had a 5.60 ERA in 35.1 innings with a 1.61 WHIP. The Twins put Munoz on waivers after the 1995 season, and he was taken by Baltimore. He was in AAA Rochester all of 1996, never making it back to the big leagues, and his playing career ended after that season. He managed Class A Bakersfield in 2003.  At last report, Oscar Munoz was living in the Nashville area.

Outfielder Rocco Dan Baldelli did not play for the Twins but has been their manager since 2019.  He was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, went to high school in Warwick, Rhode Island, and was drafted by Tampa Bay with the sixth pick of the first round in 2000.  He started slowly in the minors, but his career took off in 2002, when he went from Class A to AAA.  He began 2003 as the Devil Rays' starting center fielder and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting,  He remained the starting center fielder in 2004.  In both years he put up solid batting averages, but did not walk much and had only moderate power.  His playing career went downhill from there, due mostly to his physical condition.  He missed 2005 with a shoulder injury which required Tommy John surgery.  He came back in June of 2006 and had the best year of his career, batting .302 with an OPS of .871.  Still just twenty-four, it was thought that big things were ahead.  Instead, he suffered a debilitating illness which was eventually determined to be channelopathy.  He was able to play in just 63 games for the Rays over the next two seasons.  A free agent, he signed with Boston for 2009 but again could play in just 62 games.  He signed back with the Rays for 2010, but played in just ten games before finally having to accept the fact that his physical condition would not allow him to continue as an active player.  His career numbers are .278/.323/.433 in 2065 plate appearances.  He worked for the Rays in scouting and player development from 2011-2014, was a coach for them from 2015-2018, and became the manager of the Twins in 2019.  His team won the division that year and he was named American League Manager of the Year, the youngest man ever to win the award.  His team won the division again in 2020, but had a poor season in 2021, finishing last.  In 2022 they held first place in a weak division for much of the season, but collapsed down the stretch.  In 2023, again in a weak division, the Twins won going away when the rest of the teams in the division traded many of their good players at the deadline.  In 2024, in a stronger division, the Twins again collapsed down the stretch.  They did so again in 2025, although the trade of most of the bullpen had something to do with that.  At any rate, Rocco Baldellli was let go after the 2025 season.  He was not out of work long, however, and is currently a special assistant to the president of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Right-hander Vance Richard Worley pitched for the Twins in 2013.  Born and raised in Sacramento, he attended Cal State--Long Beach and was drafted by Philadelphia in 2008.  He did very well in Class A that season, struggled some when promoted to AA in 2009, but did better when he repeated AA in 2010.  He made his major league debut that year, making one start in late July and then getting a September callup, and did quite well.  He started 2011 in AAA but spent most of the season with the Phillies and had an outstanding year, going 11-3, 3.01, 1.23 WHIP with 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings.  He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, behind Craig Kimbrel and Freddie Freeman.  He was not nearly as good in 2012, but still wasn't awful, going 6-9, 4.20, but with an alarming 1.51 WHIP.  In December of 2012, the Phillies traded him to Minnesota with Trevor May for Ben Revere.  Worley was placed in the Twins starting rotation at the start of the year and was dreadful, going 1-5, 7.22 with a WHIP of 1.99.  Sent to AAA in late May, he did somewhat better, but still not very well, going a deceiving 6-3, 3.88 with a WHIP of 1.41 in nine starts before being shut down due to injury.  The Twins sold him to Pittsburgh in March of 2014.  He started in AAA but came up to the majors in mid-June, was placed in the starting rotation, and pitched very well, once again looking like the pitcher who impressed people with Philadelphia in 2011.  He started 2015 in the Pirates' rotation but was moved to the bullpen in mid-May.  He has did a good job for Pittsburgh in long relief, but was waived after the season and selected by Baltimore.  Used mostly out of the bullpen, he again did a solid job in 2016.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Washington for 2017 but was released in late March.  He signed with Miami a few days later and was sent to AAA, where he was used as a starter.  After eight starts, which were not all that good, he came up to the Marlins in late May.  Used both as a starter and in relief, he did not get much accomplished in either role.  He signed with Cincinnati for 2018, was released in early April, was signed by the Mets, and was released again in late June after four poor starts in AAA, although it appears that he may have been pitching through an injury.  He did not pitch in 2019.  He signed with Somerset of the Atlantic League for 2020, but the Atlantic League did not play in 2020.  There was a rumor in August of 2020 that the Phillies would sign him, but it appears that nothing came of it.  He started 2021 with Kane County in the American Association and did well enough for the Mets to sign him and send him to AAA.  Unfortunately, it did not go well for him there.  He was back with Kane County in 2022 and did not pitch very well there, either.  At that time, we said, "it appears likely that it's time for Vance Worley to decide what he wants to do in the next phase of his life."  He apparently agreed, and became the pitching coach Penn State Abington in 2023.  He did, however, pitch for Great Britain in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.  At last report, Vance Worley was coaching youth baseball in Great Britain.

Catcher Benjamin Thomas Rortvedt came up to the Twins in 2021.  He was born in Madison, Wisconsin, went to high school in Verona, Wisconsin, and was drafted by Minnesota in the second round in 2016.  He progressed about a level a season, reaching in rookie ball in 2016, in low A in 2017, in high-A in 2018, and in AA in 2019.  He has never hit much--his highest batting average is .262 in a 2018 season split between low-A and high-A.  His highest OPS is .713 in a 2019 season split between high-A and AA.  He has split 2021 between AAA and the majors, coming up due to injuries to Mitch Garver.  He continued to not hit, batting .169/.229/.281 in 89 at-bats.  The Twins traded him with Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Yankees for Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela before the 2022 season.  He was at AAA all season and again didn't hit, although he also dealt with some injuries.  He split 2023 between AAA and the majors, actually hitting well in AAA but not in the big leagues. He is reputed to be an excellent defender.  He finally got his average above the Mendoza line in 2024, and had his first full season in the majors as a part-time catcher for Tampa Bay.  He slid back in 2025, however, went back to the minors, and was traded to the Dodgers at the July deadline.  He had an interesting off-season:  he was waived by the Dodgers and claimed by Cincinnati, waived by Cincinnati and claimed by the Dodgers, then waived by the Dodgers and claimed by the Mets.  He was in AAA for the Mets in 2026 until early August, when he was traded back to the Dodgers.  He has played parts of five seasons in the majors and is batting .189/.275/.266 in 586 at-bats.  He turns twenty-nine today, so we have to say he is who he is:  a good defensive catcher who can't hit.  Some guys like that stick around forever.  Time will tell if Ben Rortvedt is one of them.

