August 2

Dummy Kihm (1873)
Pop Kelchner (1875)
War Sanders (1877)
Red Ames (1882)
John F. Kieran (1892)
Fuzzy Hufft (1901)
Tom Burgmeier (1943)
Bombo Rivera (1952)
Danny Sheaffer (1961)
Tim Wakefield (1966)
Matt Guerrier (1978)
Colby Lewis (1979)
Humberto Quintero (1979)
Grady Sizemore (1982)
Huston Street (1983)
Luke Hughes (1984)

A deaf mute, Dummy Kihm had 2,245 hits in seventeen minor league seasons.

Pop Kelchner was a scout for fifty years, most of them for the St. Louis Cardinals.

What was War good for?  Absolutely nothing, at least in a baseball sense.  In twelve games, War Sanders was 2-8, 5.64, 1.61 WHIP.  He also was 1-for-21 at the plate.

John F. Kieran was a long-time sportswriter in New York and was a panelist on the quiz show "Information, Please".

Fuzzy Hufft had 1,400 hits over seven seasons in the Pacific Coast League and served honorably in both World Wars.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to UncleWalt’s youngest child.

Left-handed reliever Thomas Henry Burgmeier pitched for the Twins from 1974-1977.  He was born in St. Paul, went to high school in St. Cloud, and signed with Houston as a free agent in 1961.  He was a starter in the minors and struggled quite a bit; in fact, Houston released him in June of 1964.  He signed with the Angels about six weeks later, but continued to struggle the rest of that year.  His first good year in the minors was 1965, when he went 8-7, 3.21 for AAA Seattle.  He went backward in 1966, but came back in Seattle in 1967 to go 11-14, 2.78, 1.06 WHIP.  He spent all of the 1968 season in the Angels’ bullpen and did not do too badly, going 1-4, 4.33 but with a WHIP of 1.23.  He was left unprotected in the expansion draft, and was selected by Kansas City.  Burgmeier was in the Royals’ bullpen for a little over four years.  He did pretty well in the first three of them, but in 1972 he posted a WHIP of 1.81.  Control seems to have been his big issue, as he walked 33 in 55 innings.  He started 1973 in Kansas City, but was sent to the minors in early May after making only six big-league appearances.  The Royals gave up on him, sending him to Minnesota after the 1973 season for Ken Gill.  It was a good trade for the Twins, as Burgmeier did some solid work for them as a left-handed setup man.  Over four seasons, he went 24-16, 3.77, 1.28 WHIP with 23 saves.  He appeared in 214 games, working 380 innings.  In his last season as a Twin, 1977, his ERA ballooned to 5.09.  He was allowed to become a free agent and signed with Boston.  He pitched quite well for the Red Sox, posting an ERA under three in four of his five seasons there, with a WHIP of under 1.2 in three of those seasons.  He became a free agent after the 1982 campaign and signed with Oakland.  He continued to pitch very well there, going 9-7, 2.72, 1.21 WHIP over two years.  There is nothing in his record to indicate that he could not have continued to do that for a while, but he was forty years old and suffering from shoulder tendinitis, so he decided to retire after the 1984 season.  Burgmeier remained in baseball and was a  minor league pitching coach for many years.  Most of that time he was working for the Royals, most recently as the pitching coach in Omaha from 2006-2009.  He was also the bullpen coach for the major league team from 1998-2000.  At last report, Tom Burgmeier was retired and was living in Leawood, Kansas, but continued to be available for personal appearances and private lessons.

Popular outfielder Jesus Manuel “Bombo” Rivera played for the Twins from 1978-1980.  He was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico and was given the nickname "Bombo" by a youth baseball coach there.  He signed with Montreal as a free agent in 1970.  He started slowly, which was to be expected given his youth.  He came on to hit .290 with a .374 OBP for AA Quebec in 1974, and followed that up with .293 and a .390 OBP for AAA Memphis in 1975.  After 40 games in Memphis, Rivera made his major league debut for the Expos.  He stayed through 1976 as a reserve outfielder and didn’t do badly in limited play, hitting .268 in 194 at-bats.  He was back in AAA in 1977 and hit .302 with 17 homers and 14 triples.  By that time, though, the Expos had Andre Dawson, Ellis Valentine, and Warren Cromartie in their outfield, all of whom were in their early twenties, and they had no need for Rivera.  He was sold to Minnesota in October of 1977.  He was a corner outfielder who was generally used as a platoon player, sharing time with Hosken Powell.  He did okay for his first two seasons and fell apart in the third; as a Twin, Rivera hit .268/.321/.397 in 627 at-bats.  He was released by the Twins late in 1981 spring training and signed with Kansas City.  Rivera played for Omaha for most of three seasons and had his best year there in 1982, hitting .318 with 27 home runs.  He got a September call-up that year, going 1-for-10.  He was in the minors with both the Royals and Cardinals in 1983.  Rivera went to Japan in 1985-1986, hitting 31 homers in the former season.  He played in the Puerto Rican League through 1989.  At last report, Bombo Rivera continued to live in Puerto Rico and worked for a non-profit organization that offers free sports clinics to disadvantaged children.  He also worked as an umpire for youth baseball in Puerto Rico.  He was never a great player, but he was always popular.  He was the subject of a song by Garrison Keillor and was mentioned in the W. P. Kinsella novel "Shoeless Joe".  Bill James once wrote, "A chart of numbers that would put an actuary to sleep can be made to dance if you put it on one side of a card and Bombo Rivera’s picture on the other.”

