February 23

Barney Dreyfuss (1865)

Paul Cobb (1888)

Roy Johnson (1903)

Ray Brown (1908)

Mike Tresh (1914)

Elston Howard (1929)

Ron Hunt (1941)

Ken Boswell (1946)

Juan Agosto (1958)

John Shelby (1958)

Bobby Bonilla (1963)

Rondell White (1972)

Scott Elarton (1976)

Edgar Gonzalez (1983)

Barney Dreyfuss was the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1900-1932.

The brother of Ty Cobb, John Paul Cobb (known by his middle name), played in over a thousand minor league games over ten years, batting .283.

Ray Brown was a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues from 1931-1945.

Reliever Juan Roberto (Gonzalez) Agosto was a member of the Twins for a couple of months in 1986.  Born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, he attended high school there and signed as a free agent with the Red Sox at age 16.  He was in the low minors for them for four years, and did not pitch well.  He had serious control problems, walking 111 in 119 innings in 1977 and 89 in 120 innings in 1978.  The Red Sox gave up on him, releasing him after the 1978 season.  In 1979 he played for Puerto Rico in something called the Inter-American League, and he signed with the White Sox in 1980.  He still was not exactly a control pitcher, but he did manage to bring his walks down from about seven or eight per nine innings to three or four.  He made brief appearances with Chicago in 1981 and 1982 and came up to stay awhile when in June of 1983, when he was still only 25.  He had been primarily a starter throughout his early minor league career, but shifted to the bullpen in 1981.  That was the role he filled as a big leaguer.  He pitched pretty well for the White Sox from 1983 through 1985, but got off to a poor start in 1986 and was sold to Minnesota at the end of April.  He split the rest of the year between Minnesota and AAA Toledo.  Agosto pitched 20.1 innings in 17 appearances as a Twin; oddly, more than a quarter of those innings came in his first appearance, when he pitched 5.2 scoreless innings of relief in a 7-4 victory over the Yankees.  The rest of his time in Minnesota did not go so well:  as a Twin, he was 1-2, 8.85 with a WHIP of 2.80.  Agosto was released after the season and signed with Houston.  He put things together with the Astros:  he pitched extremely well in AAA, came up to Houston on the first of August, and posted ERAs under three for three consecutive years (1987-1989).  He led the league in appearances in 1990.  A free agent after the 1990 season, Agosto signed with St. Louis, but apparently left his magic behind.  He had a poor year in 1991 and was again pitching poorly in 1992 when he was released in mid-June.  He finished the season in Seattle, became a free agent again, and signed with San Diego for 1993.  The Padres sent him to AAA and released him in May.  He re-signed with Houston but made only six appearances before being sent back to AAA again.  After the season, he went to Mexico to pitch, and then tried for a comeback with Pittsburgh in 1996.  He made 24 appearances for AAA Calgary and did not pitch badly, but was not brought back to the big leagues.  His playing career ended after that.  More recently, Juan Agosto was living in Sarasota, Florida and was the director of Royal Palm Ranch, Inc., but it appears that this corporation is no longer active.  At last report, Juan Agosto was living in the Dominican Republic.

Outfielder Rondell Bernard White was a member of the Twins from 2006-2007.  He was at the end of his career, an end which has obscured the fact that he was actually a fine ballplayer for a long period of time.  He was born in Milledgeville, Georgia and went to high school in Gray, Georgia.  He was drafted by Montreal in the first round in 1990.  He hit well throughout the minors, capped by a 1993 season when he hit .343 with 19 homers between AA and AAA.  That got him a September call-up, and White was with Montreal for most of 1994, although he had difficulty finding playing time in an outfield that featured Moises Alou, Marquis Grissom, and Larry Walker, all of whom were 27 years old that season.  Grissom was traded to Atlanta that off-season, opening center field for White, and he responded by hitting .295 with an OPS of .820.  He remained a regular outfielder for the Expos for the rest of the decade, shifting to left in 1999.  That was probably his best season as an Expo:  he hit .312 with 22 homers that year.  He was having another fine season in 2000 when he was traded to the Cubs on July 31, 2000.  He stayed with the Cubs for 2001 and continued to play well, although he missed a couple of months due to injury, something that had happened in prior seasons as well.  A free agent after that season, he signed with the Yankees for 2002, was traded to San Diego in March of 2003, was traded to Kansas City in August of that year, and became a free agent again after the season.  He signed with the Tigers and stayed there for two years, continuing to hit well but continuing to battle injuries.  A free agent again, after the 2005 season, he signed with Minnesota.  Unfortunately, the combination of injuries and age was too much for him to overcome.  As a Twin, Rondell White hit .229/.266/.354 in 446 at-bats.  In December of 2007, he was mentioned in the Mitchell Report in connection to steroids.  At last report, Rondell White was living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  He is the son-in-law of Jerry Manuel.

