June 12

Joe Hornung (1857)

Sol White (1868)

Red Dooin (1879)

Matty McIntyre (1880)

Otto Knabe (1884)

Bill Foster (1904)

Dutch Rennert (1930)

Gerry Arrigo (1941)

Jim Strickland (1946)

Scott Aldred (1968)

Damon Buford (1970)

Ryan Klesko (1971)

Damon Hollins (1974)

Hideki Matsui (1974)

Avisail Garcia (1991)

Sean Newcomb (1993)

Sol White was a Negro League player, manager, and executive.  He wrote the first history of African-American baseball, "Sol White's History of Colored Baseball", in 1907.

Bill Foster was a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues.  He was the stepbrother of Rube Foster.

Dutch Rennert was a National League umpire from 1974-1992.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Eric B. B.  Wherever he may b.

Left-hander Gerald William Arrigo pitched for the Twins in the early 1960s.  Born and raised in Chicago, he signed with the home town White Sox in 1960.  After a fine season in Class D Clinton the Twins chose him in that off-season’s first year player draft.  He did not do particularly well in 1961 but was called up for a month anyway, working 10.2 innings in seven appearances.  He was better in the minors in 1962, making one appearance in the majors as a September call-up.  He pitched well in AA in 1963, again getting a September call-up.  In 1964, still only 23, Arrigo got his first full year in the majors, making twelve starts and twenty-nine relief appearances for the Twins.  He did okay, going 7-4, 3.84 with a WHIP of 1.35 in 105.1 innings.  He was substantially better working out of the bullpen than in the rotation.  After the season, however, Arrigo was traded to Cincinnati for Cesar Tovar.  He was in the majors most of the season but did not pitch well, and when he got off to a slow start in 1966 he was sold to the Mets.  He pitched in New York for about three months, then was sold back to Cincinnati, finishing the season at AAA.  He then got three full seasons with the Reds, working mostly out of the bullpen in 1967 and mostly in the rotation in 1968-1969.  In the first two of those years he pitched pretty well, but he had a bad year in 1969 and was traded to the White Sox after the season.  He started 1970 in Chicago but was awful and finished the season in AAA.  Arrigo made three appearances in AAA for Atlanta in 1971, then his playing career ended.  At last report, Gerry Arrigo was living in Amelia, Ohio.

Left-hander James Michael Strickland pitched for the Twins in the early 1970s.  He was born in Los Angeles, went to high school in Lakewood, California, and signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1964.  He was in the Dodgers’ system for three seasons and posted quite unimpressive numbers, although he did strike out quite a few batters.  He then missed the 1967-1968 seasons due to military service.  He was a much better pitcher when he returned, having a decent season in for AA Albuquerque in 1969 and an outstanding one there in 1970.  The Twins selected him in the minor league draft that off-season, and after thirteen outstanding appearances at AAA Portland they brought him up the big club.  He was not used very often, but did very well when given the chance, posting an ERA of 1.44 and a WHIP of 1.21 in 31.1 innings over 24 games.  1972 was similar:  he started at AAA, pitched very well, came up to Minnesota at mid-season, and continued to pitch very well but seldom.  1973, however, was a different story.  Strickland had a poor year at AAA and was awful in seven big-league appearances.  The Twins apparently gave up on him after that, trading him with Mike Brooks to Cleveland for Bill Butler and Dick Colpaert.  As a Twin, Jim Strickland was 4-2, 2.72 with a WHIP of 1.39.  He pitched 72.2 innings in 56 relief appearances.  He got straightened out somewhat in the Indians’ minor league system, pitching fairly well for two years and getting a September call-up in 1975.  He had a poor year in 1976, however, and his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Jim Strickland was living in Paso Robles, California.  From all accounts he appears to be a very nice man.

Left-hander Scott Phillip Aldred pitched for the Twins from 1996-1997.  He was born in Flint, Michigan, went to high school in Montrose, Michigan, and was drafted by Detroit in the sixteenth round in 1986.  His early minor league numbers are rather bland–he never stunk it up, but he was never really good, either.  He was promoted to AAA in 1990 and got a September call-up despite not having a very good year in Toledo.  He was marginally better in AAA in 1991, which resulted in two and a half months with the Tigers.  He started 1992 in the majors, was terrible, and went back to Toledo in mid-June, where he was merely bad.  He was taken by Colorado in the expansion draft, which worked about as well as one would expect, and was waived at the end of April, selected by Montreal.  He apparently was injured early in his tenure with the Expos, as he appeared in only three games.  He missed all of 1994, was released, and signed back with Detroit for 1995.  He made 15 appearances in the low minors, did pretty well, started 1996 in the Tigers’ rotation, was awful again, and was waived in late May, selected by Minnesota.  The Twins made him their fifth starter and he continued to be bad.  He began 1997 in the rotation, was even worse, and was finally sent back to AAA in mid-June.  The Twins let him go after the season; as a Twin, Scott Aldred was 8-15, 6.10 with a WHIP of 1.54.  He worked 199.1 innings over 42 appearances, 32 of them starts.  He signed with Tampa Bay for 1998.  He was not pitching very well in AAA for the Devil Rays but was brought up in mid-May, placed in the bullpen, and had what for him was a decent year (he set a record that year, since broken, for the most appearances in a season without a decision).  He could not sustain it in 1999, however, and was traded in late July to Philadelphia.  He was marginally adequate the rest of the season, but started poorly in 2000 and was done as a major leaguer by late May.  He kept at it, though; Aldred was in the Yankees’ organization in 2001, the Dodgers’ system in 2002, and the Red Sox’ chain in 2003.  He then pitched for Somerset in the Atlantic League in 2004 before hanging it up for good.   Scott Aldred has become a minor league coach since then, working for Charleston (2006), Trenton (2007-2008), Empire State (2012) Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (2009-11, 2013-15).  He was a minor league pitching coordinator for the Yankees from 2016-2019 and at last report was the pitching coach of the Charlotte Knights in the White Sox organization. He is a member of the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame.