Catcher Danny Todd Sheaffer did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system for two seasons.  He was born in Jacksonville, Florida, went to high school in Lewisbury, Pennsylvania, and then attended Clemson.  He was chosen by Boston in the first round of the January draft in 1981.  He was primarily a catcher, but played a handful of games both in the infield and the outfield.  He had some decent years in the minors, hitting .276 with 15 homers for Class A Winston-Salem in 1983 and .340 (in 243 at-bats) with AAA Pawtucket in 1985.  He was with the Red Sox for a couple of months in 1987 as a reserve but hit only .121 in 66 at-bats.  He became a free agent after the 1988 season and signed with Cleveland.  He was in AAA most of the 1989 season, although he was with the Indians for about three weeks.  Sheaffer moved on to the Pittsburgh organization for 1990, then signed with Minnesota as a free agent.  He was generally a part-time catcher in AAA Portland, although he also played a handful of games in the outfield and corner infield.  He hit .288 in two seasons there, but did not get a chance in the majors.  He signed with Colorado for 1993, surprisingly made the team as a backup catcher, and stayed there for two years, hitting .258 in limited duty.  He moved on to St. Louis in 1995 and oddly becoming a super-utility player at age 33.  He caught some, but also played a fair amount of corner infield and corner outfield.  He hit only .234 with a .624 OPS as a Cardinal, but was apparently considered a valuable reserve, as he stayed with St. Louis for three seasons.  He was in the minors for St. Louis in 1998, then his playing career ended.  For someone who had only 82 major league at-bats at age 30, he did quite well.  He remained in the Cardinals’ organization, managing in the minors for them from 2000-2006.  He then moved to the Astros and was their minor league catching instructor through 2012.  He was the manager of the Princeton Rays in the Appalachian League from 2013-2019.  He has produced a DVD on catching, "Firm Foundation Catching", which is endorsed by Yadier Molina and ex-Twin Jason Castro.  At last report, Danny Sheaffer was living in Mount Airy, North Carolina.  His son, David, played in the Mariners' organization from 2018-2022.  He has written a book, "Keep Digging", about his life as a baseball player and as a Christian.

Right-handed reliever Matthew Olson Guerrier was with the Twins from 2004-2010 and again in 2014.  He was born in Cleveland, went to high school in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and attended Kent State.  He was drafted by the White Sox in the tenth round in 1999.  He pitched very well in the White Sox’ chain for three seasons, the first two as a reliever, the third as a starter.  His combined ERA in those seasons was 2.80, as he rose as high as AAA in 2001.  The White Sox traded him to Pittsburgh in March of 2002.  He was in AAA Nashville for two seasons, still as a starting pitcher.  His won-lost records and ERAs were unimpressive, but he posted a combined WHIP of 1.25 with very good control.  The Pirates put Guerrier on waivers, and he was selected by Minnesota in November of 2003.  Still a starter in 2004, Guerrier was 5-10, but with an ERA of 3.19 and a WHIP of 1.11.  He had three stints with the Twins that season, starting two games and relieving in one in June, relieving in two games in August, and then getting a September call-up.  He became a permanent member of the bullpen at the start of the 2005 season and was there through 2010.  He pitched well for them every year but 2008.  He led the league in appearances in 2008 and 2009.  He was never a closer–he had exactly one save each season since 2006–but he was a valuable set-up man for the Twins.  He became a free agent after the 2010 season and signed with the Dodgers; his ERA was a little higher in 2011, but the rest of his numbers were similar to what he did for the Twins.  He was off to a good start in 2012 but injured his elbow in April and missed most of the season, coming back in late August.  He started poorly in 2013 and was traded to the Cubs in early July.  He pitched well for the Cubs in limited duty.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Minnesota for 2014.  He began the year in Rochester but was soon recalled to the majors.  He made twenty-seven appearances for the Twins and was not terrible, but was not all that good, either, and was released in late July, ending his playing career.  As a Twin, Matt Guerrier was 19-26, 3.40, 1.25 WHIP with 5 saves in exactly 500 innings (420 games).  Matt Guerrier was an assistant baseball coach for Briarwood Christian School in Birmingham, Alabama, and is currently a pitching coach with USA Baseball.

Outfielder Grady Sizemore did not play for the Twins, but became a coach for them in 2026.  He was born in Seattle, went to high school in Everett, Washington, and was drafted by Montreal in the third round in 2000.  He was solid in his early minor league career, but was traded to Cleveland in late June of 2002 in a multi-player deal that sent Bartolo Colon to Montreal.  He had an excellent 2003 season in AA and was playing well in AAA in 2004, when he was called up to the majors in July.  When he got there, he came to stay.  He was okay, but nothing special, that season, but he was only twenty-two.  He had a fine 2005 and made the all-star team each year from 2006-2008.  He started battling injuries after that, and missed two full seasons, 2012 and 2013.  He was never the same player after that. When he came back in 2014, it was with Boston.  They released him in mid-June and he finished the season with Philadelphia.  They released him the following June and he finished out 2015 with Tampa Bay.  He actually did fairly well with the Rays, but that was the end of the line for him as a player.  He was a special advisor for Cleveland in 2017 and was in the Arizona front office in 2023. He became a coach for the White Sox in 2024 and finished the season as the team's interim manager.  He went back to being a coach for the Sox in 2025, then moved on to the Twins as their first base coach.  You hear a lot of positive things about him, so we assume he's doing a good job.

Third baseman Luke Trevor Hughes played in two games for the Twins in 2010 and was with them for most of 2011.  He was born in Perth, Australia, and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 2002.  He played both short and third in 2002, moved to second base for 2004-2005, shifted primarily to third in 2006, played second base and outfield in 2007, went back to primarily third base in 2008-2009, and was mostly playing second base in Rochester this season before getting injured.  He hit .305 in the Gulf Coast League in 2003 and .284 in Elizabethton in 2004, then struggled for a few of years before hitting .283 in AA New Britain in 2007.  He followed that up with his best minor league season, hitting .309 with 18 homers in a 2008 spent about two-thirds at New Britain and one-third in AAA Rochester.  He then seemed to go backward, hitting in the .250s in Rochester and New Britain.  He played in two games for the Twins in late April of 2010, replacing an injured Nick Punto, and went 2-for-7, hitting a home run in his first major league at-bat.  He suffered a strained left hip flexor in mid-May and did not play again.    He spent much of 2011 with the Twins, but did not do much with the opportunity, batting .223 with an OPS of .627 in nearly 300 at-bats.  He began 2012 in Rochester but was placed on waivers in late April and was selected by Oakland.  He played in four games for the Athletics, was sent to AAA Sacramento, didn’t do much there, and was released in mid-July.  He signed with Toronto on August 1 and hit well for a month in AAA, but did not get a September call-up.  He signed to play with an Australian Rules football team in April of 2013, but it appears that nothing really came of that.  He was back in the United States in 2015, playing with Lancaster in the Atlantic League.  He continued to play in the Australian League through 2019.  At last report, he was living in Perth and was coaching youth baseball.  It sounds like he will remain active in the Australian sports world for some time to come.  He also has a podcast, "Bloop & a Blast".