February 22

Bill Klem (1874)

Clarence Mitchell (1891)

Roy Spencer (1900)

Charles O. Finley (1918)

Stubby Greer (1920)

Ryne Duren (1929)

Sparky Anderson (1934)

Steve Barber (1938)

Tom Griffin (1948)

Gerry Davis (1953)

John Halama (1972)

J. J. Putz (1977)

Kelly Johnson (1982)

Brian Duensing (1983)

Casey Kotchman (1983)

Chris Bassitt (1989)

German Marquez (1995)

Bill Klem was a National League umpire from 1905-1941.  He was the first umpire to indicate his calls with arm signals, and was also the first umpire to wear an inside chest protector.  He umpired in eighteen World Series and also umpired the first all-star game.

Charles O. Finley was the owner of the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics from 1960-81.

Stubby Greer played in the minors from 1940-1958 with a career batting average of .330.  He never played in the major leagues.

Sparky Anderson was born in Bridgewater, South Dakota.

Gerry Davis was a major league umpire from 1982-2021.

J. J. Putz was drafted by Minnesota in the seventeenth round in 1998, but did not sign.

Left-hander Brian Matthew Duensing pitched for the Twins from 2009-2015.  He was born in Marysville, Kansas, went to high school in Omaha, and attended the University of Nebraska.  He was drafted by the Twins in 2005.  He pitched well in his first few years in the minors and had a fine season in 2007, when he went a combined 15-6, 3.07 with a WHIP of 1.19 in nine starts at AA New Britain and 19 starts in AAA Rochester.  He pitched for the U. S. Olympic team in Beijing in 2008.    He also pitched in Rochester in 2008 and 2009 and seemed to be getting worse, posting higher ERAs and WHIPs each season.  Despite that, however, he made his major league debut in 2009, making one start in April and then being brought up in early July and staying the rest of the season.  He pitched better than one might have expected, going 5-2, 3.64 with a WHIP of 1.37 in 84 innings.  He made twenty-four appearances, nine of them starts.  He started 2010 in the Twins bullpen but again ended it as a starter, moving into the rotation in late July.  In 2011 he was in the rotation all season (other than when injured), and it did not go well.  In 2012 he appeared in 55 games, 11 of them starts, and did no better.  Moved to the bullpen in 2013, he was better, but it would be a stretch to say that he actually pitched well, a fact that did not prevent him from appearing in 73 games.  He continued to improve in 2014, posting his best numbers since 2010.  In 2015, however, he took a step backward, as his ERA, WHIP, and walks per nine innings all went up substantially while his strikeout rate declined. As a Twin, Brian Duensing was 41-37, 4.13, 1.38 WHIP in 649.1 innings.  He made 354 appearances, 61 of them starts.  He was significantly better as a reliever and was also significantly better against left-handed batters.  He signed with Kansas City for 2016, was released in late March, re-signed with the Royals a few days later, went to AAA, and was released again in mid-May.  He signed with Baltimore a couple weeks later, was with the Orioles for about three weeks in June, and came back as a September call-up, not doing badly in fourteen appearances.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with the Cubs.  Somewhat surprisingly, he turned in a fine season, posting a 2.74 ERA and a WHIP of 1.22 in 68 appearances (62.1 innings).  He started 2018 very well, but had shoulder problems in June and appears to have never been healthy after that, pitching sporadically and ineffectively the rest of the season.  He tried to come back in 2019 but couldn't do it.  He was released in June and his playing career came to an end.  He started the Brian Duensing Foundation, whose goal is to provide hope and support to families battling cancer or serious illness.  At last report, Brian Duensing was living in Omaha.

February 21

Jouett Meekin (1867)

Dummy Taylor (1875)

John Titus (1876)

Tom Yawkey (1903)

Mark Scott (1915)

Jack Billingham (1943)

Joe Foy (1943)

Tom Shopay (1945)

Charley Walters (1947)

Rick Lysander (1953)

Alan Trammell (1958)

Franklin Gutierrez (1983)

Sam Hilliard (1994)

Tom Yawkey was the owner of the Boston Red Sox from 1933 until his death in 1978.

Mark Scott was the host of “Home Run Derby”.

Sam Hilliard was drafted by the Twins in the 31st round in 2014 but did not sign.