Outfielder Damon Hollins did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for a few months in 2001.  He was born in Fairfield, California, went to high school in Vallejo, California, and was drafted by Atlanta in the fourth round in 1992.  He hit .321 in rookie ball in 1993 and then started to develop power, hitting 23 homers in Class A in 1994 and 18 in AA in 1995.  He had a bad year in 1996, when he apparently was battling injuries, but bounced back to hit 20 homers in AAA Richmond in 1997.  He made his major league debut in 1998, but got only six at-bats in three games before being sent back to AAA.  In September he was traded to the Dodgers, for whom he got nine more at-bats.  For some time, it looked like that would be the extent of his major league career.  The Dodgers released him after the season.  He signed with Cincinnati for 1999, was a free agent after the season, signed with Milwaukee for 2000, and was a free agent after the season again.  He was decent in AAA in those years, but did nothing to attract any attention.  The Twins signed him for 2001 and sent him to AAA Edmonton.  He played in 69 games there, hitting .276/.342/.405 in 232 at-bats.  He was traded back to the Braves’ organization on July 22 in a conditional deal.  He stayed there through 2004, each year putting up decent numbers but never getting another shot at the big leagues.  In 2004, he hit .301 with 20 homers for Richmond, also getting another ten days in the majors that year.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with Tampa Bay.  Hollins started the year in the minors, but was called up in a month and became a major league regular for the first time at the age of 30.  He played in 241 games for the Devil Rays over the next two seasons and hit 28 home runs, but batted only .239.  A free agent after the 2006 season, he went to Japan for 2007, then signed with Kansas City and spent 2008 in Omaha.  He signed with Philadelphia for 2009, but did not make the team and his playing career ended.  Still, his persistence got him almost two full years in the big leagues, which is more than a lot of people can say.  Since his playing career ended, Damon Hollins has been coaching in the Kansas City system, serving as a coach for Wilmington in 2012, Idaho Falls in 2013 and 2014, and Lexington in 2015 and 2016.  He returned to Idaho Falls in 2017-2019.  He was the major league first base coach in 2020, returned to the minors and was the team's minor league baserunning, outfield, and bunting coordinator in 2021, then came back to the major league club, where he has been the first base coach since 2022.

June 11

Roger Bresnahan (1879)

Ernie Nevers (1902)

Jim Willis (1906)

Dan Topping (1912)

Frank Thomas (1929)

Jimmy Stewart (1939)

Danny Morris (1946)

Dave Cash (1948)

Tom Austin (1951)

Mike Fuentes (1958)

Brian Gorman (1959)

Mike Davis (1959)

Odalis Perez (1978)

Bobby Keppel (1982)

Jose Reyes (1983)

Brock Holt (1988)

Football great Ernie Nevers, born in Willow River, Minnesota, pitched for the St. Louis Browns for parts of three seasons (1926-1928).

Dan Topping was part-owner of the New York Yankees from 1945-1966.

Tom Austin is a long-time college baseball coach at Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Outfielder Mike Fuentes was drafted by Minnesota in the fifth round in 1980, but did not sign.

Brian Gorman was a major league umpire from 1993-2021.

Right-hander Danny Walker Morris pitched a total of six games for the Twins from 1968-1969.  Born in Greenville, Kentucky, Morris signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1964.  He had an excellent year in Class A Wisconsin Rapids in 1965, going 16-8, 2.16 with a WHIP of 1.00 in 225 innings.  He struggled for a while as he went up the minor league ladder, but had a good year in 1968 at AAA Denver, going 16-15 with a 3.94 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.  He got a September call-up that year and did well in limited duty, posting a 1.69 ERA in 10.2 innings.  That was as good as it would get for Morris, however.  He was with the Twins for about three weeks in June of 1969, but did not pitch well there or at Denver that season.  He continued to struggle at AAA in 1970 in Evansville and 1971 in Portland.  He had a good year at AA in 1972, but again had trouble in eight AAA appearances.  He had arm problems and wanted to spend more time with his family, so he retired from baseball after that.  His arm eventually healed and he believes he could have gone back to pitching, but he simply had no desire to.  As a Twin, Danny Morris was 0-2, 2.81 in 16 innings.  He appeared in six games, three of them starts.  His baseball card is somewhat valuable, as he appears on the same "Rookie Stars" card as Graig Nettles.  After baseball, Danny Morris and his daughter Cindy owned a bar in Petersburg, Indiana, called "Friends".  Danny Morris passed away on September 23, 2023.

Right-hander Robert Griffin Keppel pitched for the Twins for a little over half of  2009.  Born in St. Louis, he was drafted by the Mets in the first round in 2000.  He was a starting pitcher most of his minor league career.  He appears to have battled injuries much of the time, as his games and innings pitched numbers make it appear that he may have missed at least a little time nearly every season.  His effectiveness went up and down; Keppel’s best year was probably 2003, when he went 9-4, 2.97 with a WHIP of 1.20 in 109 innings.  He was released by the Mets in May of 2005 despite the fact that he had made five pretty good starts at AAA Norfolk.  He was out of baseball the rest of the season, signing with Kansas City the next February.  Keppel made eight appearances (six starts) with the Royals in 2006, but did not pitch well either there or at AAA and became a free agent after the season.  He signed with Colorado for 2007 and made four relief appearances for the Rockies in April, but again had a poor year both there and at AAA.  He moved on to the Marlins organization for 2008, again pitched poorly, and signed with Minnesota for 2009.  In Rochester, he had his first good season in some time, going 3-3, 2.49 with a 1.15 WHIP in 55.2 innings before being called up to the Twins in late June.  He stayed the rest of the season, going 1-1, 4.83 with a 1.56 WHIP in 54 innings.  He made 37 appearances, all in relief.  The Twins released him in January of last year.  He signed with the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan in 2010, had a couple of fine seasons there, missed most of 2012 due to injury, then made eight mostly poor starts for Nippon Ham in 2013.  He came back to the United States and signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati for 2014, but instead decided to help run the family's landscaping business, Mid-America Lawn Maintenance, in the St. Louis area.

