September 19

Yank Robinson (1859)

Stuffy McInnis (1890)

Roger Angell (1920)

Epitacio Torres (1921)

Bob Murphy (1924)

Duke Snider (1926)

Bob Turley (1930)

Bill Williams (1930)

Chris Short (1937)

Joe Morgan (1943)

Joe Ferguson (1946)

Masaji Hiramatsu (1947)

Joe Maddon (1954)

Charlie Reliford (1955)

Randy Myers (1962)

Jim Abbott (1967)

Pedro Munoz (1968)

Javier Valentin (1975)

Mike Smith (1977)

Nick Johnson (1978)

Scott Baker (1981)

Danny Valencia (1984)

Gio Gonzalez (1985)

George Springer (1989)

Luke Raley (1994)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

September 18

This is a reprint from last year.

Heinie Groh (1889)

George Uhle (1898)

Sam Bankhead (1910)

Harvey Haddix (1925)

Lorn Brown (1938)

Dick Dietz (1941)

Ken Brett (1948)

Tony Scott (1951)

Ray Smith (1955)

Ryne Sandberg (1959)

Jeff Bronkey (1965)

Kevin Thompson (1979)

Joe Bisenius (1982)

Taylor Motter (1989)

Juan Minaya (1990)

Beau Burrows (1996)

Marcos Diplan (1996)

Lorn Brown was a baseball broadcaster from 1966-1988, calling games for the Chicago White Sox, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the New York Mets.

Kevin Thompson was drafted by Minnesota in the eighteenth round in 1998, but did not sign.

Joe Bisenius pitched briefly for Philadelphia and Washington.  He is from Sioux City and was somewhat of a local hero when I lived in that area.

Destined to be remembered as “George Brett’s brother”, left-hander Kenneth Alven Brett had a long career of his own. He was born in Brooklyn, went to high school in El Segundo, California, and was drafted by Boston with the fourth pick in the 1966 draft. After a slow start at Class A Oneonta that year, when he was only 17, Brett did very well in the minors, and came through the Red Sox’ system quickly. He made one appearance for Boston in 1967, who thought highly enough of him to include him on their World Series roster at age 18. He made the big leagues to stay in 1969. Used mostly in relief by the Red Sox, Brett did not do all that well. After the 1971 season, he was traded to Milwaukee in a multi-player deal that included Jim Lonborg, George Scott, and Tommy Harper. He pitched only one year for the Brewers before being traded again, this time to Philadelphia in a multi-player trade that included Lonborg (again), Don Money, and John Vukovich. He had his first good year in the majors with Philadelphia in 1973, winning 13 games with a 3.44 ERA. After the season, though, he was on the move again, traded to Pittsburgh for Dave Cash. Brett put in two solid seasons for the Pirates, but packed his suitcase again after the season. He was traded to the Yankees in December of 1975, to the White Sox in May of 1976, and to California in June of 1977. He consistently had an ERA in the mid-to-low threes most of those years, but in 1977 it ballooned to 4.5, and when he was no better in 1978, he was released. The Twins signed Brett in late April of 1979, and he spent just over a month with them before being released again on June 4. He appeared in nine games for the Twins (12.2 innings), getting no decisions and compiling an ERA of 4.97. Brett was signed by the Dodgers a week later and did well the rest of the year, but was released again after the season. It appeared that his career might be over, but in August of 1980, he signed with the Royals. He remained with the Royals in 1981, but that was his last year as an active player. He played parts of 14 big-league seasons and three postseasons. He was also an excellent batter, posting a line of .262/.291/.406 in 347 major league at-bats and batting over .300 in three seasons. After his playing career ended, he was involved with his brothers in the ownership of various minor league baseball and hockey teams. Ken Brett passed away on November 18, 2003 after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.

Catcher Raymond Edward Smith played for the Twins in parts of seasons from 1981 to 1983. He was born in Glendale, California, went to high school in San Diego, was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1977 after attending the University of Oregon. He hit well at the low levels of the minors, but not as well at the higher levels, although he was not terrible there. He made the Twins out of spring training in 1981 as a reserve catcher, but played only 15 games before getting injured and missing the remainder of the season. Smith was back in the minors in 1982, although he did get a brief callup. 1983 was his only full season in the big leagues, as he appeared in 59 games with the Twins. He was back in the minors in 1984, and was traded after the season to San Diego for Floyd Chiffer. He batted .325 for AAA Las Vegas in 1985, but it wasn’t enough for the Padres, and they released him after the season. He signed with Oakland in 1986, but played only 15 games for AAA Tacoma before calling it a career. As a Twin, Smith hit .219/.259/.270 with 1 homer and 10 RBIs in 231 at-bats. After retiring as a player, Ray Smith became a minor league manager and was the very successful long-time manager of the Elizabethton Twins until that team was exterminated by major league baseball.  At last report, Ray Smith was an assistant athletic director for facilities and compliance at Milligan University in Elizabethton.