Third baseman Joseph Anthony Foy did not play for the Twins, but was originally signed by them.  He was born in New York and went to high school in the Bronx.  He signed with the Twins in 1962.  He hit .285 in Class D Erie, drawing 109 walks in 490 plate appearances.  He was chosen by Boston in the 1962 minor league draft.  Foy hit pretty well throughout the minors; his best year was probably 1965, when he hit .302 with 14 home runs for AAA Toronto.  He was the regular third baseman for the Red Sox the next season, a position he held for three years.  He could not duplicate his minor league success in the majors, although his numbers look better when viewed in the low-offense context of the late 1960s.  He hit .246 in his years with Boston, but he continued to draw walks--his OBP in those years was .344.  He also hit double-digit home runs each season.  Foy was taken by Kansas City in the expansion draft and was the Royals' third baseman in 1969.  He hit .262 with an OBP of .354 and 11 homers for the expansion team.  After the season, however, Foy was traded to the Mets in the deal that brought Amos Otis to Kansas City.  He had a down year and was left unprotected after the season.  Washington chose him in the Rule 5 draft, but Foy was released mid-way through the 1971 season, ending his career.  Even in his last years, when he was hitting in the .230s, he was still drawing walks, posting OBPs around .370.  After his career ended, Joy Foy returned to the Bronx.  He passed away from a heart attack on October 12, 1989 at the age of 46.

Right-hander Charles Leonard Walters pitched in six games for the Twins in 1969.  He was born in Minneapolis and went to high school there.  Walters signed with the Twins as a free agent in 1966 after attending a tryout camp.  He pitched very well in the low minors, and was jumped to the majors from Class A at the start of the 1969 season.  He had both started and relieved in the minors, but was placed in the bullpen with the Twins.  Walters was unscored upon in his first five appearances, giving up only three hits in 5.1 innings.  In his sixth appearances, however, he gave up four runs on three hits and two walks in 1.1 innings.  He was sent back to the minors after that and never made it back to the big leagues.  He did not pitch particularly well in AA Charlotte, and in March of 1970 was traded to Washington with Joe Grzenda for Brant Alyea.  He did not pitch badly in 1970 or 1971 in the minors, but had a down year in 1972 in AA which ended his career.  Charley Walters has for many years been a sports columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.  The nickname "Shooter" was given to him by Bob Allison.

Right-hander Richard Eugene Lysander pitched for the Twins from 1983-1985.  He was born in Huntington Park, California, attended California State--Los Angeles, and was drafted by Oakland in the 19th round in 1974.  He was used as a starter in the low minors, but shifted to relief on his promotion to AAA midway through the 1976 season.  He struggled in AAA in that role, was sent back to AA a couple of times, and returned to starting in 1981.  He made his major league debut in 1980, pitching in five games for the Athletics without success.  Lysander was traded to Houston after the 1981 season, pitched in AAA for the Astros in 1982, and was traded to the Twins in January of 1983 for Bob Veselic.  He made the Twins out of spring training in 1983 and was with them for all of that year and parts of two others.  He was used mostly out of the bullpen, although one of his five starts was a memorable complete-game, eleven-hit shutout of California.  He pitched fairly well for them in 1983, then started 1984 in the minors but came up in late June and pitched fairly well again.  He did not pitch well in 1985, again spent some time in the minors, and was released after the season.  That pretty much ended his career, but he pitched in the seniors league in 1989 and made a brief, unsuccessful comeback in 1990, pitching ten games in AAA for Toronto.  Lysander's son, Brent, pitched in the Oakland organization in 2007 and 2008 and was in independent ball in 2009.  His daughter, Kelsey, was a star soccer player at Notre Dame.  At last report, Rick Lysander was living in La Jolla, California and was involved with youth baseball there.  He also was taking part in various instructional camps and charitable events.

February 20

Sam Rice (1890)

John Wesley Donaldson (1891)

Muddy Ruel (1896)

Pete Monahan (1902)

Tommy Henrich (1913)

Frankie Gustine (1920)

Jim Wilson (1922)

Roy Face (1928)

Shigeo Nagashima (1936)

Clyde Wright (1941)

Bill Gullickson (1959)

Shane Spencer (1972)

Livan Hernandez (1975)

Ryan Langerhans (1980)

Justin Verlander (1983)

Jose Morales (1983)

Brian McCann (1984)

Buck Farmer (1991)

Johnny Field (1992)

Jurickson Profar (1993)

Luis Severino (1994)

John Wesley Donaldson pitched in the Negro Leagues and averaged nearly twenty strikeouts per game for the All Nations team in the 1910s.  He pitched three consecutive no-hitters in 1913.