June 10

Jack Graney (1886)

Garland Braxton (1900)

Danny McFayden (1905)

Vic Harris (1905)

Mike Kreevich (1908)

Frank Demaree (1910)

Chuck Thompson (1921)

Hank Foiles (1929)

Carmen Cozza (1930)

Ed Palmquist (1933)

Kazuhisa Inao (1937)

Johnny Edwards (1938)

Ken Singleton (1947)

Elias Sosa (1950)

Gerry Hunsicker (1950)

Francisco Barrios (1953)

Floyd Bannister (1955)

Scott Ullger (1955)

Pokey Reese (1973)

Al Alburquerque (1986)

Patrick Murphy (1995)

Jack Graney had a few unusual "firsts".  He was the first major leaguer to bat against Babe Ruth.  He was the first player to wear a number on his uniform.  He as also the first player to become a broadcaster.

Outfielder Vic Harris was a long-time Negro League player and manager, leading the Homestead Grays to nine Negro National League pennants.

Chuck Thompson was a long-time broadcaster for the Baltimore Orioles.

Outfielder Carmen Cozza played in the low minors in 1952-1953, batting .242.  He later became a college football coach, most notably at Yale.  Upon his retirement in 1996, he held the record for most coaching victories in the Ivy League (179) and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

Kazuhisa Inao is one of the greatest pitchers in Japanese baseball history.

Gerry Hunsicker is a long-time baseball executive, working for the Mets, the Astros, and the Rays.

Right-hander Edwin Lee Palmquist appeared in nine games for the Twins in 1961.  Born and raised in Los Angeles, he signed as a free agent with Brooklyn in 1951.  He was with Class C Santa Barbara through 1952, then served in the military for two years.  He returned to organized baseball in 1955, but either still had a military obligation or was battling injuries, because he played very little until 1957.  Converted to relief in 1959, he had an excellent year for AAA St. Paul, posting an ERA of 2.09 and a WHIP of 1.06 in 125 innings.  He began 1960 with AAA Spokane, but was called up the now Los Angeles Dodgers in late June and stayed the rest of the year.  He did not pitch often but did well when given a chance, posting a 2.54 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP in 39 innings.  He began 1961 with the Dodgers, but after only five appearances was traded to Minnesota with Joe Altobelli for Ernie Oravetz and cash.  He made nine appearances for the Twins, two of them starts, and did not do well, going 1-1, 9.43 with a 2.19 WHIP in 21 innings.  He apparently got hurt in mid-June, or perhaps he was hurt when the Twins got him, but at any rate he missed the rest of the season.  He made three appearances for AAA Vancouver in the Twins’ organization in 1962, but then his playing career in America was over, although he apparently did some pitching in Japan in 1963.  He eventually moved to Grants Pass, Oregon, where he passed away on July 10, 2010.

First baseman Scott Matthew Ullger got 79 at-bats with the Twins in 1983.  He was born in New York and attended St. John’s.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the eighteenth round in 1977.  The Twins never really settled on a position for him; he played shortstop and third base in 1977-1978, was a third baseman in 1979, and an outfielder from 1980-1982.  He did not play first base at all until 1981, and then only 21 games’ worth.  On offense, his best season was probably 1978, when he hit .320 with 20 homers at Class A Visalia.  He also hit 20 home runs for AA Orlando in 1981, although he hit only .269; he also had a solid year for AAA Toledo in 1982.  Ullger then got his only time in the big leagues as a player, spending the entire 1983 season as Kent Hrbek’s backup at first base.  He got only 79 at-bats, hitting .190/.247/.241.  He then went back to AAA Toledo for three years, doing a solid but unspectacular job for the Mud Hens.  He moved to the Baltimore organization for 1987 and then his playing career ended.  Ullger then became a minor league manager for the Twins, working in Visalia (1988-1990), Orlando (1991), Portland (1992-1993), and Salt Lake (1994).  He was a part of the Twins’ major league coaching staff from 1995-2014, serving at various times as first base coach, third base coach, batting coach, and bench coach.  At one time, he was considered a possible successor to Ron Gardenhire, but that turned out not to be the case, as he was let go at the same time as Gardy after the 2014 season.  Unlike some other Twins coaches, he did not join Gardenhire's staff in Detroit, and does not appear to have worked in baseball at all since 2014.  It seems odd that someone who was been in baseball that long couldn't find a job in it someplace, but it's also possible that he decided he wanted to try something else or simply decided to retire.  At last report he had moved to Visalia, California, where in 2020 he was inducted into the Visalia Baseball Hall of Fame.

Right-hander Patrick Brian Murphy did not play for the Twins, but he was in AAA for them in 2023.  Born and raised in Chandler, Arizona, he was drafted by Toronto in the third round in 2013.  He was able to make only three appearances in the Gulf Coast League in 2014 before his season ended due to numbness in his arm.  He had to have a nerve in his elbow removed, and he did not come back until 2016.  A starter at that point in his career, he did well in Class A in 2017 and in high-A in 2018.  He was not all that good in AA in 2019, but made his major league debut in the COVID season of 2020, pitching six innings over four games and posting an ERA of 1.50 with a WHIP of 1.33.  Injury problems again cropped up in 2021, but he came back to pitch well in ten AAA relief appearances.  Despite that, he was put on waivers and claimed by Washington.  They put him on their major league roster and he did not do well.  He had a poor 2022 season, making six major league appearances but spending most of the year in AAA.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota.  He had a good year in St. Paul, going 6-4, 3.69 in 85.1 innings (42 games).  He was a free agent again after the season and went to Japan for 2024, where he had a fine season for Nippon Ham.  He came back to the United States for 2025, signing with Texas.  He did fairly well in AAA for them, but was still released in mid-August and finished the season in the KBO.  He signed with the Rangers again for 2026 and is doing well in AAA.  His major league record is 0-3, 4.76, 1.64 WHIP.  He turns thirty-one today.  It would be really cool if Patrick Murphy could get another shot at the majors.