August 1

Frank Grant (1865)
Joe Shaute (1899)
George Sisler, Jr. (1917)
George Bamberger (1923)
Masaichi Kaneda (1933)
Pedro Cisneros (1939)
Tony Muser (1947)
Milt May (1950)
Pete Mackanin (1951)
Greg Gross (1952)
Dave Anderson (1960)
Gregg Jefferies (1967)
Brian Bohanon (1968)
Shigetoshi Hasegawa (1968)
Kevin Jarvis (1969)
Brandon Kintzler (1984)
Adam Jones (1985)
Madison Bumgarner (1989)
Kennys Vargas (1990)

Infielder Ulysses Franklin "Frank" Grant is considered one of the best African-American baseball players of the nineteenth century.

The son of the Hall of Famer, George Sisler, Jr. was a long-time minor league executive, winning the Minor League Executive of the Year award three times.  He served as International League president from 1965-1976 and is a member of the International League Hall of Fame.

Masaichi Kaneda won four hundred games over a twenty-year career in Japan.

Pedro Cisneros was commissioner of the Mexican League from 1982-99 and was the editor of the first Mexican League Encyclopedia.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to brianS' sister-in-law.

Infielder Pete Mackanin played for the Twins from 1980-1981.  Born and raised in Chicago, he was drafted by Washington in the fourth round in 1969.  He did not do much in the minors until 1973, when out of nowhere he hit .302 at AAA Spokane.  He spent two months with Texas that year, used mostly as a reserve shortstop behind Toby Harrah.  He showed that 1973 was no fluke by hitting .291 at Spokane in 1974, getting a September call-up.  The Rangers traded him to Montreal after the 1974 season.  That turned out to be a break for Mackanin, as he got a chance to play regularly for the Expos.  He was their starting second baseman for two seasons, but did not hit, batting in the .220s both years.  He lost his starting job in 1977 and spent most of 1978 in AAA before being chosen off waivers by Philadelphia in September.  He was apparently injured most of the 1979 campaign, as he played in only thirteen games in the majors and none in the minors.  After that season, Mackanin was traded to Minnesota for Paul Thormodsgaard.  In 1980 he shared second base with Rob Wilfong, although he also played a little shortstop.  He took more of a utility role in 1981.  As a Twin, he hit .252/.279/.346 in 544 at-bats.  He became a free agent after the 1981 season and signed with the White Sox, but was released in spring training of 1982.  He signed with Texas and spent the next three seasons in AAA, two of them in the Rangers' organization and one in the Cubs' chain.  He remained in baseball after his playing career ended.  He coached and managed in the minors for several years, then became the third base coach for Montreal from 1997-2001.  He was back in the minors for a couple of years, then became the bench coach for Pittsburgh.  He was their interim manager for about a month in 2005, then went back to the minors.  He became an advance scout for Cincinnati in 2007 and was their interim manager for half of that season.  He scouted for the Yankees in 2008, then became bench coach for Philadelphia in 2009.  He became the Phillies third base coach in 2014 and became their manager in 2015 when Ryne Sandberg resigned in late June.  He remained the manager through the end of the 2017 season, at which time he was let go.  He remained, however, a special assistant to the general manager for the Phillies and was a spring training instructor for them in 2020.  He was let go after the 2020 season and presumably retired.  At last report, Pete Mackanin was living in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Right-hander Kevin Jarvis appeared in six games for the Twins in 1997.  He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, went to high school in Tates Creek, Kentucky, and attended Wake Forest.  He was drafted by Cincinnati in the twenty-first round in 1991.  He did very well in the minors, going 10-2 with a 3.54 ERA in AAA Indianapolis in 1994.  He was on a shuttle between Indianapolis and Cincinnati that year, making four brief appearances with the big club.  Things went downhill from there, though.  He split 1995 between the majors and AAA, not pitching particularly well in either league.  He was in the Reds' rotation for much of 1996, but did not fare any better.  He began 1997 in the Cincinnati bullpen, was waived on May 2 and chosen by Detroit, was waived again on May 9 and selected by Minnesota.  He appeared in six games for the Twins, two of them starts.  In thirteen innings, he was 0-0, 12.46, 2.39 WHIP, allowing 18 runs on 23 hits and 8 walks.  The Twins waived him on June 17 and he was chosen by Detroit, where he finished the season.  He spent much of 1998 in Japan, but signed with Cincinnati for about two weeks in late August-early September.  He moved on to the Oakland organization in 1999 and to the Rockies' chain in 2000.  He pitched well at AAA in those years, but did nothing in the majors.  He signed with San Diego in 2001 and got his only full season in the majors, going 12-11, 4.79 and leading the league in home runs allowed.  He battled injuries in 2002-2003, but was in the Padres' rotation when healthy, with similar results.  He was traded to Seattle after the 2003 season.  The Mariners released him May 6, he signed with Colorado May 11, was released by the Rockies on July 6, and signed with Pittsburgh July 16, spending the rest of the season in AAA.  He signed with St. Louis for 2005, making four appearances for the Cardinals, moved on to Arizona for 2006 (appearing in five big league games), went to Boston at the end of August, appeared in four more, and then his career was over.  He had a career ERA of over six, yet appeared in parts of twelve major league seasons, made 118 starts and 69 relief appearances, and pitched 780.2 major league innings.  His lowest season ERA was 4.37, even including seasons where he pitched very few major league innings.  He holds the record with six seasons with an ERA above seven.  When you look at all the guys who pitch well in the minors year after year and can't get a shot, it's amazing that Kevin Jarvis got as many chances as he did.  He was a scout for a while, most recently for the Los Angeles Angels, but retired to spend more time with his family.  At last report, he was a business partner in VALYou Group, LLC and was living in Brentwood, Tennessee.