The only major league player born in Kabul, Afghanistan, right-hander Jacob Jeffery Bronkey went to high school in Klamath Falls, Oregon and was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 1986 out of Oklahoma State. He was in the Twins’ minor-league system for four years, but really only had one good season, in 1988 at Class A Visalia. The Twins released him after the 1989 season, and he signed with Texas. He was no better in their minor-league system until suddenly he was: out of nowhere, he posted a 2.68 ERA for AAA Oklahoma City in 1993, with a WHIP of 0.97. It was only 37 innings, but it was enough for the Rangers to call him up and use him in 21 games that year. After the season, Texas traded him to Milwaukee, for whom he pitched in 1994, his only full season in the majors. Bronkey pitched eight more games for the Brewers in 1995, but was injured and never was able to come back. In the majors, Bronkey was 2-2 with a 4.04 ERA in 69 innings. Jeff Bronkey now lives in Edmond, Oklahoma, where he is a pitching instructor for Oklahoma Fuel Athletics, a sports training facility.  His daughter, Sierra, played softball for the University of Arkansas.

Infielder/outfielder Taylor Davis Motter appeared in nine games for the Twins in 2018.  He was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, went to high school in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, attended Coastal Carolina University, and was drafted in the seventeenth round in 2011.  He played a variety of positions throughout his minor league career, which helped him continue to advance through the system.  He had a fine year for AAA Durham in 2015, batting .292 with an OPS of .837.  He was with the Rays for about six weeks in 2016, but only batted .188 and was in AAA the rest of the season, where he didn't hit much, either.  He was traded to Seattle after that season and was in the majors for all but about a month.  He was a semi-regular much of that time, starting about half the team's games at six different positions.  He batted just .198, however.  Despite that, he started 2018 with the Mariners as well, but was sent to AAA after two weeks.  He was waived in late May, claimed by Minnesota, and for no particular reason was brought to the majors for two weeks.  He went 1-for-19 with two walks, giving him a line of .053/.143/.053.  His one hit puts him ahead of Corky Miller on the Twins all-time list, but that's about it.  The Twins released him in late August, and to no one's surprise he was not picked up by anyone.   He was signed by Detroit for 2019, but was released after going 4-for-27 in AA.  Oakland picked him up and also sent him to AA, where he did a little better, but not that much.  He finished out the season with New Britain in the Atlantic League.  He played briefly in Korea in 2020, but didn't hit anything there, either.  He signed with Colorado for 2021, had a good year in AAA, came up to the majors in mid-August, was waived in early September, and was claimed by Boston, for whom he played in three games before being sent to AAA.  He signed with Cincinnati in late April 2022, went to AAA, got two more games in the majors, and was released in mid-July.  He signed with Atlanta about ten days later and was in AAA with them.  A year ago, we wrote "He'll probably get a spring training invitation in 2023, but there's no reason Taylor Motter should ever play in the major leagues again."  We maintain we were right on both counts.  He signed with the Cardinals for 2023, was inexplicably in the majors for about two months, and batted .171/.232/.211.  He was a free agent after the season and played in the Mexican League and the Atlantic League in 2024, batting well in both places.  We don't mean to be too harsh--he's probably a really nice guy.  He'd almost have to be to have gotten so many chances--but his major league numbers are .188/.258/.294 in 528 at-bats.  His playing career came to an end after 2024, and at last report he was working with Players Edge Consulting in Leesburg, Virginia.

Right-handed reliever Juan Gustavo Minaya played for the Twins in 2021 and 2022.  He was born in Maimon, Dominican Republic and signed with Houston as a free agent in 2008.  He didn't do much in his early minor league years, but the Astros stuck with him, and he finally broke through with a good season in AA in 2015.  He did fairly well, but nothing to shout about, in AAA in 2016 and was waived in late June, claimed by the White Sox.  For the next four seasons he bounced back-and-forth between AAA and Chicago, going 6-4, 3.93, 1.43 WHIP in 125 games (128.1 innings).  He struck out a lot of people and kept the ball in the ball park, but he also walked quite a few people.  He was a free agent after the 2019 season and signed with Minnesota for 2020.  He did not play that year, but started 2021 in AAA.  He did okay, but again nothing special, in AAA, but was called up for about a week at the end of May and came up to stay in mid-July.  He did better than one would expect--still walking too many, but also striking out a bunch and not giving up that many hits. He could not replicate that in 2022--he had a poor year in AAA, did not get much accomplished in six games in the majors, and was released in early September.  He signed with Washington and finished the season in AAA there. He signed with Pittsburgh for 2023 and did well in AA, but not very well in AAA.  He became a free agent after the season and went unsigned, so his playing career is presumably over.  As a Twin, he was 3-1, 3.08, 1.37 WHIP in 49.2 innings (35 games).  No information about what Juan Minaya is doing now was readily available, but he's posting on Instagram, so we assume he is alive and well.