Pete Monahan played in the minors from 1921-1940, batting .301 and collecting 2,462 hits, but never played in the major leagues.

Third baseman Shigeo Nagashima played for the Yomiuri Giants from 1958-1974 and is considered by some to be the greatest player in the history of Japanese baseball.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to CarterHayes' daughter.

Right-hander Eisler Livan Hernandez was with the Twins for roughly four months in 2008.  The half-brother of Orlando Hernandez, he is a native of Villa Clara, Cuba, which is where he went to high school.  He was signed by Florida as a free agent in 1996.  He struggled some in his first year in organized baseball, a season he split between AA and AAA as a 21-year-old, but he pitched fairly well in AAA in 1997 and reached the Marlins in mid-June.  He did very well, going 9-3, 3.18, helping lead the Marlins to the World Championship, and finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting.  Hernandez was not as good for the rest of his career with the Marlins, posting ERAs in the mid-fours through late July of 1999, when he was traded to San Francisco.  He finished that year and pitched the next three for the Giants.  His best year in San Francisco was 2000, when he went 17-11, 3.75.  In March of 2003, Hernandez was traded to Montreal and was and Expo/National until August of 2006.  He posted an ERA under four each year from 2003 through 2005 and made the all-star team twice.  In 2006, however, he was having a poor year when he was traded to Arizona.  He stayed with the Diamondbacks through 2007, when he became a free agent.  He signed with Minnesota for 2008.  He got off to a decent start, but deteriorated as the season went along:  as a Twin, he was 10-8, 5.48 with a WHIP of 1.63.  He was placed on waivers in August and claimed by Colorado, for whom he finished the season.  He signed with the Mets for 2009, was released in late August, and signed with Washington, for whom he finished the season.  He remained with Washington through 2011 and actually pitched fairly well for them.  He pitched 200 or more innings every season from 1998 through 2007, and pitched 175 innings or more every season from 1998 through 2011.  A free agent after the 2011 season, Livan Hernandez signed with Houston for 2012 but was released at the end of spring training.  He signed with Atlanta, pitched poorly in relief, was released in June, signed with Milwaukee a few days later, and continued to pitch poorly in relief.  He became a free agent after the season and did not sign with anyone, bringing his playing career to an end. It was a long and pretty decent career, though.  In 2014 he was said to have started a boxing management company, Team Knockout, based in Miami, but it is uncertain whether anything ever came of the venture,  Livan Hernandez was employed by the Washington Nationals as a batting practice pitcher for a few years and also did public relations work for the team.  At last report, he was running a youth baseball academy, "Livan Hernandez Baseball Academy", in Miami.

Catcher Jose Guillermo Morales is the second of two players named Jose Morales to have played for the Twins.  This one was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, and attended high school there.  He was drafted by the Twins in the third round in 2001.  He was in rookie ball for two years, hitting .309 the second season.  He then was in A ball for two years and AA for two more years before reaching AAA Rochester in 2007.  Something seemed to click for him at AAA, because he hit over .300 three years in a row there.  Only one of those years was a full season--he was injured part of 2008 and was called up to the majors for much of 2009.  He hit over .300 in the majors in 2009, too, hitting .311 in 119 at-bats.  He was back in Rochester in 2010 but had a down year, batting .264.  He still got about six weeks in the majors, but hit just .194 in 36 at-bats.  As a Twin, he hit .297/.370/.354 in 158 at-bats.  Morales did not show power in the minors (his highest home run total was four) nor did he draw very many walks (his combined walk total in 2010, 42, was the highest of his career), and his defense was considered suspect, so he needed to hit for a high average to have much value.  The Twins apparently did not think it would happen, as they traded him to Colorado for Paul Bargas in December of 2010.  Morales was injured much of 2011, playing in only twenty-two games.  He became a free agent after the season, signed with Pittsburgh for 2012, and continued to have injury trouble, playing in only 58 AAA games.  He does not appear to have played anywhere in 2013, although he did play winter ball.  He played for Camden in the Atlantic League in 2014 and for Long Island in the same league in 2015, but then his playing career was over.  At last report, Jose Morales was an instructor for "Catch and Throw Squad" in Sugarland, Texas.