Right-hander Brandon Lee Kintzler pitched for the Twins from 2016 until yesterday.  He was born in Las Vegas, attended high school in Palo Verde, Nevada, attended Pasadena City College and Dixie State College of Utah (one of three big leaguers that school has produced), and was drafted by San Diego in the fortieth round in 2004.  He got as high as Class A for the Padres and actually pitched pretty well in the Midwest League, but as a fortieth-round draft choice he was apparently deemed expendable and was released before the 2016 season. He did not pitch at all that year, then spent over two years in the Northern League before signing with Milwaukee in July of 2009. He had been a starter in the Northern League and in AA in 2009, but he was returned to the bullpen in 2010 and was lights out in AA, almost as good in AAA, and completed an improbably journey to the majors as a September call-up that season.  The happy ending would be delayed, however, as he did not pitch well in September.  He battled injuries in 2011 and started 2012 all the way back in AA, but he got another September call-up, pitched well, and spent all of 2013 and 2014 with the Brewers.  He had another injury-plagued season in 2015, was allowed to become a free agent after the season, and signed with Minnesota.  He began the 2016 season as a setup man, but pitched well enough that when Glen Perkins went down in June he was given a shot at closing.  He made the most of it, saving seventeen games that season and twenty-eight for the Twins in 2017.  He also made his first all-star team in 2017.  Shortly thereafter, however, he was traded to Washington for Tyler Watson and international bonus slot money.  As a Twin, he was 2-4, 45 saves, 2.98, 1.19 WHIP.  He was not a classic "lockdown" closer, striking out about five and a half batters per nine innings, but he got the job done.  He was not used as a closer for the Nationals, but he did a good job for them.  He was traded to the Cubs at the July 2018 deadline and did not pitch well down the stretch, but he had a solid season for them in 2019.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Miami and had a fine season for them.  Again a free agent, he signed with Philadelphia for 2021 but had a poor year for them and was released in early August.  He tried to make a comeback with San Diego in 2022, signing in mid-August of that year, but after seven poor appearances in AAA he retired for good.  He is a member of the Dixie State Athletic Hall of Fame.  At last report, Brandon Kintzler had returned to his home town of Las Vegas.

First baseman Kennys Vargas played for the Twins from 2014-2017 and remains in their organization.  Born and raised in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, he signed with the Twins as a free agent in 2009.  He hit well at every stop in the minors, but was promoted slowly.  He spent 2009-2011 in rookie ball, was in Class A in 2012-2013, reached AA in 2014, then was suddenly promoted to the majors on the first of August of that year.  He did pretty well, although he was much better in August than he was in September.  A first baseman, he was mostly used at DH because the Twins had some guy named Mauer at first base.  He started 2015 with the Twins, did not hit well in April, hit very well for the first half of May, was sent back to tear up the International League for three weeks, came back to Minnesota for a month, then was suddenly demoted all the way back to AA.  He hit well in AA and hit well when promoted to AAA.  He started 2016 in AAA, but came back to the Twins in early July.  He bounced back and forth between AAA and the majors in 2017.  He has spent all of 2018 in Rochester, was released after the season, and spent 2019 playing in Japan.  He signed with the Tigers for 2020 but was released in July.  He then went to Mexico and has had six fine seasons in the Mexican League. As a Twin, he hit .249/.305/.433 in 718 at-bats.  He played well in stretches, but was never able to sustain it, and whenever he started to struggle the Twins sent him to Rochester rather than let him try to work his way out of it.  This author believed that if the Twins had just put him in the lineup and left him alone, Kennys Vargas could have been a productive player, but it didn't happen so we'll never know.  He turns thirty-six today.  It's unlikely that he'll get another chance in the majors (although stranger things have happened), but he can probably play in Mexico for a while yet if he wants to.

July 31

Joe Sugden (1870)
Laughing Larry Doyle (1886)
Art Nehf (1892)
Allen Russell (1893)
Neil Robinson (1907)
Elmer Riddle (1914)
Curt Gowdy (1919)
Hank Bauer (1922)
John Vukovich (1947)
Dave Dombrowski (1956)
Leon Durham (1957)
Mike Bielecki (1959)
Scott Bankhead (1963)
Ted Barrett (1965)
Gabe Kapler (1975)
Rene Rivera (1983)

Hall of Fame broadcaster Curt Gowdy was the voice of the NBC Game of the Week from 1965-1975.

Dave Dombrowski was the general manager of the Montreal Expos/Florida Marlins and of the Detroit Tigers, was currently the president of baseball operations for the Boston Red Sox, and is currently the president of baseball operations for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Ted Barrett was a major league umpire from 1994-2022.