Right-hander Beau Ray Burrows appeared in five games for the Twins in 2021.  He was born in Fort Worth, went to high school in Weatherford, Texas, and was drafted by Detroit in the first round in 2015.  He pitched well in the low minors, did okay in AA, but that's about as good as it's gotten for him.  He posted a 5.51 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP in AAA in 2019.  There was, of course, no minor league season in 2020, but he made five appearances in the majors going 0-0, 5.40 in 6.2 innings for the Tigers.  He started 2021 in AAA for Detroit, continued to pitch poorly, and was waived and claimed by Minnesota.  He has continued to pitch poorly in AAA for them, going 2-4, 5.59.  Despite that, he was allowed to pitch 5.1 innings for the Twins in 2021, going 0-1, 12.54, 2.36 WHIP.  His major league numbers, thus, are 0-1, 10.70, 1.98 WHIP.  He signed with the Dodgers in 2022 and had a poor year in AAA.  He signed with Atlanta for 2023 and again had a poor year in AAA.  The Twins signed him again in 2024 but released him in spring training.  He signed with Philadelphia, pitched poorly in AAA, was released in early June, and finished the season in the American Association, where he did not pitch well, either.  He began 2025 in the Mexican League, signed with Pittsburgh in early May, and did very well in AA but not well in AAA.  His career AAA numbers are 18-24, 6.07, 1.59 WHIP in 336.1 innings.  He turns twenty-nine today.  There's obviously something teams like about him, but until he shows signs that he can actually get the job done, there's no reason for Beau Burrows to be pitching in the majors.

Right-hander Marcos Antonio Diplan did not play for the Twins, but was in AA for them for about six weeks in 2019.  He was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and signed as a free agent with Texas in 2013.  He struck out a lot of guys, but also walked a lot of guys, and other than strikeout totals didn't really show much through 2019.  Texas traded him to Milwaukee before the 2015 season, and the Brewers sold him to Minnesota at the July deadline in 2019.  The Twins sent him to AA, where he went 0-1, 4.09, 1.55 WHIP with 10 strikeouts and seven walks in eleven innings.  The Twins waived him in mid-September and he was claimed by Detroit.  He never played for the Tigers, though, as he was waived again in early December and claimed by Baltimore.  He was in AAA most of the season and was not terrible, but not anything great, either.  Still, the Orioles called him up in early August and put him in the bullpen.  He actually did better than one would expect, going 1-0, 4.98, 1.25 WHIP in eighteen games.  He spent most of 2022 in AAA, appearing in five games in the majors.  The Orioles released him in early August.  He pitched briefly and poorly in Mexico in 2023, and that brought his playing career to an end.  He clearly had some talent, and if he could have just learned to throw strikes he might have been a good pitcher.  Of course, there have been many pitchers of whom that could be said.  No information about what Marcos Diplan might be doing now was readily available.

September 17

This is a reprint from last year.

Ezra Sutton (1850)

Willie Sudhoff (1874)

Frank Schulte (1882)

Sheriff Blake (1899)

Hughie Critz (1900)

Sam Streeter (1900)

Paul Hardy (1910)

Chase Riddle (1925)

Orlando Cepeda (1937)

Bobby Wine (1938)

Thad Bosley (1956)

John Franco (1960)

Dan Haren (1980)

Casey Crosby (1988)

Marcus Semien (1990)

Zack Granite (1992)

Jose Ramirez (1992)

James Marvel (1993)

Jordan Balazovic (1998)

Chase Riddle played in the minors from 1943-1962, managed in the minors from 1951-1962, was a scout from 1963-1978, and was the baseball coach at Troy State University from 1979-1990.

James Marvel was drafted by Minnesota in the thirty-seventh round in 2012, but did not sign.