Outfielder John David Field played for the Twins in the last two months of the 2018 season.  Born and raised in Las Vegas, he attended the University of Arizona and was drafted in the fifth round by Tampa Bay in 2013.  He did quite well in Class A in 2014, did okay in AA in 2015, and was fairly good in AAA in 2016.  That's about as good as it got for him.  He had a very average year in AAA in 2017, but still found himself in the majors for most of the 2018 season.  He was a reserve outfielder for the Rays, batting .213/.253/.373 in 179 plate appearances.  He was waived on July 24 and claimed by Cleveland.  He played in five games for AAA Columbus and was waived again on August 3.  This time the Twins claimed him and after sending him to Rochester for one game brought him to the majors.  He appeared in twenty-one games and made 54 plate appearances, batting .250/.259/.500 with three home runs and four doubles.  The Twins waived him after the season and he was claimed by the Cubs, for whom he played in AAA in 2019.  He became a free agent after the season, did not play in 2020, but played in independent ball in 2021-2022, where he was okay but nothing special.  He retired midway through the 2022 season.  At last report, Johnny Field was working as a realtor with Remax in Las Vegas and also offered private baseball instruction.

February 19

John Morrill (1855)

Dick Siebert (1912)

Hub Kittle (1917)

Russ Nixon (1935)

Dave Niehaus (1935)

Jackie Moore (1939)

Walt Jocketty (1951)

Dave Stewart (1957)

Keith Atherton (1959)

Alvaro Espinoza (1962)

Miguel Batista (1971)

Juan Diaz (1974)

Chris Stewart (1982)

Josh Reddick (1987)

Hub Kittle’s baseball career spanned 68 years.  In 1980, he became the oldest player to appear in organized baseball, pitching a perfect inning for AAA Springfield on August 27 at age 63½.

Jackie Moore is a long-time major league coach and minor league manager.  He also was the manager of the Oakland Athletics from 1984-86,

Walt Jocketty was the general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals from 1995-2007 and was the general manager of the Cincinnati Reds from 2008-2015, when he became president of baseball operations.  The next year he became executive advisor to the CEO, a position he held until his death in 2025.

Catcher Russell Eugene Nixon played for the Twins from 1966-1967.  His twin brother, Roy, was a minor league infielder from 1953-1957.  They were born in Cleves, Ohio, went to high school in Cincinnati, and Russ was signed by Cleveland as a free agent in 1953.  He hit for very high averages in the minors:  .336 at Class D Green Bay in 1953; .387 at Class D Jacksonville Beach in 1954; .385 at Class B Keokuk in 1955; and .319 at AAA Indianapolis in 1956.  In 1957, he got a well-earned promotion to the Indians, backing up Jim Hegan.  The following year, 1958, Nixon got the most playing time of his career--113 games and 376 at-bats.  Used almost exclusively against right-handed pitching, he hit .301, the only time in his career that he would bat over .300.  In 1959, he fell to .240, and he was hitting in the .240s again in June of 1960 when he was traded to the Red Sox.  His batting came back in Boston--Nixon hit .298 the rest of the season, and provided solid offense in a part-time role for the most of the next five years.  In April of 1966, Nixon was traded to Minnesota with Chuck Schilling for Dick Stigman and a player to be named later (Jose Calero).  Nixon joined Jerry Zimmerman in the job of backing up Earl Battey in 1966 and again provided solid offense in that role.  In 1967, however, when Battey was injured, the Twins gave the bulk of the playing time to Zimmerman rather than Nixon, and in April of 1968, Nixon was released.  As a Twin, he hit .244/.307/.301 in 266 at-bats.  Boston re-signed Nixon for 1968 but gave him only 85 at-bats, in which he hit .153.  The White Sox chose him in the Rule 5 draft, but released him in April of 1969, and his playing career was over.  He immediately went in to managing and coaching in the Cincinnati organization, and was the Reds' major league manager for part of 1982 and all of 1983.  After that, he moved to the Montreal organization, and then to Atlanta, where he managed the Braves from 1988-1990.  He returned to minor league managing after that, including managing the Twins' AAA affiliate in Portland in 1991.  He continued to manage in the minors through 2005, then became a roving instructor for Houston.  He became a roving catching instructor for the Texas Rangers in 2008, a position he held until his retirement.  Russ Nixon passed away in his home town of Cleves, Ohio on November 8, 2016.