September 24

Mike Gonzalez (1890)

Tommie Dukes (1906)

Dixie Walker (1910)

Clyde Vollmer (1921)

George Banks (1938)

Chuck Nieson (1942)

Norm Angelini (1947)

Eric Soderholm (1948)

Hubie Brooks (1956)

Jim Acker (1958)

Rafael Palmeiro (1964)

Scott Leius (1965)

Bernard Gilkey (1966)

Kevin Millar (1971)

John McDonald (1974)

Levale Speigner (1980)

Hunter Strickland (1988)

Outfielder/third baseman George Edward Banks played for the Twins from 1962-1964. He was born in Pacolet Mills, South Carolina, and was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in 1957. He showed substantial power in the low minors, hitting 56 homers in 1960-61, but could not get above Class A with the Yankees organization. After the 1961 season, Banks was chosen by the Twins in the Rule 5 draft. Given his lack of experience at high levels, he did well for the Twins in limited duty in 1962: .252/.372/.408 in 103 at-bats. That was to be the most he would ever play in the majors, however. He had a good year for AAA Dallas/Ft. Worth in 1963, playing briefly with the Twins that year. In 1964, he got off to a poor start for AAA Atlanta, and was traded in June to Cleveland along with Lee Stange for Mudcat Grant. He continued to slug the ball at AAA, but got only brief major league appearances with the Indians through 1966. The Indians let him go after 1966, and he spent a year each in the California and Philadelphia organizations, but never made it back to the majors. George Banks hit 223 minor-league home runs in 11 seasons, but only 9 in the big leagues in 221 at-bats. As a Twin, he hit .211/.327/.377 with 7 home runs and 23 RBIs in 175 at-bats. George Banks passed away on March 1, 1985.

Right-hander Charles Bassett Nieson made two appearances for the Twins in 1964. He was born in Hanford, California, attended Cal State—Fresno, and was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1962. He did not have a lot of luck in the minors, going 6-12 in 1963 and 4-17 in 1964 despite ERAs around 4.00, which was not that bad even in the 1960s. The Twins gave him a September call-up in 1964, and he pitched two innings over two games, giving up one run. That was to be his only time in the majors: his lifetime ERA is 4.50, with the run he gave up coming on a homer by Frank Malzone.  He struck out five of the eight batters he faced, which gives him the highest strikeout percentage of all time for someone who faced at least two batters. Nieson remained in the Twins organization for a few more years, having fair-to-poor results for AAA Denver in 1965-66. He had good years for AA Charlotte from 1967-69, but again did poorly when promoted to Denver in 1968. 1969 was his last season in organized baseball. After baseball, he had a career with Hartford Life Insurance.  An avid fisherman, he was the Big Stone Walleye champion in 2010.  Chuck Nieson passed away on April 7, 2026, in Ortonville, Minnesota.

Third baseman Eric Thane Soderholm played for the Twins from 1971-1975. He was born in Cortland, New York, went to high school in Miami, and was chosen by the Twins with the first pick of the secondary phase of the 1968 January draft. Initially a shortstop, he began playing some third base in 1970 and was moved there permanently in 1971. A low average slugger who drew a good number of walks in the minors, Soderholm reached the Twins in 1971 after a good year with AAA Portland. He stayed in the majors in 1972, but hit only .188, and was returned to Portland for most of 1973. He won the third base job in 1974 and had two seasons as a regular for the Twins. He was a solid contributor in those two seasons, batting around .280 with a total of 21 homers and 35 doubles. He injured his knee in 1975, and missed all of 1976, becoming a free agent after that season. Signed by the White Sox, he was a productive player for them as well, winning comeback player of the year in 1977. He hit 51 homers and drove in 168 runs for the White Sox over 2 1/2 seasons. Soderholm was traded to the Rangers in June of 1979. He finished the season with them, and signed with the Yankees for 1980. He did well for the Yankees when he was able to play, but suffered injuries there as well, and 1980 would be his last season. He was invited to spring training with the Cubs in 1982, but decided that his knees could no longer handle the strain of playing. As a Twin, he hit .257/.336/.389 in 1,345 at-bats. After his playing career ended, Soderholm did some scouting for the Cubs for a couple of years, and then went into business for himself. He opened a youth baseball camp as well as a ticket agency. At last report, Eric Soderholm owned the SoderWorld Wellness Center and Academy of Willowbrook, Illinois, with his wife, his daughter, Misty, and his son, Chad.

Infielder Scott Thomas Leius played for the Twins from 1990-1995. He was born in Yonkers, New York, and was drafted out of Concordia College by the Twins in the 13th round in 1986. He did not hit well in the minors with the exception of 1989, when he batted .303 with 22 doubles for AA Orlando. Despite hitting only .229 the next year for AAA Portland, Leius got a September callup in 1990 and was in the majors to stay in 1991. He batted .286 as a platoon third baseman (with Mike Pagliarulo) that year, and was a solid contributor to the Twins’ world championship team. He would never hit that well again, however. Given an expanded role with the 1992 team, he went down to .249. Leius was hurt for most of the 1993 season. He came back to hit in the .240s again in 1994 and 1995 as a semi-regular, and became a free agent after the season. Free agency did not treat Leius well. He suffered a variety of injuries, and never stayed in the majors for a full season again. Leius was in the Cleveland organization in 1996, with the White Sox system in 1997, and in the Kansas City organization in 1998. He played 37 games with the Royals in an injury-filled 1999, and called it a career after that. As a Twin, Scott Leius hit .252/.316/.353 in 1,373 at-bats. He played well in his one World Series, hitting .357 with a home run that was the game-winning run in game 2. A good defensive player, he finished second in gold glove balloting in 1994. He did some coaching for the Royals, and at last report was a senior client executive for Sirius, a CDW Company, in the Twin Cities area.

Right-hander Jimmy Levale Speigner did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system. Born and raised in Thomasville, Georgia, he went to Auburn and was drafted in the 14th round by Minnesota in 2003. He pitched well in the low minors in 2003 and 2004. He did not do as well in 2005 as a starter in AA New Britain, but did much better as a reliever for the Rock Cats in 2006. He pitched poorly in a couple of brief stints at AAA Rochester, however, and when the Twins left him off the forty-man roster, he was chosen by Washington in the rule 5 draft after the 2006 season. Speigner struggled in the majors in 2007, with the exception of one game in June. The Nationals worked out a trade with the Twins for Darnell McDonald, and sent him to the minors. Speigner had a good year in the minors in 2008, but again failed a brief trial in the big leagues. Levale Speigner spent 2009 in the Florida Marlins organization, pitching well in a season split between AA and AAA. A free agent after the season, he moved on to the Seattle organization. He had a rather mediocre year out of the bullpen for AAA Tacoma. He did not sign with anyone for 2011; rather, he became an insurance agent and at last report was a registered representative for the O. N. Equity Sales Company in Opelika, Alabama, which is where ex-Twin Roy Lee Jackson is from.