June 9

Dude Esterbrook (1857)

Irish Meusel (1893)

Mike Ryba (1903)

Frank McCormick (1911)

Jimmy Newberry (1922)

Roy Smalley (1926)

Bill Virdon (1931)

Howie Gershberg (1936)

Jake Jacobs (1937)

Julio Gotay (1939)

Bruce Look (1943)

Tom Egan (1946)

Dave Parker (1951)

Tom Edens (1961)

Randy Winn (1974)

Joe Kelly (1988)

John Andreoli (1990)

Tony Wolters (1992)

Bubba Thompson (1998)

Jimmy Newberry was the first black player in Japanese baseball.

Howie Gershberg was a long-time college and minor league pitching coach.

Outfielder Lamar Gary “Jake” Jacobs appeared in four games for the Twins in 1961.  He was born in Youngstown, Ohio, went to college at Ohio University (playing on the same team as another future Twin, Joe Nossek), and signed with Washington as a free agent in 1959.  He did not hit for power in the minors, but hit for around .300 for three seasons, the first at Class D Sanford, the second at Class A Charlotte, and the third at AAA Syracuse.  He got a September call-up that second year, 1960, and appeared in six games for Washington, four as a pinch-runner and two as a pinch-hitter.  He went 0-for-2.  He got another September call-up the third year, 1961, and appeared in four games for what was now the Twins, starting two games in centerfield, pinch-hitting once, and being used as a defensive replacement once.  He went 2-for-8.  That was the extent of Jacobs’ major league career.  He played in the Twins’ organization for two more seasons, one in AAA Vancouver and one in AA Charlotte, hitting in the .250s both seasons.  Then, his playing career was over.  He went into the insurance business after that, selling insurance back in his home town of Youngstown for twenty-five years.  He also became involved in the YMCA and was a deacon in his local church.  Jake Jacobs passed away in Palmetto, Florida on July 26, 2010.

Bruce Michael Look was the Twins’ backup catcher in 1968.  Born and raised in Lansing, Michigan, he attended Michigan State and was signed by Milwaukee as a free agent in 1964.  After one year in the Braves’ system, he was selected by the Dodgers in the first-year player draft.  He was in the Dodgers’ system for three season, going as high as AAA in 1967.  He did not have much power, but hit for decent averages, especially considering the era.  His best was 1967, when he hit .270 for AAA Spokane.  The Twins then chose him in the Rule 5 draft and kept him in the majors for 1968, his only big league season.  Look hit .246/.353/.380 in 118 at-bats for the Twins, playing in 59 games.  In 19 of those games he was used as a pinch-hitter, going 2-for-16 with two walks and a sacrifice fly.  Take away his pinch-hitting duties and he hit .265, which was pretty good for 1968.  After that season, Look went back to AAA for two seasons.  The Twins did not exactly have depth at catcher at that time, but two years of poor batting at AAA kept Bruce from getting another look.  Prior to the 1971 campaign, he was sent to the Yankees in “an unknown transaction.”  The Yankees traded Look to Milwaukee (now the Brewers) in mid-season, and he went to the Orioles after the year ended, but never got back to the majors.  He did not play for the Orioles either; his playing career ended after the 1971 season.  His brother, Dean, played three games for the White Sox in 1961.  Bruce Look is currently the national sales manager for Spinus, L. L. C., a seller of medical devices based in Saginaw, Michigan.

Right-hander Thomas Patrick Edens pitched briefly for the Twins in 1991 and then pitched for them for all of 1992.  He was born in Ontario, Oregon, went to high school in Fruitland, Idaho, and attended Lewis-Clark State College.  He was drafted by Kansas City in the fourteenth round in 1983.  He was unimpressive in his first season, but the Mets apparently thought they saw something in him, as they traded for him in April of 1984.  A starter in the minors, he pitched well in the Mets’ chain, reaching AAA in 1986 and getting a brief shot at the majors in 1987, making two starts in June.  The Mets sent him back to the minors for the next two years, then traded him to Philadelphia in mid-July.  The Phillies converted Edens to relief, and after the season he signed with Milwaukee for 1990.  He did not pitch all that well in Denver, mainly due to wildness, but the Brewers brought him up in late May and he stayed the rest of the season.  He became a free agent after that year and signed with Minnesota.  The Twins converted him back to a starter for AAA Portland and he had a fine season, getting called up to the majors in late August and making six starts for the Twins down the stretch of the pennant race.  He went back to relief in 1992, staying with the Twins all season.  He was a solid member of the bullpen that year, going 6-3 with three saves, an ERA of 2.83, and a WHIP of 1.32 in 76.1 innings over 52 appearances.  The Twins left him unprotected in the expansion draft after the season.  He was selected by Florida and immediately traded to Houston in a deal involving Hector Carrasco.  He had another good year for the Astros in 1993, but was not doing as well in 1994 and was traded to Philadelphia in late July.  He did a good job for the Phillies down the stretch, but was released after the season and signed with the Cubs.  He was in AAA most of the season and pitched well, but got only five appearances in the majors.  Those were his last five big league appearances.  He pitched poorly in AAA for Baltimore in 1996 and then his playing career was over.  One source says he was a minor league pitching coach for several years.  At last report, Tom Edens was living in Clarkston, Washington.