Right-handed reliever Keith Rowe Atherton pitched for the Twins from 1986-1988.  Born in Newport News, Virginia, he attended high school in Mathews, Virginia, and then was drafted by Oakland in the second round in 1978.  He was a starter in the minors, and rose slowly, spending most of two years in Class A, a little over two years in AA, and a year and a half in AAA before making his debut with Oakland in July of 1983.  Moved to the bullpen upon going to the big leagues, Atherton had a fine half-year for the Athletics and was a steady if unspectacular contributor to the team through 1985.  He got off to a poor start in 1986, however, and was traded to Minnesota on May 20 for a player to be named later (Eric Broersma).  He became the chair of the Twins' closer by committee that year, leading the team in saves with ten.  The acquisition of Jeff Reardon moved Atherton back into a set-up role after the 1986 season, a role in which he performed quite creditably.  In March of 1989, however, the Twins traded Atherton to Cleveland for Carmelo Castillo.  Atherton did not do particularly well for the Indians and was released in August.  He signed with the Tigers and pitched well in six appearances at AAA, but did not get back to the major leagues.  He signed with Montreal for 1990, but was released in spring training, bringing his playing career to an end.  At last report, Keith Atherton was living in Mathews, Virginia.

Infielder Alvaro Alberto (Ramirez) Espinoza got 99 at-bats with the Twins from 1984-1986.  A native of Valencia, Venezuela, he attended high school there and signed with Houston as a free agent in 1978.  He spent two seasons in rookie ball for the Astros, did not hit, and was released in September of 1980.  It is unclear where Espinoza played in 1981, but the Twins signed him in March of 1982.  He was in Class A for the Twins in 1982 and 1983, hitting .316 in the latter year.  He was promoted to AAA in 1984 and struggled offensively for the next two years.  Despite that, he got a September callup in 1984 and came up in mid-August in 1985.  He was having a better year at AAA in 1986 when he was called up in mid-July.  He was in AAA all of 1987 and hit .275, but did not make it back to the majors with the Twins and was released after the season.  As a Twin, Espinoza hit .242/.265/.273.  The Yankees signed him for 1988.  They kept him in AAA almost all of that year, but he was the Yankees' regular shortstop from 1989-1991.  He provided good defense, but as should have been expected, did not hit--even in his one "good" year, 1989, when he hit .282, he had an OPS of only .633.  The Yankees released Espinoza in March of 1992 and he signed with Cleveland.  Espinoza was in AAA in 1992, but became a semi-regular from 1993 through mid-1996, continuing to provide good defense and not hit.  In July of 1996, he was traded to the Mets and had probably the best two months of his career, hitting .306 with four home runs.  The Mets weren't fooled, however, and released him in March of 1997.  He signed with Seattle, was released in July, and his career was over.  In 1998, he became a minor league instructor, first with Montreal, then the Dodgers, then Pittsburgh, then the Yankees, then Cleveland.  He was inducted into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.  At last report, Alvaro Espinoza was living in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and was an instructor for the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korean Baseball Organization.

First baseman Juan Carlos Diaz did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 2004.  He was born in San Jose de las Lajas, Cuba, but went to high school in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.  He signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1996.  He hit 30 homers and batted .281 in 1998 in a season split between A and AA.  He was having another strong season at AA San Antonio in 1999 when his contract was voided by major league baseball due to a rules violation (he had reached an agreement with the Dodgers while still living in Cuba). He signed with Boston and hit 20 homers in consecutive years at AAA Pawtucket (2001-2002).  He was in the big leagues for about two weeks in 2002, going 2-for-7 with a walk and a home run.  The Red Sox let him go after that season; he moved on to the Baltimore organization for 2003, playing in AA, and signed with the Twins for 2004.  They sent him to Rochester, where he hit .270/.346/.547 with 11 homers in just 137 at-bats.  A free agent after the season, he spent two years in the St. Louis organization.  He was in the Northern League from 2007-2010 and also had a stint in the Mexican League in 2008.  He retired in the spring of 2011, saying that he wanted to spend more time with his family.  He got started with his career pretty late, and it’s doubtful that he could have been a star, but he hit over 250 minor league home runs.  It seems like he might have been able to help someone if he’d been given the chance.  Juan Diaz was living in Florida at last report.

February 18

Ray Ryan (1883)

George Mogridge (1889)

Sherry Smith (1891)

Jake Kline (1895)

Huck Betts (1897)

Joe Gordon (1915)

Herm Wehmeier (1927)

Frank House (1930)

Manny Mota (1938)

Dal Maxvill (1939)

Bob Miller (1939)

John Mayberry (1949)

Jerry Morales (1949)

Bruce Kison (1950)

Marc Hill (1952)

Rafael Ramirez (1958)

Kevin Tapani (1964)

John Valentin (1967)

Shawn Estes (1973)

Jamey Carroll (1974)

Chad Moeller (1975)

Alex Rios (1981)

Didi Gregorius (1990)

Seth Halvorsen (2000)

Ray Ryan was involved in minor league baseball for six decades.  He had one baseball card, a part of the T206 tobacco series.  This is the series that produced the famous Honus Wagner card.