Catcher Rene Rivera appeared in forty-five games for the Twins in 2011.  Born and raised in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, he was drafted by Seattle in the second round in 2001.  He spent the next seven years in the Mariners organization not doing much on offense, but still got three stints in the majors.  One assumes he was considered an excellent defensive catcher.  His best year in the minors appears to have been 2003, when he hit .275 with nine home runs for Class A Wisconsin.  He had a decent partial season at AA San Antonio in 2005 as well.  He actually hit .396 for Seattle that season, but it was only in 48 at-bats.  The next year, given 99 at-bats in the majors, he hit .152.  He became a minor league free agent after the 2007 season and started bouncing around.  He was in the Dodgers’ organization in 2008, in the Yankees’ system in 2009, and in the Mets’ chain in 2010.  The Twins signed him for 2011.  Rivera split the season between Rochester and Minnesota.  His half-season in Rochester was actually one of his better ones, as he hit .268 with an OPS of .775.  It did not translate to the majors, however, as he hit .144/.211/.202 for the Twins in 104 at-bats.  He stayed in the Twins’ organization through 2012, serving as a part-time catcher for Rochester, then signed with the Padres for 2013.  He actually was having a pretty good year in AAA Tucson when he was called up to the Padres as a reserve catcher in early July.  He stayed the rest of the year and had what by his standards was a good year, batting .254 (with an OPS of .596).  He made the Padres in 2014, got his first full season in the majors at age 30, and did better than anyone had a right to expect, hitting .252 with an OPS of .751.  After the season he was traded to Tampa Bay in a three-team multi-player trade that also included Washington.  He was the Rays backup catcher in 2015 and did nothing offensively, but played a substantial amount anyway.  The Rays released him at the end of March in 2016 and he signed with the Mets a few days later.  He started out in AAA but came up to the majors in late April and was the Mets backup catcher until August of 2017, when he was claimed on waivers by the Cubs.  He actually hit quite well for them in limited play down the stretch, but was a free agent again after the season and signed with the Angels for 2018.  He was waived in late August and finished out the season with Atlanta.  He signed with San Francisco for 2019, was released in spring training, and signed with the Mets, for whom he played a little over a month. He remained with the Mets in 2020, signed with Cleveland for 2021, was released in early July, and signed with Washington about a week later.  He played winter ball after that, but that was the end of his playing career, although he didn't announce his retirement until February of 2023.  Rene Rivera was the manager of the Frederick Keys in the MLB Draft League in 2023, was the bench coach for the Lakeland Flying Tigers in 2024, was the Lakeland manager in 2025, and is the manager of the West Michigan Whitecaps in 2026.

July 30

Casey Stengel (1890)
Frankie Pytlak (1908)
Tony Lucadello (1912)
Joe Coleman (1922)
Paul Minner (1923)
Joe Nuxhall (1928)
Gus Triandos (1930)
Bud Selig (1934)
Vic Davalillo (1939)
Bob Barton (1941)
Pat Kelly (1944)
Doug Rader (1944)
Jim Spencer (1946)
Ellis Valentine (1954)
Clint Hurdle (1957)
Steve Trout (1957)
Scott Fletcher (1958)
Tom Pagnozzi (1962)
Derek Shelton (1970)
Scott Diamond (1986)

Tony Lucadello was a major league scout for forty-eight years.

Allan Huber "Bud" Selig was the commissioner of baseball from 1992-2014.

Derek Shelton was the bench coach for the Twins from 2018-2019 and became their manager in 2026.

The brother of Hall of Fame football player LeRoy Kelly and the brother-in-law of Andre Thornton, Pat Kelly had a solid professional career of his own.  Outfielder Harold Patrick “Pat” Kelly appeared in 20 games for the Twins in 1967-1968.  Born and raised in Philadelphia, he signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1962.  He had a huge year in 1964, hitting .357 with 16 homers in Class A Wisconsin Rapids.  He did not duplicate that, but he did hit .321 in AA Charlotte in 1966.  He reached AAA in 1967 and made his major league debut that season as a September call-up.  He appeared in eight games that year, seven as a pinch-runner and one as a pinch-hitter (he struck out).  He came back to hit .306 in Denver in 1968, getting another September call-up.  He played a little more, but did not play particularly better, going 4-for-35.  Two of his hits were doubles and one was a home run, so his line as a Twin was .111/.200/.450.  Kelly was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was chosen by Kansas City.  He was a mostly-regular for two seasons, used primarily in right field but also playing some center.  His offensive numbers were rather pedestrian, and he was traded to the White Sox after the 1970 season.  He started 1971 in the minors, but after hitting .355 in AAA Tucson he was brought up to Chicago on July 1 and stayed there for five and a half years.  Again playing mostly right field, he had some decent years for the Sox, generally hitting around .280 with OBPs in the .350s and around 20-25 stolen bases, although with little power.  In 1973 he got off to a hot start and made the all-star team; he was hitting .327 on June 24, although he would finish at .280.  In 1976, he was used as a reserve outfielder and part-time DH, but hit only .254.  Kelly was traded to Baltimore after that season and had some productive years for the Orioles as a part-time player, seeing most of his playing time in left field.  He became a free agent after the 1980 campaign and signed with Cleveland.  He was a seldom-used outfielder/DH for the Indians in 1981, hit only .213, and his playing career came to an end.  After that, he moved to Towson, Maryland and went into the ministry, working for Lifeline Ministries.  Pat Kelly passed away from a heart attack on October 2, 2005 in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

Left-hander Scott Michael Diamond pitched for the Twins from 2011-2013.  He was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada and signed with Atlanta as a free agent in 2007.  He pitched very well in the Braves’ system, never posting an ERA above 3.50 at any level.  While a Brave, he actually pitched better in AAA than he had in AA, although it was only ten starts.  After the 2010 season the Twins claimed him in the Rule 5 draft.  Wanting to keep him around, but not wanting to keep him in the majors, the Twins traded minor league pitcher Billy Bullock to Atlanta for him.  He spent most of 2011 at Rochester and did not do particularly well, to put it mildly:  4-14, 5.56 with a 1.58 WHIP.  He made one start with the Twins in mid-July, filling in for an injured Scott Baker, and came back to the Twins’  rotation in late August.  There was nothing about the results that was particularly impressive:  seven starts, 39 innings 1-5, 5.08, 1.74 WHIP.  He started 2012 back in Rochester, and did amazingly well, going 4-1, 2.60, 1.21 WHIP.  He was called back to Minnesota in early May and did well there, too:  12-9, 3.54, 1.24 WHIP.  Over the winter, he had surgery to have bone chips removed from his elbow.  That may or may not be related, but for whatever reason he was never the same pitcher after that.  He pitched well in six starts in Rochester in 2013, but was awful for the Twins.  He started 2014 in Rochester and was even awfuller, getting released in mid-July.  He signed with Cincinnati five days later and was sent to AAA Louisville, where he did not pitch well either.  A free agent at the end of the season, he signed with Tampa Bay for 2015 and was fairly decent, but no more, in AAA.  A free agent again, he signed with Toronto and had a poor year in AAA, despite which he was called up to make one more appearance in the majors in June.  He pitched in Korea in 2017 and did not pitch very well there, either, bringing his playing career to an end.  As a Twin, Scott Diamond was 19-27, 4.43, 1.41 WHIP in 343 innings (58 starts).  At last report, he was living in New York City and was working as a project manager for Panoramic European Windows & Doors.