Left-hander Casey William Crosby did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 2018.  Born and raised in Maple Park, Illinois, he was drafted by Detroit in the fifth round in 2007.  He pitched well in the low minors for two seasons, but missed almost all of the 2010 season due to injury.  He had a middling year in AA in 2011 but attracted attention after an excellent Arizona Fall League campaign after that season.  He was not particularly good in AAA in 2012, either, but made three starts in the majors anyway.  He went 1-1, but with a 9.49 ERA and a 2.11 WHIP.  Those turned out to be his career major league numbers.  He was in AAA Toledo through 2014, putting up worse numbers each season, and was finally released after that 2014 season.  He signed with Boston for 2015 but was released in March and it appeared that his playing career was over.  He came back to play for Lincoln in the independent American Association in 2017 and did very well in sixteen relief appearances.  That was enough for the Twins to sign him for 2018.  He again had injury problems, appearing in just sixteen games among the GCL, AA, and AAA.  He posted a combined 2.95 ERA, but with a 1.73 WHIP.  He was a free agent after the season and returned to independent ball, playing for Chicago in the American Association and for Lancaster in the Atlantic League,  He had done well in the Association through 2019, but struggled in 2020 and his playing career came to an end.  One has to say, though, that he got as much out of it as he could.  At last report Casey Crosby was a controller at Murray Commercial in the Chicago area.

Outfielder Zachary Thomas Granite played about half the season the Twins in 2017.  Born and raised on Staten Island, he went to Seton Hall and was drafted by Minnesota in the fourteenth round in 2013.  He was in Elizabethton in 2013 and Cedar Rapids in 2014, batting in the .280s but not drawing many walks and not showing much power.  He got off to an outstanding start in Cedar Rapids in 2015, batting .358 in 67 at-bats, and was promoted to Fort Myers.  He hit his first home run there and started drawing some walks, but otherwise didn't do much the rest of the season.  He did substantially better in Chattanooga in 2016, batting .295 with an OBP of .347 and 56 stolen bases.  He was even better in Rochester in 2017, batting .338 with an OBP of .392, and was promoted to Minnesota in early July.  His numbers with the Twins were .237/.321/.290 in 93 at-bats.  Unfortunately, 2018 was a lost year for him.  He battled injuries and batted poorly in AAA when he did play, hitting just .211 with an OPS of .527.  The Twins traded him to Texas in March of 2019 for Xavier Moore.  He batted .290 in AAA, but with an OPS of just .706.  He signed with the Yankees for 2020 but did not play.  He signed with the White Sox for 2021, did not have a very good year in AA, and retired in mid-July.  He has a great name and it would have been nice if things had gone differently, but they didn't.  At last report Zack Granite operated Zack Granite Baseball, which offers private baseball instruction in Middletown, New Jersey.

Right-handed reliever Jordan Balazovic appeared in eighteen games for the Twins in 2023.  He was born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, and was drafted by the Twins in the fifth round in 2016.  He was a starter early in his career and pitched well in that role in the low minors, with the exception of a poor 2017 in the Gulf Coast League.  He missed the COVID year of 2020 but came back to have a fine year in AA in 2021.  He looked like he was on his way, but he had a disastrous 2022 in St. Paul.  Switched to the bullpen in 2023, he was better, but still not particularly good, in St. Paul.  Despite that, the Twins brought him up in mid-June and he stayed in the majors for two months.  He started very well, posting a 1.29 ERA (although with a 4.55 FIP) through eleven appearances.  After seven more appearances, however, his ERA was 4.44, his FIP was 6.01, and he was back in St. Paul.  He started 2024 in St. Paul, but pitched poorly and was released in early July.  He then went to Korea and had a decent year for the Doosan Bears, which is cool.  He signed with Detroit for 2025 and has spent the year in AAA, where he has been okay but nothing special.  He turns twenty-seven today.  He can probably pitch somewhere in 2026 if he wants to, but if he's going to have a substantial major league career he's going to have to kick it into gear soon.

September 16

Mack Eggleston (1896)

Heinie Mueller (1899)

Larry Brown (1901)

Hillbilly Bildilli (1912)

Gary Ross (1947)

Robin Yount (1955)

Orel Hershiser (1958)

Tim Raines (1959)

Mickey Tettleton (1960)

Mel Hall (1960)

Mark Parent (1961)

Chris Pittaro (1961)

Paul Shuey (1970)

Desi Relaford (1973)

Bobby Korecky (1979)

Brandon Moss (1983)

Gordon Beckham (1986)

Robbie Grossman (1989)

Jakob Junis (1992)

Infielder Christopher Francis Pittaro played in twenty-five games for the Twins from 1986-1987. Born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey was drafted out of the University of North Carolina by the Tigers in the sixth round in 1982. He had a couple of solid, but certainly not eye-popping, years in the minors, but after a hot spring training in 1985 he was proclaimed the Next Big Thing by Sparky Anderson. He wasn’t. Pittaro batted .242 with an OPS of .621 in 28 games for the Tigers in 1985 and had an awful year in AAA Nashville, hitting .194. It seems likely that he could not handle the pressure placed on him, although it also seems likely that he was really never all that good in the first place. In January of 1986, Pittaro was traded to the Twins with Alejandro Sanchez for Dave Engle. He spent three years at AAA for the Twins, posting decent but unspectacular numbers. Pittaro appeared briefly for the Twins in 1986 and 1987, playing in 25 games but getting only 33 at-bats. In those at-bats, he hit .182/.206/.182 with no extra-base hits and no RBIs. After his playing career ended in 1988, Pittaro became a minor-league coach and manager, was the director of professional scouting for the Oakland Athletics, and at last report was a special assistant to the general manager for Oakland, living in Hamilton, New Jersey.  He is a member of the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame. His father, Francis “Sonny” Pittaro, was an infielder in the Washington/Minnesota organization from 1960-1962, reaching as high as Class B.