Outfielder John Francis Andreoli did not play for the Twins, but was in AAA for them for part of 2019 and 2022.  He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, went to high school in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, attended the University of Connecticut, and was drafted by the Cubs in the seventeenth round in 2011.  He reached AAA in 2015 and spent three years in Iowa, putting up numbers that were solid enough but not really eye-catching.  He became a free agent after the 2017 season and signed with Seattle.  He was mostly in AAA for the Mariners, but did get three games in the majors before being taken on waivers by Baltimore in mid-August.  He was in the majors the rest of the season, but did not hit much and was waived after the season.  He was selected by Seattle again, but waived before the 2019 season started.  Texas claimed him, but waived him again before the season started and he was claimed by San Francisco.  He went to spring training with the Giants, but shortly before the season started they traded him to Minnesota for Michael Reed.  He spent the first two months of the season in AAA, batted .196, and was traded to Seattle as part of a conditional deal.  He hit better in AAA for the Mariners but did not get a call to the big leagues.  He signed with Boston for 2020, but was released before playing for them.  He signed with San Diego for 2021 and was mostly in AAA for them, although he got seven more games in the majors.  He signed with Philadelphia for 2022, was again in AAA, and was sold to the Twins at the end of May.  He spent the rest of the season in AAA for the Twins, but that brought his playing career to an end.  His major league numbers are .224/.284/.269 in 67 at-bats.  He stole a lot of bases in the minors, which is probably why he hung around as long as he did.  His father, also named John, played in the NFL for New England.  He is a cousin to major league players Daniel and Luke Bard.  At last report, John Andreoli was working for the Sullivan Insurance Group.

Catcher Anthony John Wolters did not play for the Twins, but was in AAA for them in 2023.  Born and raised in Vista, California, he was drafted in the third round by Cleveland in 2010.  He was just eighteen, which is probably why he did not reach AA in 2014.  He didn't hit a lot, and was waived before the 2016 and claimed by Colorado.  He made the majors and was with the Rockies through 2020 as a part-time catcher.  He wasn't awful at bat, but he wasn't particularly good, either, and if you can't hit in Colorado you probably can't hit.  A free agent, he signed with Pittsburgh for 2021, was released in spring training, signed with the Cubs, played mostly in AAA with fourteen games in the majors, and was released in August.  He signed with the Dodgers and was with them until August of 2022, again mostly in AAA but with two more games in the majors.  He signed with the Twins for 2023 and spent the entire season in AAA.  That brought his playing career to an end.  In the majors, he batted .235/.321/.314 in 1103 at-bats.  He then joined the Rockies in player development, and among other things has been a coach for the ACL Rockies.

Outfielder Leslie Arnold (Bubba) Thompson did not play for the Twins, but was in their organization for about three weeks in 2024.  Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, he was drafted by Texas in the first round in 2017.  He was good, but nothing special, in the low minors.  He had a fine 2021 in AA, however, and did even better in 2022 at AAA, batting .303.  He got called to the majors for the last two months of that season, and while he didn't show any power he did bat .265.  He started 2023 in the Rangers outfield but did not hit, and was sent back to AAA on the first of June.  His next several months were interesting.  He was waived in mid-August, claimed by Kansas City, spent the rest of the season in AAA, was waived after the season and claimed by Cincinnati, was waived in early January and claimed by the Yankees, was waived twenty days later and claimed by Minnesota, was waived three weeks later and claimed by Cincinnati again.  He spent the first month of the season in the majors but was used mostly as a defensive replacement, appearing in seventeen games but getting just eighteen at-bats.  He spent the rest of the season in AAA and then his playing career came to an end.  He batted .232/.273/.295 in 241 major league at-bats.  With a given name of Leslie Arnold, one can understand why he went by Bubba.  He has since gone back to college, attending the University of South Alabama and then transferring to West Florida.  It was reported that he was going to attempt to play football in college, but no information could be found as to whether he actually did so.  We wish him well in whatever his future holds.

June 8

Cub Stricker (1859)

Van Lingle Mungo (1911)

Del Ennis (1925)

Eddie Gaedel (1925)

George Brunet (1935)

Joe Grzenda (1937)

Pete Magrini (1942)

Mark Belanger (1944)

Lenn Sakata (1954)

Don Robinson (1957)

Carmelo Castillo (1958)

Britt Burns (1959)

Kevin Gross (1961)

John Gibbons (1962)

Kevin Ritz (1965)

Dave Mlicki (1968)

T. J. McFarland (1989)

Sadly, Cub Stricker never played for the Cubs.

3' 7" Eddie Gaedel is the shortest person to play in a major league game, walking in his only plate appearance as part of a Bill Veeck promotion.  His great-nephew, Kyle Gaedele, was an outfielder in the Padres organization from 2011-15, reaching AA.  Kyle is listed at 6' 3".

Left-hander Joseph Charles Grzenda made 38 appearances for the Twins in 1969.  He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, went to high school in Moosic, Pennsylvania, and signed with the Tigers as a free agent in 1955.  He was mostly a starter in the minors, and after a poor first season did pretty well for the most part.  He started 1961 in the majors but was sent back after only 5.2 innings over four games.  After the 1961 season he struggled for a couple of years due to injuries.  He was shifted to the bullpen in 1963 but continued to struggle and was released in late July.  He signed with the Kansas City Athletics for 1964 and was with the A’s for two and a half months, but did not pitch well either there or at AAA.  He went down to AA the next two years, and pitched extremely well, posting ERAs under two in 1966 and 1967.  He was in the majors just over two months in 1966 and pitched well, but in mid-August of 1967 Grzenda was traded to the Mets.  He finished the season with them and continued to pitch well, but after the season was sold to Minnesota.  Grzenda had a good year in AAA Denver in 1968, and in 1969 got his first full season in the majors.  He was not used a lot, but did not do too badly, going 4-1, 3.88 with a WHIP of 1.42 in 48.2 innings over 38 appearances.  In late March of 1970, however, Grzenda was traded to Washington with Charley Walters for Brant Alyea.  He was in the Senators’ bullpen for two years, pitching poorly in 1970 but having an outstanding year in 1971.  He was traded to St. Louis that off-season, and apparently left the magic behind in Washington, as he had a poor year in 1972.  He then spent two years in AAA, pitching in the Yankees’ organization in 1973 and in the Braves’ chain in 1974, but could not get back to the major leagues.  After his playing career ended, he was offered a chance to be a pitching coach in the Yankees’ organization, but decided he could not support his family on the amount he was offered.  He worked as a security guard, then worked for an auto battery manufacturer in Dunsmore, Pennsylvania for 25 years before retiring.  Joe Grzenda was the pitcher at the end of the last game the Washington Senators ever played.  He kept the ball, and he formally presented it to the new Washington franchise in April of 2005 for use in the ceremonial first pitch of the first home game for the Washington Nationals.  He was elected to the Birmingham Barons Hall of Fame in 2014.  Joe Grzenda passed away on July 12, 2019 in Covington Township, Pennsylvania.