July 29

Earl Moore (1877)
George Cutshaw (1886)
Cedric Tallis (1914)
Felix Mantilla (1934)
Don Wert (1938)
Bill Whitby (1943)
Hisashi Yamada (1948)
Dan Driessen (1951)
Greg Minton (1951)
Ken Burns (1953)
Dave LaPoint (1959)
Luis Alicea (1965)
Mike Williams (1968)
Seth Greisinger (1975)
Mike Adams (1978)
Ryan Braun (1980)

Cedric Tallis was the general manager of the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees.

Submarine pitcher Hisashi Yamada won 284 games in Japan.

Ken Burns made an Emmy-award winning documentary about the history of baseball.  He also made a documentary on Jackie Robinson.

Every year it comes as a surprise that there was a Ryan Braun who pitched for Kansas City in 2006 and 2007.

Right-hander William Edward Whitby appeared in four games for the Twins in 1964.  He was born in Crewe, Virginia, went to high school in Victoria, Virginia, and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1961.  A starter for most of his minor league career, he did not do a lot in his first few years, but had a solid year with the AA Charlotte Hornets in 1964.    He was promoted to Minnesota for about two weeks in June that year, at the age of 20.  He made four relief appearances, pitching a total of 6.1 innings.  He gave up six runs on eight hits with a walk, giving him a line of 0-0, 8.53, 1.42 WHIP.  He had another good year at Charlotte in 1965--it was also a good year for him personally, as he married "Miss Hornet", Donelle Ranson, and they were together for fifty years.  He pitched well at AAA Denver in 1966, too, but that was as good as it got for him.  He threw 247 innings in Denver that year, at age 22.  It is unclear how that affected him, but he never had another good year and he never got back to the majors.  Whitby stayed with the Twins’ organization until 1969, having a couple fair-to-middling seasons, then he moved on to St. Louis.  He was with the Washington chain in 1970, and then his playing career came to an end.  After his playing career he bought a farm near Huntersville, North Carolina, where he and Donelle raised crops and beef cattle.   Bill Whitby passed away in  Huntersville on March 12, 2016.

Right-hander Seth Adam Greisinger appeared in twelve games for the Twins in 2004.  He was born in Kansas City, Kansas, went to high school in McLean, Virginia, and attended the University of Virginia.  He was drafted by Detroit with the sixth pick in the 1996 draft.  He did not play in the minors, that season, opting to play for the United States Olympic team instead.  He didn’t do much at AA in 1997, but his won-lost record looked good, and when he got off to a good start at AAA in 1998 he came up to Detroit in early June and went into the starting rotation.  He stayed there the rest of the season, going 6-9, 5.12.  He then suffered a serious injury and had Tommy John surgery, pitching only briefly in 1999 and not at all in 2000 or 2001.  He came back in 2002, starting eight games in the majors and seven in the minors, but did not pitch very well.  He spent all of 2003 in AAA Toledo and pitched fairly well, but by then the Tigers no longer considered him a prospect.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota for 2004.  He was the Twins’ fifth starter until mid-June, making nine starts and three relief appearances.  He went 2-5, 6.18, 1.63 WHIP in 51 innings.  Greisinger went to AAA Rochester the rest of the season, did not pitch well, and became a free agent again.  He had a fine half-season for AAA Richmond in the Atlanta organization in 2005, making one appearance in the majors.  The Braves had no plans for him, however, and gave him his release so he could pitch in Korea.  He stayed there through 2006, then signed with the Yakult Swallows in the Japan Central League.  He moved on to the Yomiuri Giants in 2008, and was with them through 2011.  He did well in 2008 and 2009, but was again hit by injuries, making only fifteen starts in 2011 and 2012 combined.  Greisinger moved on to Chiba Lotte for 2012, stayed healthy and had an excellent year.  He was back with Chiba Lotte in 2013, but missed part of the season with injury and did not pitch as well when he did pitch.  That brought his playing career to an end.  At last report, Seth Greisinger was living in Santa Ynez, California.  His LinkedIn profile lists him as "self-employed".

July 28

 Bullet Joe Rogan (1893)

Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons (1901)
Morrie Silver (1909)
Ted Lepcio (1929)
Masaaki Koyama (1934)
Marty Brennaman (1942)
Vida Blue (1949)
Wayne Krivsky (1954)
Carmelo Martinez (1960)
Bob Milacki (1964)
Derek Lee (1966)
Darin Ruf (1986)
Walker Buehler (1994)
Jorge Alcala (1995)
Trey Yesavage (2003)

Bullet Joe Rogan, given name Charles Wilber Rogan, was a star in the Negro Leagues from 1920-1938.

Morrie Silver is credited with having saved baseball in Rochester when the St. Louis Cardinals threatened to drop their team there.  He is a member of the International League Hall of Fame.

Masaaki Koyama won 320 games in Japan, third on the all-time list.

Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Brennaman was with the Cincinnati Reds from 1974-2019.

Wayne Krivsky was an assistant general manager of the Twins until 2006, when he became the general manager of Cincinnati.  He returned to the Twins as an assistant to the general manager from 2011-2017.