Right-hander Robert John Korecky appeared in sixteen games for the Twins in 2008. He was born in Hillside, New Jersey, went to high school in Saline, Michigan, and was chosen in the 19th round of the 2002 draft by Philadelphia out of the University of Michigan. He had a couple of good years in the low minors for the Phillies, becoming a full-time reliever in 2003. After that season, Korecky became the player to be named later in the trade that also sent Nick Punto and Carlos Silva to the Twins for Eric Milton. He continued to post good numbers in the minors with the exception of 2005, when he had Tommy John surgery and missed almost the entire season. Korecky appeared in 16 games for the Twins in 2008, notching a 2-0 record and a 4.58 ERA with a 1.53 WHIP in 17.2 innings. He was placed on waivers in February of 2009 and was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He spent most of the 2009 season at AAA Reno, although he did appear in five games for Arizona. A free agent after the season, he signed with the Angels for 2010, but did not make the team and instead played for the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the Northern League.  He signed with Toronto in 2011 and had two fine years in the minors for them, but did not get another chance in the majors.  He had a down year in 2013 in AAA for the Blue Jays, but bounced back to pitch extremely well there in 2014 and even appeared in two more major league games.  He was again in the Blue Jays' organization in 2015, but while his ERA was all right the rest of his numbers really weren't.  He was worse in AAA for the Blue Jays in 2016, and his playing career came to an end.  A fine batter in high school, Bobby Korecky holds the Michigan High School record for most hits in a season and was the first pitcher to get a hit in an American League game since the designated hitter rule was implemented in 1972. No information about what Bobby Korecky has been doing since 2016 was readily available.

Outfielder Robert Edward Grossman played for the Twins from 2016-2018.  He was born in San Diego, attended high school in Cypress, Texas, and was drafted by Pittsburgh in the sixth round in 2008.  He attracted attention in 2011 when he followed up a fine campaign with Class A Bradenton with an outstanding stint in the Arizona Fall League.  He was in AA in 2012 when he was traded to Houston at mid-season.  His 2013 season was split between AAA and the Astros, for whom he was okay but nothing special.  He was a starting outfielder for Houston for most of 2014 and drew quite a few walks, but really didn't do much else:  his line was .237/.333/.337.  He got off to a slow start as a reserve in 2015 and was sent back to AAA, where he spent most of the season.  The Astros gave up on him after that and he signed with Cleveland for 2016.  He was doing well for them in AAA, but they still released him in mid-May.  The Twins signed him the same day and quickly brought him to Minnesota, where he remained through the 2018 season.  He had a fine season for them offensively in 2016, batting .280/.386/.443.  He did not do as well after that, but he was still a fairly decent offensive player.  As a Twin, he batted .266/.371/.400 in 1310 plate appearances.  A free agent after the 2018 season, he signed with Oakland, for whom he was the mostly-regular left fielder.  He had a down year in 2019 but bounced back in 2020.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with Detroit, where he had a solid season as a regular corner outfielder.  He slumped in 2022, however, and was traded to Atlanta in early August.  He was a regular corner outfielder for them, too, but did not produce as they had hoped.  He signed with Texas for 2023 and bounced back to have a decent season as a mostly-regular.  He signed with the White Sox for 2024, was traded back to Texas in early May, was waived at the end of August and claimed by Kansas City.  He finished the season there, then his playing career came to an end.  It was a pretty solid career, though.  We thought he'd probably stay in baseball in some way, but if he has we didn't find it.  Thus, no information about what Robbie Grossman is doing now was readily available.