Right-hander Peter Alexander Magrini did not play for the Twins but was originally signed by them.  He was born in San Francisco, went to high school in Santa Rosa, California, attended Santa Clara University, and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1964.  He had a good year for Class A Wilson and was chosen by Boston in the first-year player draft that off-season.  He pitched very well in the minors, consistently posting good ERAs and good WHIPs as both a starter and a reliever, but did not get much of a chance in the majors.  In fact, his major league career consists of three games with the Red Sox in April and May of 1966.  He made two relief appearances and one start, going 0-1, 9.82 in 7.1 innings.  He moved on to the Yankees’ organization for 1968 and again pitched very well in the minors, but again  it did him no good.  He had a down year in AAA in 1969, said he'd lost his desire to play, and retired, his playing career over at age 27.  In four seasons at AAA, Magrini had a 3.09 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP in 475 innings.  One has to think he might have done something in the big leagues if he had been given the chance.  At last report, Pete Magrini had returned to Santa Rosa and owned an automobile dealership until his retirement.  He passed away from cancer on October 27, 2022.

Outfielder Monte Carmelo Castillo, also known as Carmen Castillo, played for the Twins from 1989-1991.  He was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, and signed with Phildelphia as a free agent in 1978.  He was drafted by Cleveland in December of 1978 in the minor league draft.  He posted decent averages with moderate power in the minors, nothing bad but nothing to attract a lot of attention, either.  He came up to the majors in mid-July of 1982, and with the exception of a couple of brief demotions was a part-time player in the majors for the next nine years.  He was generally a platoon player and pinch hitter, used primarily against left-handed pitching.  He didn’t do badly in that role, hitting .250-.280 with moderate power.  In late March of 1989, Castillo was traded to Minnesota for Keith Atherton.  Already 31, he was decent his first season with the Twins, but then went into decline.  The Twins released him in early May of 1991.  Castillo signed with Milwaukee a couple of weeks later and hit well in AAA Denver, but did not make it back to the big leagues and his career came to an end after the season.  As a Twin, Carmelo Castillo hit .240/.279/.373 in 367 at-bats.  He managed the DSL Rangers in 1991.  He later became a batting coach for the Tigres de Licey in the Dominican League.  Sadly, Carmelo Castillo passed away from a heart attack on November 15, 2015.

June 7

Bones Ely (1863)

Ed Wells (1900)

Dusty Boggess (1904)

Rosey Gilhousen (1913)

Herb Score (1933)

Roger Nelson (1944)

George Mitterwald (1945)

Don Money (1947)

Thurman Munson (1947)

Bobby Marcano (1951)

Bill Hohn (1955)

Tim Laudner (1958)

Heathcliff Slocumb (1966)

Donaldo Mendez (1978)

Virgil Vasquez (1982)

Mark Lowe (1983)

Luke Farrell (1991)

Vince Velasquez (1992)

Dusty Boggess was a National League umpire from 1944-62.

Rosey Gilhousen was a long-time scout who is credit for signing George Brett and Dan Quisenberry.

Bobby Marcano was an all-star in Japan.

Bill Hohn was a major league umpire from 1989-99 and 2002-10.

Catcher George Eugene Mitterwald played for the Twins in 1966 and from 1968-1973.  He was born in Berkeley, California, went to high school in Hayward, California, and attended Chabot College in Hayward.  He signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1965.  He had an excellent year at Class A St. Cloud in 1965, then settled in as a rather mediocre minor league hitter.  He got a September call-up in 1966 and another in 1968 before coming to the majors to stay.  He was the backup to Johnny Roseboro in 1969, then became the mostly regular catcher.  He remained in that role from 1970-1971, but in 1972 Mitterwald had a poor year even by his standards, and shared the job with Glenn Borgmann, Phil Roof, and Rick Dempsey.  He regained the starting job in 1973 and had his best year as a Twin, hitting .259 with 16 home runs.  The Twins apparently decided that was as good as it was ever going to get and traded him that Mitterwald to the Cubs that off-season for Randy Hundley.  As a Twin, George Mitterwald hit .239/.304/.373 in 1,578 at-bats.  He was then a part-time catcher for the Cubs for the next four years.  Mitterwald became a free agent after the 1977 campaign and signed with Seattle.  He played poorly in AAA for the Mariners and his playing career came to an end.  He then went into coaching and managing, serving as the bullpen coach for Oakland (1979-1982), as the manager of Modesto (1983-1985) and Orlando (1986-1987), and as bench coach for the Yankees (1988).  He managed in the independent Northern League from 1996-1998.  He was inducted into the Chabot College Hall of Fame in 2000.  At last report, George Mitterwald was living in Orlando, Florida.