September 23

Heinie Wagner (1880)

Lefty Stewart (1900)

Jim Rooker (1942)

Woody Woodward (1942)

Dennis Lamp (1952)

Jim Morrison (1952)

Tony Fossas (1957)

Jim Winn (1959)

Pete Harnisch (1966)

Jeff Cirillo (1969)

Brent Abernathy (1977)

Mike Gosling (1980)

Matt Kemp (1984)

Joba Chamberlain (1985)

Xavier Scruggs (1987)

Trevor May (1989)

Left-hander Tony Fossas was drafted by the Twins in the ninth round in 1978, but did not sign.

Right-hander James Francis Winn made nine appearances for the Twins in 1988. He was born in Stockton, California, attended John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas (the only major leaguer ever to come from that school), and was drafted by Pittsburgh in the first round of the 1981. He did not have eye-popping numbers in the low minors, and struggled with injuries most of his career, never logging as many as 70 innings in a minor-league season. Winn made the Pirates in 1983 on the strength of an excellent spring training. He did not last long that year, pitching only eleven innings before being sent to AAA Hawaii. He became a relief pitcher in 1983, and did well then and in 1984 in Hawaii, getting another brief callup with Pittsburgh in the latter season. Winn was with the Pirates almost all of 1985 and all of 1986, with fair-to-middling results. He was traded to the White Sox just before the 1987 season and spent all year in Chicago, pitching similarly for them. Released by the White Sox near the end of 1988 spring training, he was signed by the Twins and sent to AAA Portland, where he pitched well enough to get called up to Minnesota. Winn pitched in nine games for the Twins that year, mostly in mop-up relief. He was 1-0 that year, but with an ERA of 6.00 and a WHIP of 2.05 in 21 innings. If he was left-handed, he probably would have gotten another chance somewhere, but he was a righty, and his playing career was over after 1988. At last report, Jim Winn was working in sales for Conco Companies in the Springfield, Missouri area.  He is a member of the Springfield, Mo. Area Sports Hall of Fame.

Third baseman Jeffrey Howard Cirillo played for the Twins for about four months in 2007. He was born in Pasadena, California, went to high school in Burbank, California, went to USC, and was drafted by Milwaukee in the 11th round in 1991. He hit well at every stop in the minors, made his major league debut in 1994, and was in the big leagues to stay as of 1995. Cirillo was with the Brewers through 1999. He made the all-star team, batted over .320 three times, and hit double-digit home runs four times in that period. In December of 1999, Cirillo was traded to Colorado in a three-team trade that also involved Oakland. He continued to hit well, averaging .320 in two years with the Rockies and hitting 28 home runs. Traded to Seattle in December of 2001, Cirillo went into a decline. He batted only .234 with 8 homers in two years with the Mariners, had an injury-plagued season in 2004 with San Diego, and it appeared that his career might be coming to an end. Given a last chance back with Milwaukee. however, Cirillo rebounded. He averaged over .300 as a part-time player for the Brewers in 2005-06. Signed by the Twins as a free agent in 2007, he batted .261/.327/.386 in 153 at-bats with two home runs. Cirillo was placed on waivers in August, and was selected by the Diamondbacks, where he finished his career. A good defender, he is tied for the major league record in consecutive errorless games at third base with 99. He did some television for the Brewers in 2008, and was a scout for the Angels as well as coaching at Bellevue High School in Washington. He is also part-owner of the Walla Walla Sweets and the Yakima Valley Pippens, teams which plays in the West Coast League, a summer collegiate wood bat league.  He was going to manage the Sweets in 2020, but the league season was cancelled.  He was going to manage them in 2021, but stepped aside to take care of his wife, who was very seriously injured in an auto accident.  His son, Connor, was an infielder at USC.  At last report, Jeff Cirillo was living in Medina, Washington and was a scout for the Seattle Mariners.

Second baseman Michael Brent Abernathy played in twenty-four games for the Twins in 2005. Born and raised in Atlanta, he was drafted by Toronto in the second round in 1986. He was a high-average hitter with decent doubles power in the minors, although he did hit 13 homers for AA Knoxville in 1999. In July of 2000, Abernathy was traded to Tampa Bay for Mark Guthrie and Steve Trachsel. He played in the 2000 Olympics. Abernathy came up to the Devil Rays in late June of 2001 and was the regular second baseman most of the rest of the year. He was the regular again in 2002, but hit only .242. In April of 2003, Abernathy was placed on waivers and chosen by Kansas City. He spent the rest of his career bouncing from one team to another, coming to the Twins in 2005 after stints with the Detroit and Cleveland organizations. He batted .326 in Rochester that year, but only .239 in 67 at-bats with the Twins, with one home run and six RBIs. That was to be Abernathy’s last shot at the big leagues. After the 2005 season, he logged time in the Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Washington organizations, and also played for the Long Island Ducks in 2008. Abernathy always hit for a good average in the minors, but was never able to translate that into major league success. Brent Abernathy did some coaching with USA baseball as well as some high school teams.  At last report, he was president of Abernathy Financial Services and a managing partner of Integrity Marketing Group in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

Left-hander Michael Frederick Gosling never actually played with the Twins, but was in their minor league system for two months in 2009. He was born in Madison, Wisconsin and went to high school in Salt Lake City, where he once struck out six batters in an inning (two passed balls and a throwing error on a dropped third strike). He was drafted by the Twins in the fourteenth round in 1998, but went to Stanford instead. He was then drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second round in 2001. Gosling pitched well for AA El Paso in 2002. He did not pitch so well for AAA Tucson, posting ERAs above 5.5 in three consecutive seasons, 2003-05. He suffered a torn labrum and torn rotator cuff in 2003. He was given chances in the big leagues in 2004-05 and actually did a little better there than in the minors, although not enough better to indicate any substantive improvement. The Reds picked him up on waivers in February of 2006. Gosling seemed to finally take a moderate step forward in 2007, as he had a good year at AAA Louisville. It did not result in success in the majors, however: in 23 games and 33 innings with Cincinnati, he posted a 4.91 ERA and a WHIP of 2.12. Gosling was placed on waivers again after the 2007 season, and was selected by Toronto. He had a decent year at AAA Syracuse in 2008, but was not called up to the majors. Allowed to become a free agent, he was signed by the Twins in January of 2009 and sent to AAA Rochester, where he vultured seven wins despite not pitching all that well. Part way into the season, Gosling exercised an out clause in his contract and was given his release. He then signed with Cleveland. The Indians sent him to AAA Columbus, where he continued to not pitch very well. Despite that, he spent about two months in the majors, pitching 25 innings with no record, a 5.04 ERA, and a 1.64 WHIP. He returned to Columbus at the start of the 2010 season and pitched well, posting an ERA of 2.96 in 27.1 innings, but apparently saw the writing on the wall and retired on May 17. After his baseball career ended, Mike Gosling entered law school and at last report was an attorney in San Diego, as well as being a commentator for University of San Diego baseball.