September 15

Doc Bushong (1856)

Nick Altrock (1876)

Hugh McQuillan (1895)

Crush Holloway (1896)

Harry McCurdy (1899)

Rap Dixon (1902)

Fritz Ostermueller (1907)

Edsall Walker (1910)

Dan Wilson (1915)

Charley Smith (1937)

Gaylord Perry (1938)

Frank Linzy (1940)

Don Carrithers (1949)

John Pacella (1956)

John Christensen (1960)

Doug Simons (1966)

Paul Abbott (1967)

Rich Robertson (1968)

Matt Thornton (1976)

Luke Hochevar (1983)

Right-hander Donald George Carrithers appeared in seven games for the Twins in 1977. Born and raised in Lynwood, California, he was drafted by San Francisco in the third round in 1967. Jumped to AAA Phoenix at age 19, he had a fine year there as a relief pitcher at age 20, going 9-1 with a 2.15 ERA, and made his major-league debut with the Giants in August of that year. He was a swing man for the Giants in 1971 and 1972, but after a poor year in ’72 he was switched to the bullpen in 1973 and traded to Montreal just before the start of the 1974 season. Carrithers pitched pretty well for the Expos in 1974 and 1975, posting ERAs in the low threes and WHIPs around 1.2, but slumped in 1976 and was purchased by the Twins just before the 1977 campaign. He was injured much of the season due to an auto accident, appearing in only seven games, all in relief. He was 0-1 in those seven appearances, with a 6.91 ERA in 14.1 innings. Released by the Twins during 1978 spring training, he went back to the Giants, and pitched in Phoenix for two years. He was decent, but no more, and after failing to get back to the majors in those two seasons, he called it a career. Carrithers was plagued by injuries for most of his career, a problem which was probably not helped by the fact that he was constantly bounced between relieving and starting. Don Carrithers is the third-youngest pitcher ever to start a game for the San Francisco Giants. He worked in sales for some time after leaving baseball. He appears at various Giants’ alumni and charitable events, and at last report was living in Elk Grove, California.

Right-hander John Lewis Pacella made twenty-one appearances for the Twins in 1982. He was born in Brooklyn, went to high school in Oakdale, New York, and was drafted by the Mets in the fourth round in 1974. He was not all that impressive in the minors (although he wasn’t terrible), but got cups of coffee with the Mets in 1977 and 1979 before spending a full season there in 1980. Shuffled between the rotation and the bullpen, Pacella did not pitch well, and was traded twice before the next season started, going to San Diego in the off-season in a trade for Randy Jones and being sent to the Yankees late in spring training in a deal that involved Jerry Mumphrey and Ruppert Jones. He was in AAA Columbus in 1980, but made the Yankees at the start of 1981, appearing in three games for them before being traded to the Twins in May with Pete Filson, Larry Milbourne, and cash for Roger Erickson and Butch Wynegar. The Twins had an awful pitching staff in 1982, and Pacella was part of the awfulness, going 1-2 with a 7.32 ERA and a 1.9 WHIP in 51.2 innings. All but one of his 21 appearances was in relief. Minnesota traded Pacella to Texas in the off-season for Len Whitehouse. He made two more brief appearances in the big leagues, getting into six games for Baltimore in 1984 and five for Detroit in 1986. He pitched in Japan in 1987 and closed out his career in AAA in 1988, when he pitched for the Baltimore, Detroit, and Milwaukee organizations. John Pacella and Dan Briggs are the co-owners of Big League Baseball School, based in Worthington, Ohio, which develops leagues and offers instruction and clinics in both baseball and fast pitch softball.

Outfielder John Lawrence Christensen played in twenty-three games for the Twins in 1988. He was born in Downey, California, went to high school in Fullerton, California, and was drafted out of Cal State Fullerton by the Mets in the second round of the 1981 draft. He hit over .300 in each of his first three years in the minors, including AAA Tidewater in 1984 before getting a September callup that year. The next year, however, he inexplicably slumped to .212 at Tidewater. After the 1985 season, Christensen was traded to the Red Sox in a deal that involved Calvin Schiraldi and Bob Ojeda. He again struggled at AAA in 1986, and was traded to Seattle in a deal involving Dave Henderson and Spike Owen. He regained his hitting stroke in the minors in 1987, and spent a good portion of the year in the majors with the Mariners. Christensen was hitting well at AAA again in 1988, but the Mariners released him in May. Five days later he was signed by the Twins. He spent most of the rest of the year in AAA Portland, but got another September callup with the Twins. He was back in Portland in 1989, but started to decline, and he was released at the end of the season. John Christensen had 38 at-bats as a Twin, hitting .263/.349/.368 with five runs batted in. His brother Jim was a minor league infielder who played in the Twins’ organization.  At last report, John was an assistant high school baseball coach in the Newport Beach area.