Catcher Timothy Jon Laudner was a catcher for the Twins throughout the 1980s.  He was born in Mason City, Iowa, went to high school in Minneapolis, and attended the University of Missouri.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the third round of the 1979 draft.  Laudner had indifferent minor league numbers for two season, then hit .284 with 42 homers with Orlando in 1981.  That got him a call-up in late August, and when Butch Wynegar was traded in May of 1982 Laudner became the regular catcher.  Unfortunately, the 42-home-run season turned out to be a fluke; he never hit more than 16 in any other season, majors or minors.  Because he never showed power and his average never really developed, either, Laudner was never the full-time catcher after 1982, sharing the job with Dave Engle (1983-84), Mark Salas (1985-1986), Sal Butera (1987), Tom Nieto (1987-1988), and Brian Harper (1988-1989).  Despite that, Laudner made the all-star team in 1988.  He was hitting .290 at the end of June that year, but fell to .251 by year’s end.  Laudner never played for another organization, retiring after the 1989 campaign.  He hit .225/.292/.391 with 77 homers in 2,038 at-bats.  After his playing career ended, he worked in the heating and air conditioning industry for a while, then got back into baseball.  Tim Laudner currently is as an instructor and part-owner of Big League Baseball Camp in Minnetonka and also works as a part-time analyst for Twins TV.

Shortstop Donaldo Alfonso Mendez did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system for a couple of months in 2006.  Born and raised in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, he signed with Houston as a free agent in 1995.  He stayed in the low minors and did not hit anything until 2000, when he batted .270 and stole 39 bases for Class A Michigan.  His OPS was still only .683, but that was enough for San Diego to take him in the rule 5 draft and keep him in the majors all season.  A reserve shortstop, he appeared in 46 games, got 118 at-bats, and hit .153.  Not surprisingly, he was back in the minors in 2002.  He never really did learn to hit; his lifetime average in the minors was .239, a figure that falls to .228 when you take out his years in independent leagues.  He stayed with the Padres through 2003, getting another month in the majors in his final year with them.  He moved on to Pittsburgh in 2004 and San Francisco in 2005.  He was hitting .272 with Newark in the Atlantic League when the Twins signed him on July 6, 2006.  He went to Rochester and actually put up very good numbers in limited playing time:  in 19 games, he batted 29 times and hit .270/.300/.621 with three homers.  The Twins were not fooled, and allowed him to become a free agent after the season.  He played in independent leagues through 2008, then ended his playing career.  At last report, Donaldo Mendez was an agent with Borascorp in San Diego.

Right-hander Virgil Matthew Vasquez did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system from 2013-2014.  Born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, he was drafted by Detroit in the seventh round in 2003.  He was somewhat up and down in his minor league career, but seemed to break through in 2007, going 12-5 in AAA with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.  He appeared in five big-league games for the Tigers that year, and while he did not do well in them, he still appeared to be on his way.  Instead, he went backward.  He had a poor year in AAA in 2008, was placed on waivers, and was selected by Boston.  Before the 2009 season started, he was waived twice more, being selected by San Diego and then by Pittsburgh.  The good news, of course, is that there was always someone who wanted him.  He did fairly well in AAA for the Pirates and got back to the big leagues for nearly half the season.  He spent over a month in the Pittsburgh rotation, but again did not do well.  After the 2009 season he was traded to Tampa Bay for a player to be named later.  He was okay, but nothing more, in AAA for the Rays and became a free agent after the season.  He signed with the Angels for 2011, but was released in April and spent 2011 in the Atlantic League, with a couple of starts in Australia.  He was back in the Atlantic League in 2012, then signed with Minnesota for 2013.  He pitched for Rochester and was not horrible but was not particularly good, either.  In 2014 he spent most of the year in New Britain, but he was a thirty-two-year-old pitching in AA.  He pitched in Mexico that winter and continued to pitch in Australia, through 2017.  He was a pitching coach in the Twins' organization from 2015-2022, with the GCL Twins through 2017, Chattanooga (2018), Cedar Rapids (2019), Wichita (2021), and St. Paul (2022).  He moved on to the Cincinnati organization after that, and in 2025 was the assistant pitching coach for the Toledo Mud Hens in the Detroit organization.  This year, however, he does not appear to be working for anyone.  Rather, he is the co-founder of Revolution Throwing, which "bridges the gap between traditional coaching, modern sports science, and embodied awareness", in Fort Myers, Florida.

The son of former major league manager John Farrell, right-hander Luke Thomas Farrell was with the Twins for about half of 2021.  He was born in Westlake, Ohio, went to high school in Cleveland, attended Northwestern University, and was drafted by Kansas City in the sixth round in 2013.  He pitched poorly in his first two seasons, but was moved up to AA in 2015 anyway and rewarded the Royals with a fine season.  He reached AAA in 2016 and made the majors in July of 2017, but after just one major league appearance he was sold to the Dodgers in late July of 2017.  They waived him about two weeks later and Cincinnati claimed him.  He pitched well for the Reds in nine appearances but was waived after the season and was claimed by the Cubs for 2018.  He had an up-and-down half-season for them, then spent the rest of the season in AAA.  The Cubs waived him in September and he was claimed by the Angels.  The Angels waived him again after the season and he was claimed by Texas.  He missed much of the 2019 season with a broken jaw, the result of a line drive in spring training, but pitched well when he did pitch.  He made just four appearances for the Rangers in 2020 and became a free agent.  The Twins signed him for 2021 and he spent nearly half the season in the majors.  He was really pretty good most of that time, but two really bad outings in September make his numbers look mediocre:  as a Twin, he was 1-1, 4.74, 1.66 WHIP with 25 strikeouts in 24.2 innings.  He became a free agent after the season and did not sign for a while, but signed with the Cubs in early May.  He was not particularly good in AAA, made four big league appearances for the Cubs in late August-early September, then was waived and claimed by Cincinnati.  He made two major league appearances for them, then became a free agent.  He signed with the White Sox in mid-April of 2023 and did not pitch well in AAA for them.  He signed with Washington for 2024, but was released in July after nine appearances in the low minors and finished the season in the Mexican League.  He announced his retirement after the season.  In sixty-nine major league appearances (seven starts), he was 5-5, 5.00, 1.49 WHIP.  At last report, he had gone back to school, and was pursuing an MBA at Stanford.  We certainly wish him well in the next phase of his life.