Right-hander Trevor Joseph May pitched for the Twins from 2014-2020.  He was born in Longview, Washington, went to high school in Kelso, Washington, and was drafted by Philadelphia in the fourth round in 2008.  He did well in low A in 2009 and continued to do well there in 2010, went to high A for half of 2010 and all of 2011, and reached AA in 2012.  He struck out a lot of batters everywhere he went, but he had a poor year overall in AA at age 22 and was traded to Minnesota after the season along with Vance Worley for Ben Revere.  He didn't do all that well in New Britain in 2013, but when promoted to Rochester in 2014 he got much better, going 8-6, 2.84, 1.16 WHIP.  One of the things that has improved is his control, going from 4.7 walks per nine innings in 2012 to 4.0 in 2013 to 3.6 in Rochester in 2014.  His strikeouts went down some but were at a high rate of 8.6 per nine innings in Rochester.  He was promoted to Minnesota in early August of 2014, and to say that it did not go well would be an understatement.  He started 2015 in the Twins rotation but even though he didn't pitch badly there he was moved to the bullpen in early July.  He pitched very well there and was a valuable contributor to the Twins' run at a playoff spot.  Promised a chance to start in the off-season, he made three starts in spring training and was then sent to the bullpen.  He had a poor year there, probably because he was pitching with a broken bone in his back.  He was told to prepare to be a starter again in the 2016-17 off-season, but he missed the entire 2017 season with a torn ligament in his arm.  He came back in late July of 2018 and pitched pretty well in relief, convincing the Twins the bullpen was where he belonged.  He was very good in 2019 and still pretty good, though not quite as good, in 2020.  He struck out more and walked fewer, but gave up more hits and especially more home runs.  He became a free agent after the 2020 season and signed with the Mets.  He had a solid season in 2021 but struggled in 2022.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Oakland for 2023, for whom he was been the closer and was okay, not great but not terrible.  Again a free agent after the season, he chose to retire from playing baseball.  At last report he was, in his words, "a partnered Twitch Streamer, a DJ, a Social Media connoisseur, an esports Entrepreneur, a gaming tournament organizer and commentator, and obviously an exceptional writer" and was living in Seattle.

September 22

Doc Powers (1870)

Hooks Dauss (1889)

Urban Shocker (1890)

Ira Flagstead (1893)

Harry Walker (1918)

Bob Lemon (1920)

Tommy Lasorda (1927)

Ken Aspromonte (1931)

Jim Fairey (1944)

Larry Dierker (1946)

Jeffrey Leonard (1955)

Wally Backman (1959)

Vince Coleman (1961)

Bob Geren (1961)

Mark Guthrie (1965)

Mike Matheny (1970)

Carlos Correa (1994)

Calvin Faucher (1995)

Four players born on this date made their debuts in 2019.  That may not be a record, but it is unusual.

Outfielder James Burke Fairey did not play for the Twins, but was in AAA for them in 1974. He was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina and attended Erskine College in Due West, South Carolina, the most successful of six major league players to come from that school. The Dodgers signed him as a free agent in 1965. He batted over .300 for three consecutive years in the Dodgers’ minor league system and averaged 13 homers per season, although his home run total went down each year. He made his major league debut in 1968, spending the entire year as a reserve outfielder. He batted only .199 in 156 at-bats, however, and was left unprotected in the expansion draft. Montreal chose him and he went back to AAA for the 1969 season, playing for the Expos as a September call-up. He made the team in 1970, though, and stayed for three seasons as a back-up outfielder, getting around 200 at-bats per season and hitting around .240. He was released in late March of 1973 and signed back with the Dodgers, getting a September call-up after spending most of the season at AAA. After the season, he was traded to Minnesota with G. Mike Floyd for Glenn Ezell and Charlie Manuel. Fairey was at AAA all of 1974 and had a good season, hitting .302/.391/.495 with 16 home runs. It did not get him to the majors, however, and he moved on to the San Diego system in 1975. He played for AAA Hawaii for three seasons, averaging around .300 with double-digit home runs, but never got a call-up to the big leagues. He remained in baseball after his playing career ended, first as a minor league manager for the Cubs and then as a scout for San Francisco and for Texas.  At last report, Jim Fairey was living in Clemson, South Carolina.  His grandson, Chad Fairey, played for Clemson University in 2019-2021.

Infielder Walter Wayne Backman played for the Twins in 1989. He was born in Hillsboro, Oregon, went to high school in Beaverton, Oregon, and was drafted by the Mets in the first round in 1977. A shortstop in his early minor league career, he was moved to second base when he reached AAA Tidewater in 1980. He hit for a good average in the minors, although with little power, and set a personal high for walks in the 1980 season with 87. This earned him a September call-up. Backman suffered through an injury-plagued 1981, but became the Mets semi-regular second baseman in 1982, starting 73 games. He played decently for the Mets, but 1983 found him back in Tidewater, as he lost the second base job to Brian Giles. A .316 batting average for Tidewater that season enabled him to leave the minors behind for good. Backman was the regular second baseman for the Mets from 1984-85. He was reduced to part-time status in 1986-88, sharing second base with Tim Teufel, although Backman got the majority of the playing time. In December of 1988, Backman was traded to the Twins with Mike Santiago for Jeff Bumgarner, Steve Glasser, and Toby Nivens. Backman proceeded to have the worst season of his career, batting .231/.306/.284 in 299 at-bats in another injury-plagued season. The Twins allowed Backman to become a free agent, and he signed with Pittsburgh, where he bounced back to hit .292 in 1990. He became a free agent again, spending 1991-92 with Philadelphia. At the end of the line, he was signed briefly by Atlanta and Seattle in 1993, but was released by the Mariners in May and his playing career was over. Backman became a minor-league manager, and nearly died in 1998 when he was bitten by a brown recluse spider while managing in Bend, Oregon. He was named manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks on November 1, 2004. Unfortunately, a number of legal and financial problems came to light, and Backman was fired four days later. He made a comeback, however, as he managed the Brooklyn Cyclones in the Mets organization in 2010, was promoted to manager of AA Binghamton in 2011, was the manager of AAA Buffalo in 2012, and was the manager of AAA Las Vegas from 2013-16.  He was not the manager there in 2017; it's unclear whether he resigned or was fired, but it seems clear neither side was particularly interested in seeing the relationship continue.   He became the manager of Monclova in the Mexican League in 2017, but was fired forty-two games into the season and became the bench coach of Puebla.  He was the manager of the independent New Britain Bees in 2018 and was the manager of the independent Long Island Ducks from 2019-2023, when he was replaced by Lew Ford.  He is currently the manager of the Staten Island FerryHawks in the Atlantic League.  Wally Backman was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.