Left-hander Douglas Eugene Simons did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them. He was born in Bakersfield, California and was drafted by Minnesota in the ninth round in 1988 out of Pepperdine University. He had three good minor-league years for the Twins, but was left unprotected and was chosen by the Mets in the rule 5 draft during the 1990-91 off-season. Simons spent all year of the 1991 season in the Mets bullpen, appearing in 42 games, going 2-3 with a 5.19 ERA, but giving up less than a hit per inning and posting a WHIP of 1.22. He was traded to Montreal just before the 1992 season and pitched well in AAA Indianapolis, earning a brief call-up with the Expos at the end of the season. That would be his major league swan song, however, and after another year at AAA with the Expos, a year at AAA with the Royals, a year of independent ball, and a final year in 1996 split between AA and AAA in the Houston organization, Simons’ career came to a close. Simons was a control pitcher, walking fewer than two batters per nine innings in three of his minor league seasons. Doug Simons is currently the head baseball coach at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia.

Right-hander Paul David Abbott pitched for the Twins from 1990-1992. He was born in Van Nuys, California, went to high school in Fullerton, California, and was drafted in the third round by Minnesota in 1985. He was plagued by wildness in his early minor league career, walking over six men per nine innings through 1990. Despite that, he pitched in parts of three seasons for the Twins from 1990-92, throwing 93 innings in 28 games, ten of them starts. Abbott was 3-6 in those games, with a 5.03 ERA and 6.7 walks per nine innings. The Twins released him after the 1992 season, and he signed with Cleveland. He made five appearances for the Indians in 1993, spending the rest of the season in the minors. He bounced to the Royals, Cubs, Padres, and Mariners organizations, suffering numerous injuries along the way, but never giving up. Abbott’s remarkable perseverance was rewarded, as he battled his way back to the big-leagues with the Mariners in 1998 after a five-year absence. He had some solid years for Seattle, winning 17 games in 2001, but was released after a poor 2002 campaign. Abbott was in the majors with Kansas City in 2003 and with Tampa Bay and Philadelphia in 2004, but did not again have a good season. He pitched for a couple of independent teams in 2005 before ending his career at age 37. He remained in baseball as the pitching coach for Fullerton Junior College and as pitching coach and manager of the Orange County Fliers in the Golden Baseball League.  From 2011-2023 Paul Abbott was a pitching coach in the Boston organization, coaching the Lowell Spinners until 2012, then moving up to the Greenville Drive in 2013-2014, then moving up further to the high-A Salem Red Sox in 2015-2017, moving up another notch to AA Portland from 2018-2019, and moving up once more to AAA Worcester from 2021-2023.  He moved to the Oakland organization after that, and was the pitching coach at AAA Las Vegas in 2026.

Left-hander Richard Wayne Robertson played for the Twins from 1995-1997. He was born in Nacogdoches, Texas attended San Jacinto Junior College and Texas A&M, and was drafted out by the Pirates in the ninth round in 1990. He had some solid minor-league years for Pittsburgh, and made brief appearances in the majors in 1993 and 1994, pitching in seventeen games for the Pirates over those two years, all in relief. The Twins selected Robertson off waivers during the 1994-95 off-season, and brought him up to the majors after he went 5-0 with a 2.44 ERA in seven starts at AAA Salt Lake. Pitching mostly out of the bullpen that year, Robertson went 2-0 with a 3.83 ERA, but walked 31 batters in 51.2 innings. Placed in the starting rotation in 1996 and 1997, he continued to struggle with his control, leading the league in walks in 1996 (although he also led in shutouts with three). In three years with the Twins, Robertson was 17-29 with a 5.17 ERA. He became a free agent after the 1997 season and signed with Anaheim, spending most of the season with AAA Vancouver, although he did make five appearances with the big club. He pitched for the Colorado, Pittsburgh, Texas, and Cincinnati organizations in 1999 and in independent ball in 2000, at which point Rich Robertson’s playing career ended.   At last report, he was living in Waller, Texas.  He is a member of the Waller High School Hall of Fame.

September 14

Kid Nichols (1869)

Jerry Doggett (1916)

Jerry Coleman (1924)

Jim Fanning (1927)

Stan Williams (1936)

Jerry Don Gleaton (1957)

Tim Wallach (1957)

Mike Durant (1969)

David Bell (1972)

Chad Bradford (1974)

Delmon Young (1985)

Derek Law (1990)

Andrew Vasquez (1993)

Jerry Doggett was a broadcaster for the Dodgers from 1956-1987.