June 6

Ed McKean (1864)

Jose Maria Fernandez (1896)

Fresco Thompson (1902)

Bill Dickey (1907)

Wild Bill Wright (1914)

Hector Espino (1939)

Merv Rettenmund (1943)

Bud Harrelson (1944)

Bobby Randall (1948)

Dave Bergman (1953)

Max Venable (1957)

Tony Graffanino (1972)

Brooks Kieschnick (1972)

David Lamb (1975)

Mark Ellis (1977)

Jeremy Affeldt (1979)

Matt Belisle (1980)

Anthony Rendon (1990)

 Wild Bill Wright was a star in the Negro Leagues in the 1930s and 1940s.

Hector Espino is considered the greatest player in the history of the Mexican League, hitting 453 home runs there.

Second baseman Robert Lee Randall played for the Twins in the late

1970s.  He was born in Norton, Kansas, went to high school in Gove, Kansas, and attended Kansas State.  He was drafted by the Dodgers in the second round of the June Secondary draft in 1969.  He never showed power in the minors, and his average was up and down; his best year was 1974, when he hit .338 for AAA Albuquerque.  After the 1975 season, Randall was traded to Minnesota for Danny Walton.  He was instantly installed as the regular second baseman, but when he proved inadequate offensively he was platooned with Rob Wilfong for the next three years.  He was a solid defensive player, but never hit well enough to justify his place in the lineup.  His batting average sometimes made him look adequate–his highest was .270 in 1978–but he had no power and did not draw walks, so his highest OPS was .650, also in 1978.  Randall was a fine bunter, achieving double-digit sacrifice bunts every season.  The Twins released Randall at the end of spring training of 1980, signed him again on May 16, released him again on June 3, signed him again on June 18, and released him again on July 16, this time for good.  He never played for another team.  Bobby Randall’s career numbers are .257/.310/.311 in 1,325 at-bats.  He then went into college coaching, serving as an assistant coach at Iowa State from 1981-1984, head coach at Iowa State from 1985-1995, and head coach at Kansas from 1996-2002.  He also got a master's degree in economics at Kansas State.  Bobby Randall lives in Manhattan, Kansas and was a professor of economics and statistics at Manhattan Christian College until his retirement.  He is a member of the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame.

Infielder David Christian Lamb appeared in seven games for the Twins in 2002.  He was born in West Hills, California, went to high school in Newbury Park, California, and was drafted by Baltimore in the second round in 1993.  It took him a while to get started, but he hit right around .300 from 1997-1998 in the minor leagues.  The Orioles did not put him on the 40-man roster, however, and he was selected by Tampa Bay in the Rule 5 draft after the 1998 season.  He was with the Devil Rays in 1999 as a utility infielder, batting .226.  Tampa Bay waived him in February of 2000 and the Mets picked him up.  He was in the big leagues for about three weeks, again as a reserve, and had a poor year in AAA.  He became a free agent after the season, signed with Anaheim, was released at the end of spring training of 2001, signed with Colorado, was unspectacular in AA, was released in August, and signed with Florida the same day, going to AAA for the rest of the year.  Lamb signed with Minnesota for 2002.  He had a solid season in AAA Edmonton, hitting .309 with ten homers, and got a September call-up.  He went 1-for-10, but replaced Denny Hocking on the ALCS roster that year, appearing in two games but not getting a time at bat.  Lamb was back with the Twins’ AAA team, now at Rochester, for 2003.  He had a mediocre season and his playing career came to an end.  He then went into law enforcement, and at last report was an investigations professional for the Santa Rosa Police Deparment.

Right-hander Matthew Thomas Belisle was with the Twins in 2017 and 2018.  Born and raised in Austin, Texas, he was drafted by Atlanta in the second round in 1998.  He was a starter in the minors and did fairly well for the most part.  He had good control, not walking more than 2.5 batters per nine innings after leaving rookie ball.  He reached AAA in mid-2003 and had made three solid starts for the Braves there when he was traded to Cincinnati in mid-August.  He got a September call-up with the Reds that year but spent all of 2004 in AAA, where he had his first poor season.  Still, he made the Reds out of spring training in 2005 and spent the whole season with them, mostly in the bullpen, even though he did not pitch very well.  He didn't do very well in 2006 either, and continued to struggle when moved into the starting rotation in 2007.  He started 2008 in the rotation, too, but after six starts he went back to AAA.  He became a free agent after that season and signed with Colorado for 2009.  He started 2009 in the Rockies bullpen, but was inconsistent and was sent down after two months, coming back as a September call-up.  In 2010, however, something clicked, and he pitched well in the Rockies' bullpen for the next four seasons.  His best season there was probably 2010, when he appeared in 76 games and went 7-5 with 1 save, 2.93 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP.  He led the league in appearances in 2012 with 80.  He had a poor year in 2014, however, became a free agent and signed with St. Louis for 2015.  He posted a 2.67 ERA for them, but just a 1.46 WHIP.  His control deserted him, as he issued four walks per nine innings, easily the most of his career up to that point.  He again became a free agent and signed with Washington, where he found his control and was again a very good pitcher, posting a 1.76 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP in 2016.  Once again a free agent, he signed with Minnesota for 2017.  He was terrible for the first two months of the season but pitched very well after that, posting an ERA of 1.71 and a WHIP of 0.65 in the second half.  Once more a free agent, he signed with Cleveland for 2018.  He struggled in April but refused an assignment to AAA.  He became a free agent, re-signed with the Indians eight-days later and agreed to go to AAA, was released again in mid-June, and signed with the Twins a day later.  He stuck with the Twins the rest of the season but pitched poorly.  He became a free agent and did not sign with anyone for 2019, bringing his playing career to an end.  As a Twin, Matt Belisle was 3-3, 5.46, 1.43 WHIP in 87 games (84 innings).  At last report, it appeared that he was the owner of a ranch near Abilene, Texas.