Left-hander Mark Andrew Guthrie played for the Twins from 1989-1995. He was born in Buffalo, went to high school in Venice, Florida, attended LSU, and was drafted by the Twins in the seventh round in 1987. He came through the minors quickly, making his major-league debut with the Twins in July of 1989. Used mostly in relief, Guthrie was a solid pitcher for Minnesota through 1992. He had injury problems in 1993, was still battling them in 1994, and in 1995 he was traded with Kevin Tapani to the Dodgers in a deadline deal for Ron Coomer, Greg Hansell, Jose Parra, and Chris Latham. After three and a half decent years with the Dodgers, Guthrie became a free agent in 1999 and signed with Boston, only to be included in another deadline deal that sent him to the Cubs. He then started moving around, going to Tampa Bay, Toronto, Oakland, the Mets, and back to the Cubs before his career ended after the 2003 season. Mark Guthrie appeared in 243 games for the Twins, going 29-27 with 8 saves, a 4.19 ERA, and a 1.43 WHIP in 489.2 innings. He was never a star, but was usually a fairly dependable reliever. He played in the big leagues for 14 years and was in the post-season five times, including pitching in four games of the 1991 World Series with the Twins. At last report, Mark Guthrie was the General Manager of Florida Burn, which appears to be an organization of high-school age all-star teams.

Shortstop/third baseman Carlos Javier Correa played for the Twins from 2022-2025.  He was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, went to high school in Gurabo, Puerto Rico, and was drafted by Houston with the first pick of the 2012 draft.  He hit well pretty much throughout the minor leagues and reached the majors to stay (other than rehab assignments) in June of 2015.  He has posted an OPS of over .800 in six of his eight seasons and over .900 in two of them.  He was Rookie of the Year in 2015 and made the all-star team in 2017 and 2021.  He also won a Gold Glove in 2021 and finished fifth in MVP voting that year.  His best season, at least in terms of offense, was probably 2017, when he batted .315. hit twenty-four home runs, and posted his highest OPS at .941.  He remained an Astro through 2021, then became a free agent and signed with the Twins.  He had a solid season in 2022 and opted out of his contract, but when health concerns scared away a couple of teams he came back to the Twins.  Battling plantar fasciitis all season, he had a down year in 2023, although he still played well in the field.  He had an excellent 2024 when he could play, making his third all-star team, but missed substantial time due to injury.  He was having a down year in 2025 when he was traded to Houston for Matt Mikulski at the trade deadline.  Moved to third base, he rebounded as an Astro  He was injured most of 2026, however, playing just thirty-two games. When he first came up, he'd steal a base occasionally, but he's stolen only six bases since 2017 and only one since 2019.  He turns thirty-two today.  As a Twin, he batted .271/.345/.440 in 1692 at-bats.  He is perhaps not the superstar that he's sometimes made out to be, but when healthy he's definitely a fine ballplayer.  The "when healthy" part is the tricky bit, but we wish him well.

Right-handed reliever Calvin Faucher did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system from 2017-2021.  He was born in Chula Vista, California, attended the University of California-Irvine, and was drafted by Minnesota in the tenth round in 2017.  He pitched very well in Elizabethton that year but struggled after that.  He posted ERAs over four in Class A in 2018 and 2019, did not pitch in 2020, and had an ERA of over seven in AA in 2021 when he was traded to Tampa Bay with Nelson Cruz for Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman.  The Rays apparently saw something the Twins did not, because Faucher immediately started pitching well in AA and AAA for them in 2021.  He was not as good, but still decent in AAA in 2022 and came up to the Rays early in the season.  He had a disastrous outing in May (five runs in one inning) which skews his ERA, but other than that he did okay for them in 2022.  He started 2023 in the majors but pitched poorly, went to the minors, and missed time due to injury.  He was traded to Miami after the season and had a decent year in 2024, a better year in 2025, and another good year in 2026.  He turns thirty-one today.  He started late, but Calvin Faucher is having a solid major league career.

September 21

Tom Brown (1860)

Elmer Smith (1892)

Eldon Auker (1910)

Max Butcher (1910)

Joe Haynes (1917)

John McHale (1921)

Jerry Zimmerman (1934)

Jerry Fosnow (1940)

Sudden Sam McDowell (1942)

Aurelio Lopez (1948)

Danny Cox (1959)

Cecil Fielder (1963)

D. J. Dozier (1965)

Jason Christianson (1969)

Scott Spiezio (1972)

Doug Davis (1975)

Jeremy Jeffress (1987)

Aaron Bummer (1993)

Kyler Fedco (1999)

Joe Haynes played for the Twins franchise while it was in Washington for four years, then coached for three, then was with the team as executive vice-president through 1967, when he passed away from a heart attack.

John McHale was the general manager of the Tigers, the Braves, and the Expos.

Better known for his football career, William Henry “D. J.” Dozier played in 25 games for the New York Mets in 1992.