Infielder Thaddeus Stanley “Ted” Lepcio played for the Twins in 1961.  He was born in Utica, New York, attended Seton Hall, and was signed as a free agent by Boston in 1951.  He was only in the minors one year and spent over half of that year in Class B.  Still, when 1952 started, Ted Lepcio was in Boston.  He was a reserve infielder, playing mostly at second but also some at third.  Actually, that statement would pretty much sum up his career in Boston, as he only got more than 300 at-bats in a season once.  The exception was 1954, when he made 78 starts at second base, 22 at third, and nine at short.  Most of the time, he would hit around .250 with moderate power and draw a decent number of walks:  not good enough to be a starter, but someone who’d help as an extra player.  He had a bad year in 1958, hitting only .199 in 136 at-bats, and was traded to Detroit just after the 1959 season started.  He bounced back there, hitting .280 as a reserve infielder, but it was his last good season.  Lepcio moved on to Philadelphia for 1960, was sold to the White Sox before the 1961 season, was released in late May, and signed with Minnesota in June.  He played third and second for the Twins, hitting .170/.230/.402 in 112 at-bats.  He signed with the Mets for 1962 but was released in April, and when you weren’t good enough to play for the 1962 Mets, it meant your career was over.  After leaving baseball, Ted Lepcio worked for Honeywell and then became the vice president of St. Johnsbury Trucking Company.  He often chaired Red Sox-related charity events.  He later worked part-time as a transportation consultant for Stonepath, a global logistics company.  Ted Lepcio passed away on December 11, 2019.

Outfielder Derek Gerald Lee had 33 at-bats for the Twins in 1993.  He was born in Chicago, attended the University of South Florida, and was drafted by the White Sox in the forty-second round in 1988.  He had some solid seasons in the minors, hitting .341 in Class A Utica in 1988 and .305 with 11 homers in a 1991 season split between AA and AAA.  Chicago waived him after the 1992 season, however, and Minnesota claimed him.  He had a solid season in Portland, hitting .315 with 10 homers.  He came up to the Twins for about a month beginning in late June and was used as a reserve outfielder, mostly in left.  He played in fifteen games and hit .152/.176/.182.  The Twins traded him to Montreal that off-season for Joe Norris.  He stayed in AAA for a long time but moved around a lot.  He was in the Expos’ organization in 1994, the Mets in 1995, Texas and Oakland in 1996, San Diego in 1997, and Baltimore in 1998.  He played in Mexico in 1999 and played in independent ball in 2000 before his playing career came to an end.  His career AAA line, in almost 3,000 at-bats, is .289/.377/.471.  Not that he’d have been a superstar, but it seems like he might have helped someone if he’d been given a chance.  He was a scout for the Texas Rangers for several years, but was let go in 2014.  He was a car salesman in Minooka, Illinois from 2014-2017, then was a scout for the Oakland Athletics through 2023.  At last report, Derek Lee was working in sales for American Honda.

Right-hander Jorge Luis Alcala came up to the Twins at the end of 2019 and has remained with them since.  He was born in Bajos de Haina, Dominican Republic, and signed with Houston as a free agent in December of 2014.  He did well in the minors, for the most part, but did not advance particularly rapidly, reaching Class A in 2017 (except for three starts in 2016) and AA in 2018.  In July of 2018 he was traded to Minnesota along with Gilberto Celestino for Ryan Pressly.  He spent most of 2019 in AA Pensacola and did not do very well, going 5-7, 5.87, 1.47 WHIP in 102.2 innings.  Despite that, he was promoted to Rochester, did well in five appearances there, and was a September call-up for the Twins.  He appeared in two games, pitched 1.2 innings, giving up no runs, one hit, and one walk.  He appeared in sixteen games for the Twins in 2020 and did very well.  He was in the majors all of 2021 and did pretty well at times, although he was hurt by the home run ball.  He appeared in two games for the Twins in 2022, then hurt his elbow, missing the rest of the season.  He returned for 2023 and started well, but then struggled and was later discovered to have a stress fracture in his right forearm, ending his season.  He came back in 2024, however, and had an excellent season.  That was as good as it would get for him, though.  He got off to a poor start and was traded to Boston in mid-June of 2025 for Andy Lugo.  He did nothing for Boston, either, and was waived in early August.  St. Louis claimed him, but he did continued to pitch poorly.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Toronto and made ten appearances in AAA, which went badly.  It appears that he opted out of his minor league deal at that point and has not signed with anyone.  As a Twin, Jorge Alcala was 9-13, 4.32, 1.18 WHIP with one save in 187.2 innings (166 games).  Yes, relievers can be up and down, but it's pretty amazing to see someone have such an excellent season in 2024 and then just completely disappear.  Teams are always looking for pitching, so it's possible that someone will take a chance on him.  But it's also possible that Jorge Alcala's playing career is over.

July 27

This is a reprint from last year, so we didn't get a bio done for Mike Paredes.  Sorry, Mike.  Maybe next year.

Davy Force (1846)
Joe Tinker (1880)
Rube Walberg (1896)
Biz Mackey (1897)
Benny Bengough (1898)
Zack Taylor (1898)
Leo Durocher (1905)
Kazuto Tsuruoka (1916)
Ray Boone (1923)
Harry Wendelstedt (1938)
Larry Biittner (1945)
Rich Dauer (1952)
Bump Wills (1952)
Brian Kingman (1954)
Shane Rawley (1955)
Dave Dombrowski (1956)
Tom Goodwin (1968)
Shane Bowers (1971)
Enrique Wilson (1973)
Alex Rodriguez (1975)
Tsuyoshi Nishioka (1984)
Max Scherzer (1984)
Wandy Peralta (1991)
Xzavion Curry (1998)
Mike Paredes (2000)

Biz Mackey was a star in the Negro Leagues from 1923-1945.

Kazuto Tsuruoka was a star in Japan from 1939-1952 and was a very successful manager from 1953-1966.

Harry Wendelstedt was a National League umpire from 1966-1998.

Dave Dombrowski has been the general manager of the Montreal Expos, the Florida Marlins, and the Detroit Tigers.

Xzavion Curry is the only major league player to have both an x and a z in his first name.

We would also like to wish a very happy anniversary to Mr. and Mrs. Rowsdower and a happy birthday to cheaptoy's bauble.