Jake Kline was the baseball coach at Notre Dame from 1934-1975.

Seth Halvorsen was drafted by the Twins in the thirtieth round in 2018, but did not sign.

Born Robert Lane Gemeinweiser, right-hander Bob Miller played for the Twins in 1968-1969.  He was born in St. Louis and went to high school there.  Miller was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals in June of 1957 under the "bonus baby" rules, which required him to be on the major league roster the remainder of the 1957 season.  He appeared in only five games, pitching mop-up relief, before really getting his professional career started in 1958.  He was used primarily as a starter in the minors and pitched quite well, getting a major league call-up in August of 1959.  By 1960, he was in the majors to stay.  Miller was used mostly out of the Cardinals bullpen through 1961, doing a decent but unexceptional job.  He was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was chosen by the New York Mets.  He was with the Mets for one season, was used mostly as a starter, and did not do well, going 1-12, 4.89.  After the season, Miller was traded to the Dodgers, where he stayed for five years.  He started 23 games in 1963, but was used primarily as a reliever the rest of his time in Los Angeles.  He did a fine job for them, posting ERAs under three for four consecutive years (1963-1966) and leading the league in appearances in 1964.  He had a down year in 1967 and was traded to Minnesota with Ron Perranoski and Johnny Roseboro for Mudcat Grant and Zoilo Versalles.  Miller was used exclusively as a reliever in 1968 and primarily as a reliever in 1969 (he started 11 games).  He once again pitched very well:  as a Twin, Bob Miller was 5-8, 2.91 with a WHIP of 1.25 and an ERA+ of 120.  After the 1969 season, though, Minnesota traded Miller to Cleveland with Dean Chance, Graig Nettles, and Ted Uhlaender for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams.  Miller started bouncing around after that:  traded to the White Sox in June of 1970, sold to the Cubs in September of the same year, released by the Cubs in May of 1971, signed by San Diego the next day, traded to Pittsburgh in August, released in March of 1973, signed by San Diego again in April, selected off waivers by Detroit in June, sold to the Mets in September, and finally released by the Mets in October of 1974, ending time in the majors.  Other than 1970, he pitched pretty well in those years; even in his last major league year, he went 2-2, 3.58.  In 1975 he signed once again with San Diego and spent the year pitching for AAA Hawaii before ending his career.  He stayed in baseball after his playing career ended:  he managed in the minors in 1976, was the first pitching coach for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1977-1979, and later was a coach for the San Francisco Giants in 1985.  Miller was a scout for the Giants when he was killed in an automobile accident on August 6, 1993 in Rancho Bernardo, California.

Right-hander Kevin Ray Tapani had the best years of his career as a member of the Minnesota Twins from 1989-1995.  Born in Des Moines, he went to high school in Escanaba, Michigan, then attended Central Michigan University.  He was drafted by Oakland in the second round in 1986.  He pitched pretty well in Class A for two years, but was traded to the Mets after the 1987 in a three-team deal (the Dodgers were also included) which included Bob Welch, Alfredo Griffin, and Jesse Orosco.  With the Mets, he had a good year in AA in 1988 and another in AAA in 1989.  He was called up to the Mets for about two weeks in 1989, and pitched well in three relief appearances.  At the end of July of 1989, Tapani was traded to the Twins along with Rick Aguilera, Tim Drummond, David West, and a player to be named later (Jack Savage) for Frank Viola.  The Twins started Tapani at AAA, but called him up in September and immediately put him in their starting rotation.  He would not leave it until July of 1995.  In between, Tapani put together some fine years.  He was fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1990 and finished seventh in the Cy Young balloting in 1991, when he won 16 games and posted an ERA of 2.99.  Tapani never quite equaled that 1991 season; while he didn't become awful, he started a slow decline, with his ERA and WHIP both going up, gradually but noticeably.  On July 31, 1995, Tapani was traded to the Dodgers with Mark Guthrie for Ron Coomer, Greg Hansell, Jose Parra, and a player to be named later (Chris Latham).  He finished out 1995 with the Dodgers, then became a free agent.  He played for the White Sox in 1996, had a decent but unspectacular year, and then became a free agent again, signing with the Cubs.  Tapani was a Cub for five years, and while he was not a star he was a solid contributor to their rotation.  He became a free agent after the 2001 season and decided to retire.  As a Twin, Kevin Tapani was 75-63, 4.06 with a WHIP of 1.27 in 180 starts (1,171 innings).  He is a member of the Central Michigan University Athletics Hall of Fame.  Kevin Tapani was the head baseball coach at Providence Academy in Plymouth, Minnesota for a while, but does not appear to be there now.  At last report, he was living in Wayzata, Minnesota.  His son, Ryan Tapani, pitched in the minors for Washington from 2018-2021 and pitched in the American Association in 2022.