Catcher Gerald Robert Zimmerman played for the Twins from 1962-1968. He was born in Omaha, went to high school in Milwaukie, Oregon, and was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox in 1952. He spent nine years in the minors before reaching the major leagues. In those nine years, he hit as high as .302 with Class D Corning in 1954, and as low as .179 at AAA in 1959. He never hit with any power, with a high of seven home runs in a season. The Red Sox released him midway through that 1959 season. Zimmerman signed the same day with the Orioles organization, but they released him at the end of the year. In 1960, he was signed by the Reds, and hit .279 with AAA Seattle. The next year, Zimmerman was in Cincinnati. The Reds used five catchers in 1961, and he caught more than anyone with 76 games, although he batted only .206. He also caught in two games of the World Series that year, although he did not bat. Cincinnati apparently decided he was not the answer to their catching problems, and traded him to Minnesota after the 1961 season for Dan Dobbek. Zimmerman then embarked on a substantial career as the Twins’ reserve catcher, mostly backing up Earl Battey. He never hit a lot, but had a reputation as a fine defensive catcher and an excellent handler of pitchers. He was also very popular in the clubhouse. He made it to another World Series with the Twins, in 1965, and again caught in two games, this time getting to bat once (he was 0-for-1). In 1967, Zimmerman became the Twins’ bullpen coach while remaining an active player. That year, however, due to injuries to Battey, Zimmerman caught 104 games, the most he caught in a big league season. He was not up to the task, batting only .167. 1967, of course, was when the Twins came within one game of the World Series; one has to think that an average offensive performance out of the catching position might have made the difference. Zimmerman’s performance apparently told the Twins something; the next year, he got only 45 at-bats backing up Johnny Roseboro. He was released by the Twins in spring training of 1969, and his playing career was over. In seven years with the Twins, he batted .204/.273/.242 in 790 at-bats, hitting 3 home runs and posting an OPS of .514. After retiring as an active player, Zimmerman became a bullpen coach for Gene Mauch, first in Montreal (1969-75) and then with the Twins (1976-80). During an umpires’ strike in 1978, he and another coach, Don Leppert of the Blue Jays, umpired an inning of a major league game, the last two active coaches to do so. In the 1980s, Zimmerman was a scout for the Yankees and the Orioles. Jerry Zimmerman passed away on September 9, 1998, in Neskowin, Oregon.

Left-hander Gerald Eugene Fosnow played for the Twins from 1964-1965. Born and raised in Deshler, Ohio, he was signed by Cleveland as a free agent in 1959. He did reasonably well in his first couple of years in the low minors, but was injured for much of 1961, and found himself in the Twins organization for 1962. The move suited him, as he posted ERAs under 3.00 in his first two years in the Twins’ system. He was converted to relief pitching in 1964, and had an ERA of 3.23 and a WHIP of 0.94 for AAA Atlanta. He was with the Twins part of that season, but pitched poorly in only seven games. Fosnow appeared in 29 games with the Twins in 1965, and gave up well under a hit per inning, but had control trouble and was returned to the minors. The Twins released Fosnow after the 1966 season, and he signed with the Dodgers. He had a very good year pitching in relief for AAA Spokane in 1967, but when that good year did not result in another chance in the majors, Fosnow decided to retire at age 27. He apparently still makes appearances at card shows and baseball alumni events. Jerry Fosnow appeared in 36 major league games, all with the Twins. He pitched 57.1 innings, giving up 46 hits but 33 walks. He was 3-4 with a 5.65 career ERA.  At last report, Jerry Fosnow was living in DeBary, Florida and was the owner of Powerhouse Pressure Cleaning, although he no longer appears to be actively involved in the business.

Outfielder Kyler John Fedco appeared in fourteen games for the Twins in 2026.  He was born in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, attended the University of Connecticut, and was drafted by Minnesota in the twelfth round in 2021.  He had a tremendous year in his last year in college, batting .398/.485/.673.  He struggled for much of his minor league career, reaching high-A in 2022 but not reaching AA until 2024, and not doing much in AA once he got there.  He suddenly developed power in 2025, hitting twenty-eight home runs between AA and AAA and batting a combined .258 with an OPS of .855.  He had another very good year in AAA in 2026, batting .274 with an OPS of .907.  He was promoted to the major for about three weeks in mid-June but wasn't really given much of a chance--he appeared in fourteen games but got just sixteen at-bats.  He went 0-for-16, but again, given his sporadic play, that really doesn't mean anything.  It was enough for the Twins, however, and they released him on September 1.  He signed with Pittsburgh, but has been injured and hasn't played for them.  He turns twenty-seven today, so he's not a kid.  But he's had two very good years in AAA, and sixteen at-bats spread over three weeks isn't enough to say he can't play.  We hope he'll get the chance in Pittsburgh that he didn't get in Minnesota.

September 20

Chuck Dressen (1894)

Zeke Bonura (1908)

Tom Tresh (1938)

Rich Morales (1943)

Roric Harrison (1946)

Pete Hamm (1947)

Mickey Klutts (1954)

Dave Gallagher (1960)

Pat Bangtson (1964)

Jason Bay (1978)

Ian Desmond (1985)

A. J. Ramos (1986)

Steve Lombardozzi (1988)

Ken Giles (1990)

Jeffrey Springs (1992)

This is the only date on which there are only two players to have been in the big leagues for ten seasons.  When we started doing this all those years ago, there were none.

Pat Bangtson was drafted by the Twins in 1987 and was in their system through 1991, reaching as high as AAA. He then worked as an assistant coach at Ohio State from 1992-2005, when he became the head coach at the University of Akron through 2011.

Right-hander Roric Edward Harrison appeared in nine games for the Twins in 1978. He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in Westchester, California, and was signed by the Houston Astros as a free agent in 1965. He appears to have battled both injuries and ineffectiveness, as well as wildness, in the minors. In 1969, he was traded to the Seattle Pilots in a trade that involved Jim Bouton, and was traded to Baltimore just before the 1971 season. Something clicked with Harrison in 1971, as he suddenly went 15-5 with a 2.81 ERA and 1.14 WHIP for AAA Rochester. He was a very effective relief pitcher for the Orioles in 1972, but was traded to Atlanta after the season in a multi-player deal that included Pat Dobson, Davey Johnson, Johnny Oates, and Earl Williams. Converted to starting, he was much less effective for the Braves, posting ERAs mostly in the mid-to-upper fours. Still, Harrison stayed in the majors with Atlanta through June of 1975, when he was traded to Cleveland for Blue Moon Odom. Placed in the Indians rotation, he continued to be fairly mediocre, and was on the move again after the season, traded to St. Louis. Harrison was in the Cardinals, Tigers, and Pirates organizations during the next couple of years, and was eventually signed by the Twins as a free agent in late April of 1978. He was fairly mediocre in AAA Toledo, too, but still made nine relief appearances for the Twins, giving up 18 hits and 10 runs in 12 innings for an ERA of 7.50 and a WHIP of 2.42. His career came to an end after that season. Roric Harrison was the last American League pitcher to hit a home run in a regular season game prior to the designated hitter rule. He was named after the first king of Ireland. In 2001, Roric Harrison was inducted into the Rochester Red Wings Hall of Fame. At last report, Roric Harrison was the vice president for business development for Lexicon Relocation in Irvine, California.