Left-hander Shane William Rawley pitched for the Twins in his last season, 1989.  Born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin and drafted by Montreal in the second round in the 1974 June Secondary draft.  He had some pretty good years in the Expos’ organization; the best was 1976, when he went 11-6, 2.69 for AA Quebec.  He would not reach the majors for them, though, because in late May of 1977 he was traded to Cincinnati, and after the 1977 campaign he was traded again, this time to Seattle.  He started 1978 in the Mariners’ bullpen, where he stayed for four years.  He was never spectacular, but he did a decent job four them, generally posting ERAs around four.  Shortly before the 1982 season, the Mariners traded him to the Yankees in a multi-player deal.  He started 1982 as a reliever, but was converted to starting (which he had done in the minors) in early July.  He was a solid starter for them through 1983, but got off to a terrible start in 1984 and was traded to Philadelphia.  It was a good trade for the Phillies, as Rawley had some fine years for them, making the all-star team in 1986 and winning seventeen games in 1987.  His ERA was up in the latter year, however, and when he did not improve in 1988 he was traded with cash to Minnesota for Eric Bullock, Tom Herr, and Tom Nieto.  Rawley did not have a very good year for the Twins in 1989, going 5-12, 5.21, 1.57 WHIP.  He became a free agent after the season, but no one signed him and he retired.  He was never a big star, but Shane Rawley was a solid big leaguer for more than a decade, and there are not a lot of people who can say that.  After his playing career ended, he founded Fielders’ Choice Sports Complex in Racine, Wisconsin.  At last report, he was the owner and operator of Shaners Pizzeria in Sarasota, Florida.

Two of the three Twins named "Shane" were born on this day.  Right-hander Shane Patrick Bowers made five starts for the Twins in 1997.  He was born in Glendora, California, attended Loyola Marymount, and was drafted by Minnesota in the twenty-first round in 1993.  He pitched well in the low minors, attracting attention by going 13-5, 2.16 at Class A Ft. Myers.  He did fairly well in AA in 1996 and 1997, and given the state of Twins pitching at that time, that was good enough to get him a shot at the big leagues.  He came up in late July and made five starts, pitching fairly well in the first one but poorly after that.  He went 0-3, 8.05, 1.84 WHIP in 19 innings.  He finished 1997 in AAA Salt Lake and stayed there through 1999.  He had good won-lost records, but high ERAs and high WHIPs.  He became a free agent after the 1999 season and signed with Philadelphia.  He was in AAA for them in 2000 and did somewhat better, but not enough.  Bowers went to Japan for two seasons, playing for the Yokohama Bay Stars in 2001-2002.  He was out of baseball in 2003, then tried to make a comeback with the Phillies in 2004.  He again pitched well in AA but could do nothing in AAA, and his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Shane Bowers was scouting in southern and central California for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Infielder Enrique (Martes) Wilson was in the Twins’ organization for his first two professional seasons.  Born and raised in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, he was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1992.  He did pretty well in their low minors, hitting .341 in 44 at-bats in the GCL in 1992 and batting .289 with 13 homers in Elizabethton in 1993.  The Twins apparently did not think that much of him, however, sending him to Cleveland in March of 1994 as the player to be named later in a trade that brought Shawn Bryant to the Twins’ organization.  Wilson did not develop power, but he hit .304 at AA in 1996 and .306 in AAA in 1997, earning a September call-up.  He was in Cleveland for three games at the start of 1998, then spent a few months in AAA before being recalled for good in early August.  He started nearly half of the Indians’ games in 1999, but did not have a regular position, playing short, third, and second.  He was playing well as a reserve infielder for Cleveland in 2000, but was traded to Pittsburgh in late July.  He was off to a slow start in 2001 when the Pirates traded him to the Yankees in mid-June.  He stuck with the Yankees through 2004 despite the fact that he did very little offensively for them.  He became a free agent after the 2004 season, and that was the beginning of the end for him.  Wilson signed with Baltimore, was released in mid-May, went to the Cubs, and was released in late July.  When he did play in 2005, it was mostly in the minors, as he got only 22 major league at-bats that season, all with the Cubs.  They were the last big league at-bats he would get.  Wilson signed with the Red Sox, went to AAA, and was released at the end of July, ending his playing career in the United States.  He returned to the Dominican Republic, however, and continued to play baseball.  Wilson played for the Dominican Republic team in the 2007 Pan-American Games and also played in the Dominican Winter League, playing for Toros Del Este through 2010.  In 2018 he became a coach and manager for the Cubs in the Dominican Summer League and is currently the manager of the DSL Cubs Blue.

Infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka was with the Twins from 2011-2012.  Born and raised in Osaka, Japan, he began playing for Chiba Lotte in the Japanese Pacific League in 2003 at the age of eighteen.  He was a part-time player his first couple of seasons, becoming a regular in 2005.  He played both second base and shortstop in Japan early in his career, but became a full-time shortstop in 2006.  He hit for high averages in Japan, showed decent power, and was very highly regarded in Japan.  After the 2010 season, Chiba Lotte put him up for bids from American teams, and the Twins won the right to sign him, which they did.  He was installed as the Twins’ second baseman at the start of the 2011 season, but had his leg broken on a slide into second base in the year’s sixth game.  When he came back, he was the team’s shortstop, but he didn’t hit, nor did he field the position as well as expected.  He was with Rochester in 2012, appearing in only three major league games in August.  He hit better in Rochester, but not particularly well.  He was released after the 2012 season and returned to Japan, where he did better but did not returned to his pre-Twin levels of production.  In addition, he apparently had some injury problems in 2017 and 2018.  He played in the Baseball Challenge League, an independent professional league in Japan, through 2021.  As a Twin, he hit .215/.267/.236 in 233 at-bats.  It was nice to see the Twins try to make a strong move, but it clearly didn't work out very well.  At last report, Tsuyoshi Nishioka was a batting and baserunning coach for Chiba Lotte.