Infielder Jamey Blake Carroll played for the Twins in 2012-13.  He was born in Evansville, Indiana, went to high school in Newburgh, Indiana, attended the University of Evansville, and was drafted by Montreal in the fourteenth round in 1996.  He was always fairly good in the minors, but never had the kind of numbers that would really get anyone’s attention.  He never hit .300 in the minors, nor did he ever hit double-digit home runs.  His best year in the minors was probably 1999, when he hit .292 for AA Harrisburg at age 25.  He made his major league debut as a September call-up in 2002, had his first full season in the majors in 2003, and with the exception of a rehab assignment in 2009 he has never been back to the minors.  His numbers in the majors have been similar to his numbers in the minors:  fairly good, but nothing that really gets anyone’s attention.  His career numbers are .276/.354/.344 and he has averaged 119 games and 337 at-bats per season.  He has generally either been a utility player or a semi-regular.  He has started over a hundred games in a season only three times (2006, 2011, and 2012) and has only once started over a hundred games in a season at one position (second base in 2006).  He was with Montreal until it moved to Washington, was a National for one season, then was sold to Colorado in February of 2006.  He was with the Rockies for two seasons, then was traded to Cleveland in December of 2007.  After two seasons there, he became a free agent and signed with the Dodgers.  He was there for two more seasons, became a free agent again, and signed with Minnesota for 2012.  He saw regular playing time, but at three positions, playing 66 games at second, 44 at third, and 37 at shortstop.   He was used less in 2013, appearing in only 59 games, and was sold to Kansas City in mid-August.  As a Twin, he hit .257/.327/.301 in 661 at-bats.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Washington for 2014 but was released in spring training, ending his playing career.  He was the infield coordinator for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2015-2021.  He is a member of the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame and has had his number retired at the University of Evansville.  At last report, Jamey Carroll was living in Rockledge, Florida.

Catcher Chad Edward Moeller started his rather lengthy major league career as a member of the Minnesota Twins in 2000.  He was born in Upland, California, went to high school there, and then went to USC.  He was drafted by the Twins in the seventh round in 1996.  He had a couple of good years at Class A, stumbled some when promoted to AA, but was having a pretty good year in AAA in 2000 when he made his major league debut for the Twins in mid-June.  He was part of the revolving door the Twins had at catcher that year, along with Danny Ardoin, Marcus Jensen, Matthew LeCroy, and A. J. Pierzynski.  Other than Pierzynski, none of them stood out that year, and five catchers was a bit much even for the Twins, so they traded Moeller in March of 2001 to Arizona for Hanley Frias.  He was with the Diamondbacks for three years, splitting the first two between AAA and the majors before getting his first full major league season in 2003.  After the 2003 season, Moeller was traded to Milwaukee, where he was a part-time catcher for all of 2004 and 2005.  He didn't hit, was sent to the minors for part of 2006, and then became a free agent.  He bounced around a lot after that:  he signed with Cincinnati for 2007, was sold to the Dodgers in August, signed as a free agent with Washington for 2008, was released during spring training, signed with the Yankees, was released after the season, and was with Baltimore for 2009.  All of those years were split between AAA and the majors, with Moeller averaging about 80 major league at-bats each year.  As a Twin, Moeller hit .211/.261/.273 in 128 at-bats.  Chad Moeller signed a minor league contract with Baltimore for 2010, was released at the end of spring training, and signed with the Yankees again, appearing in nine major league games in two stints with the big club.  A free agent again after the 2010 season, he signed with Colorado for 2011 but was released in spring training and his playing career came to an end.  He is now living in Scottsdale, Arizona and operates Chad Moeller Baseball, which conducts clinics and offers baseball instructional videos.  He also operates Scottsdale Batting Cages, at which he offers individual and group instruction, and is a coach of a youth baseball group called Team Dinger.

February 17

Pat Pieper (1886)

Nemo Leibold (1892)

Wally Pipp (1893)

Ed Brandt (1905)

Red Barber (1908)

Rod Dedeaux (1914)

Roger Craig (1930)

Cliff Gustafson (1931)

Dick Bosman (1944)

Dave Roberts (1951)

Jamie Easterly (1953)

Mike Hart (1958)

Michael Jordan (1963)

Buster Olney (1964)

Cody Ransom (1976)

Scott Williamson (1976)

Juan Padilla (1977)

Josh Willingham (1979)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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