Right-hander Peter Whitfield Hamm was with the Twins from 1970-1971. He was born in Buffalo, went to high school in Soquel, California, and was chosen by the Twins in the ninth round of the secondary phase of the 1967 draft out of Stanford. His minor league numbers look good, but it took him three years to get out of Class A. Hamm had a very good 1970 split between AA and AAA, and was briefly promoted to the Twins that year. He appeared in 10 games as a 22-year-old, going 0-2 with a 5.51 ERA. Hamm had another fine year at AAA Portland in 1971, giving up about a hit per inning with excellent control. He appeared in 13 games for the Twins that year, 8 of them starts, but did not do well, going 2-4 with a 6.75 ERA. Still, he was only 23, and after a year and a half of good pitching at AAA would seem to have been a promising young pitcher. Apparently, however, nobody who mattered thought so. The Twins sold Hamm to the White Sox in February of 1972. He never pitched for them, and instead 1973 found him pitching for Trois Rivieres, the AA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Hamm dominated at that level, winning 17 games with a 2.30 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP, but it was his last year in organized baseball. No information is readily available regarding why he did not get more of a chance, why his career came to an abrupt end, or what he might be doing now.

September 19

Yank Robinson (1859)

Stuffy McInnis (1890)

Roger Angell (1920)

Epitacio Torres (1921)

Bob Murphy (1924)

Duke Snider (1926)

Bob Turley (1930)

Bill Williams (1930)

Chris Short (1937)

Joe Morgan (1943)

Joe Ferguson (1946)

Masaji Hiramatsu (1947)

Joe Maddon (1954)

Charlie Reliford (1955)

Randy Myers (1962)

Jim Abbott (1967)

Pedro Munoz (1968)

Javier Valentin (1975)

Mike Smith (1977)

Nick Johnson (1978)

Scott Baker (1981)

Danny Valencia (1984)

Gio Gonzalez (1985)

George Springer (1989)

Luke Raley (1994)

Roger Angell wrote several books and essays on baseball.  He is the stepson of author and essayist E. B. White, who was the co-author of "The Elements of Style".

Outfielder Epitacio Torres was a star in the Negro Leagues and the Mexican League in the 1940s and 1950s.  He is a member of the Mexican League Hall of Fame.  Whitey Ford once described him as "the best player I've seen in my career."  He is also the father of major leaguer Hector Torres.

Bob Murphy was a baseball broadcaster from 1954-2003, spending most of that time broadcasting for the New York Mets.

Bill Williams was a National League umpire from 1963-1987.

Masaji Hiramatsu won over two hundred games in Japan, pitching for the Taiyo Whales.

Joe Maddon was interim manger of the Angels in 1996 and 1999, managed Tampa Bay from 2006-14, was the manager of the Chicago Cubs from 2015-2019, and managed the Angels from 2020-2022.

Charlie Reliford was a major league umpire from 1989-2009 and is currently a supervisor of umpires.

George Springer was drafted by Minnesota in the 48th round in 2008, but did not sign.

Outfielder Pedro Javier (Gonzalez) Munoz played for the Twins from 1990-1995. He was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico and was signed by the Blue Jays as a free agent in 1985. His first few years in the minors were not particularly distinguished, but he began to develop some power in 1989, hitting 19 homers for AA Knoxville. The next year, his average came around, as he hit .319 in AAA. That AAA year (1990) was split between Syracuse and Portland, as Munoz was traded to the Twins in July along with Nelson Liriano for John Candelaria. He got a September call-up that year and played quite a bit in September, batting .271 in 90 at-bats. Munoz was back in the minors at the start of 1991, but after batting .316 in Portland he came up to the Twins in early May and was in the majors to stay. By 1992, Munoz was a semi-regular in the corner outfield. He played there for the next four seasons, hitting well in every season except 1994, when he was bothered by injuries. Not a particularly good defensive outfielder, he was still occasionally used as a defensive replacement due to the fact that the other Twins corner outfielders included Randy Bush and Gene Larkin. Munoz was allowed to become a free agent after the 1995 season and signed with Oakland, but he was injured most of the season, and his career came to a close after the 1996 campaign. In just over six years for the Twins, Munoz batted .273/.315/.444 with 67 homers and 252 RBIs. No information about what Pedro Munoz has done since his playing career ended was readily available.

The brother of Jose Valentin, catcher Jose Javier (Rosario) Valentin played for the Twins from 1997-1999 and again in 2002. Born and raised in Manati, Puerto Rico, he was drafted in the third round of the 1993 draft by the Twins.  His father, also named Javier Valentin, has coached several Puerto Rican teams to the Junior League World Series. He never hit all that much in the minors with the exception of 1995, when Valentin batted .321 with 19 homers for Class A Fort Wayne. Even so, he was given a brief call-up in 1997 and had two full seasons in the majors in 1998 and 1999 backing up Terry Steinbach. Valentin was injured for much of 2000, and when healthy played at AAA Salt Lake, where he hit .357 in 140 at-bats. He remained at AAA in 2001 and 2002, hitting a total of 38 home runs for Edmonton in those years. He got four more at-bats with the Twins in 2002, but was traded twice during the off-season. First, the Twins traded him to Milwaukee with Matt Kinney for Gerry Oakes and Matt Yeatman; then, before the season started, the Brewers sent him to Tampa Bay. Valentin was only in Tampa for the 2003 season, and then moved on to Cincinnati, where he spent five years as a part-time catcher. He became a free agent after that, and signed with Washington. Let go by the Nationals, he was picked up by the Mets and played part of 2009 at AAA Buffalo, but was released on June 22, ending his playing career. Javier Valentin played in the big leagues for eight full years and parts of two others, and that’s not too bad. As a Twin, Valentin hit .230/.288/.350 with 8 homers and 46 RBIs in 391 at-bats. His nephew, Jesmuel Valentin, was an infielder in the Philadelphia organization, reaching AAA in 2016.  Javier Valentin became a minor league coach for the Twins in 2015 and was the batting coach for Rochester in 2019, but was not retained in that position for 2020.  In July of 2026 he became the manager of Oaxaca in the Mexican League.

Right-hander Michael Anthony Smith pitched three innings for the Twins in 2006. He was born in Norwood, Massachusetts, went to high school in Needham, Massachusetts, and was drafted by the Blue Jays in the fifth round of the 2000 draft out of the University of Richmond. He moved through the minors quickly, pitching well at every stop, and made his big-league debut with Toronto in April of 2002. Things did not go well, and after 14 games (6 starts) he was returned to AAA Syracuse. He had a good year there in 2002, but struggled for a couple of years after that. Released by the Blue Jays in spring training of 2005, he signed with the Phillies, but continued to struggle at AA Reading, and was released again after the season. He signed a minor-league contract with the Twins and pitched well enough in Rochester that he was asked to make one start with the big club. He lasted three innings, giving up four runs on five hits and three walks, and was back in Rochester again. The Twins released Smith after the season. He was in the Cardinals organization in 2007 and signed with the Cubs for 2008, but was released before the season started. Smith pitched in both independent leagues in 2008-2009, and also pitched in Taiwan in 2009. He pitched for the Broxton Rox of the Can-Am league in 2010, leading the league in wins and ERA and making the all-star team.  He had another fine season for the Rox in 2011 while also acting as the team’s pitching coach.  In 2012, he signed with Grosseto in the Italian Baseball League as a player/coach, making fourteen starts for them.  His playing career ended after that season.  At last report, Mike Smith was the Northeast Finance Manager for GDI Integrated Facility Services and was living in the Boston area.

Right-hander Timothy Scott Baker was with the Twins from 2005-2012. Born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, he was drafted by the Twins out of Oklahoma State in the second round in 2003. He was promoted rapidly through the Twins organization, and pitched very well at every stop with the exception of a short stint at AAA Rochester in 2004. He redeemed himself there in 2005, however, and made his big-league debut with the Twins in May of 2005 after only about 250 minor-league innings. He did well in 53 major league innings that year, but went backward in 2006, with an ERA over 6 in 16 starts. He pitched very well again in Rochester, however, and after 6 more minor-league starts in 2007 he returned to the majors to stay. Baker was solid in 2007 and pitched fairly well for the rest of his tenure with the Twins, despite a tendency to give up the long ball. His best season was 2008, when he went 11-4, 3.45 with a WHIP of 1.19. That season, Scott Baker became the first Twins’ pitcher to strike out four batters in an inning. He battled injuries in 2010 and 2011 and missed all of 2012 with an elbow injury.  A free agent after the season, he signed with the Cubs.  He missed most of the 2013 season as well, coming back to the Cubs in September.  A free agent again, he signed with Seattle, was released, was signed by Texas, was released again, but signed back with Texas a couple of days later.  He started the season in the bullpen but was recently placed in the starting rotation.  It didn't gone well for him.  He signed with the Yankees for 2015, we released in late March, and signed with the Dodgers.  He made two starts for them early in the season, one of which was fairly good and one of which wasn't.  He did pitch pretty well in AAA, but his playing career came to an end after the 2015 season.  He was a very effective pitcher when healthy, but unfortunately he couldn't stay healthy.  He is a member of the Oklahoma State Baseball Hall of Fame.  At last report, Scott Baker was working with Baseball Chapel in Minneapolis.

Corner infielder/outfielder Daniel Paul Valencia played for the Twins from 2010-2012. He was born in Miami and was drafted by Minnesota in the nineteenth round in 2006. He hit very well in the minors, averaging nearly .300 with double digit home runs. His best minor league season was 2008, when he hit .311 with 15 homers in a season split between Ft. Myers and New Britain. He struck out a lot early in his minor league career, but seems to have made progress in that area in recent years. He was hitting .292 in Rochester in 2010 when he was brought up due to injuries to infielders at the major league level. He became the regular third baseman in mid-July and held the job the rest of the season, hitting .311. No one expected him to do that his whole career, and he sure didn’t.  In 2011 he slumped to .246, and he was hitting .190  in May of 2012 when he was sent to the minors.  He came back up briefly at the end of July, but was traded in early August to Boston for Jeremias Pineda.  He played in a few games with the Red Sox in 2012, but was mostly in the minors.  He was sold to Baltimore after the 2012 season.  Splitting the season between AAA and the majors, he actually did very well for the Orioles, hitting .304 with eight home runs.  In the off-season, however, he was traded to Kansas City.  He was a part-time player for the Royals until late July, when he was traded to Toronto for ex-Twin Liam Hendriks and Erik Kratz.  He stayed with the Blue Jays until early August of 2015, when he was claimed off waivers by Oakland.  He stayed with the Athletics in 2016 and was an almost-regular utility player, seeing time at first, third, and the outfield.  He was a solid player for them, posting an OPS of nearly .800.  He was traded to Seattle after the 2016 season and became their regular first baseman.  His numbers were decent, but not really good enough for a first baseman.  A free agent, he signed with Baltimore for 2018 but was released him in mid-August.  He did not sign anywhere, and instead played for Team Israel.  He played for them in the European Baseball Championships, in the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification Tournament, in the 2020 Olympics played in 2021, and in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.  He also played briefly for Long Island in the Atlantic League in 2021.  He turns thirty-nine today.  At last report, Danny Valencia was a real estate agent with Lang Realty in Delray Beach, Florida.

Outfielder Lucas John Raley did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system in 2018 and 2019.  He was born in Hinckley, Ohio, attended Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio (one of two big leaguers the school has produced (Ryan Rua)), and was drafted by the Dodgers in the seventh round in 2016.  He hit well in the low minors and was still hitting well in AA in 2018 when he was traded to Minnesota with Logan Forsythe and Devin Smeltzer at the July deadline for Brian Dozier.  He continued to hit well in AA and had an excellent season in AAA in 2019, although he missed time due to injury.  In February of 2020 he was traded back to the Dodgers with Brusdar Graterol for Kenta Maeda, Jair Camargo, and cash.  He did not play in 2020, but started 2021 as a starting outfielder for the Dodgers.  That did not last long, though, as he didn't hit, fell to bench status, and then was sent back to AAA.  He has had a fine season there, but was traded to Tampa Bay for 2022.  He again had a fine year in AAA, but failed to hit in about six weeks for the Rays.  At that time, we wrote, "if he's going to have a major league career he needs to take advantage of his next chance.  If he doesn't, he may not get another one."   Well, the Rays gave him another chance in 2023, and he took advantage of it.  He was a mostly-regular at various positions, playing outfield, first base, and DH, and batted .249 with an OPS of .824.  He was traded to Seattle that off-season and has put up solid numbers in 2024.  He struggled in 2025, however, batting just .202 and briefly being sent back to AAA.  He has bounced back somewhat in 2026, but is not close to his 2023 numbers.  He turns thirty-two today.  He offers some position flexibility as a corner outfielder and a first baseman, but he's going to have to get it going with the bat if he's going to continue his major league career much longer.