Right-hander Stanley Wilson Williams played for the Twins from 1970-1971. He was born in Enfield, New Hampshire, went to high school in Denver, and was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as a free agent in 1954. He was somewhat up and down in the minors, but after a strong 1957 at AAA St. Paul and a good start there in 1958, Williams was called up to the then Los Angeles Dodgers in May of 1958. He was with the Dodgers through the 1962 season, used mostly as a starter, but was traded in the 1962-63 off-season to the Yankees for Moose Skowron. He had a couple of seemingly solid years for New York, but apparently the Yankees weren’t impressed, because he was sold to Cleveland after the 1964 campaign. He spent most of 1965 and 1967 and all of 1966 in the minors, but made it back in 1968, putting in two good years for the Indians as a swing man. In December of 1969, Williams was traded to the Twins with Luis Tiant for Dean Chance, Bob Miller, Graig Nettles, and Ted Uhlaender. Used exclusively in relief for the Twins, he had a tremendous 1970, going 10-1 with a 1.99 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in 113 innings. He did not repeat that in 1971, but was still decent; the Twins, however, were not, and so traded Williams to St. Louis on September 1 for Fred Rico and Dan Ford. As a Twin, he was 14-6, 2.87, 1.17 WHIP. He appeared in 114 games, pitching 191.1 innings. He pitched well for the Cardinals down the stretch, but was released after the season. He played briefly in the Angels organization and got back to the big leagues with Boston for three games in 1972. Stan Williams remained in baseball after his playing career ended, and was the pitching coach for Boston, the Yankees, Seattle, the White Sox, and Cincinnati. He also was a scout for Tampa Bay and Washington until his retirement in 2010.  Stan Williams is a member of the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.  He passed away on February 20, 2021 at his home in Laughlin, Nevada.

Catcher Michael Joseph Durant played in 40 games for the Twins in 1996. Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, he was drafted by the Twins in the second round of the 1991 draft out of Ohio State. He had a decent but unspectacular minor league career, with his best year coming in 1994, when he batted .297 with 24 doubles for AAA Salt Lake. Durant made the Twins out of spring training in 1996 and played 40 games for them in three stints with the team that totaled a little more than half the season. He was the third catcher, playing behind Greg Myers and Matt Walbeck, and batted .210/.293/.247 with 5 RBIs in 81 at-bats. Sent back to the minors, he played for Salt Lake again in 1997, but batted only .206, and retired after that season. At last report, Mike Durant was the facilities coordinator for D1 Sports Training in Columbus.

Outfielder Delmon Damarcus Young played for the Twins from 2008-2011. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, went to high school in Camarillo, California, and was chosen by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with the first pick of the 2003 draft. He hit extremely well at Class A and AA, not quite as well, but still solidly enough, in AAA. Young was named Baseball America’s 2005 minor league player of the year, and despite being suspended for 50 games in 2006 for throwing a bat which hit the home plate umpire, made his debut in the majors with Tampa Bay in August of that year. Young played in every game for the Devil Rays in 2007, batting .288 with 13 homers and 93 RBIs as a 21-year-old, finishing second to Dustin Pedroia in Rookie of the Year voting. That off-season he was traded to the Twins with Brendan Harris and Jason Pridie for Eduardo Morlan, Jason Bartlett, and Matt Garza. Young hit for a decent average as a Twin and hit double digit home runs in his first three seasons there. In 2010, he set career highs in doubles, home runs, and RBIs, leading some to think he was about to live up to the stardom predicted for him when we was chosen first in the draft.  In 2011, however, he went backward, and was traded to Detroit in mid-August for Cole Nelson and a player to be named later (Lester Oliveros).  He did well for the Tigers the rest of the season.  He was used mostly at DH by the Tigers in 2012, and while he wasn’t awful, he did not do enough offensively for someone who has no defensive value.   A free agent after the season, he signed with Philadelphia.  He was their regular right fielder for about three months, and while he again wasn't awful, he wasn't very good, either.  The Phillies released him in mid-August and he signed with Tampa Bay, getting called up to the majors in September.  A free agent once more after the season, he signed with Baltimore and did fairly well as a reserve in 2014.   One suspects Buck Showalter did a good job of playing him against pitchers he could hit.  That didn't help him in 2015, though; his numbers dropped and he was released in July.  That seemed to bring his playing career to an end, out of baseball at age twenty-nine.  He was charged with battery after an incident at a club in Miami in February of 2016, but the charge was dropped in May when his accuser failed to appear at a hearing.  In 2017, he came back to baseball, playing in the Australian League.  He played in the Mexican League in 2018 and had a good season.  He also played well in the Venezuelan Winter League and had a couple of tremendous seasons in the Australian League, where he played through 2021.  As a Twin, Delmon Young batted .287/.324/.429 in three and a half seasons.  His nephew, Quentin Young, is currently an infielder in the Twins' organization. No information about what Delmon Young is doing now was readily available.

Right-handed reliever Derek Robert Law appeared in nine games for the Twins in 2021.  Born and raised in Pittsburgh, he attended Miami Dade College and was drafted by the Giants in the ninth round in 2011.  He pitched very well all through the minors with the exception of 2015, when he struggled in AA.  Still, he made his major league debut with the Giants in mid-April of 2016 and had an excellent season, going 4-2, 2.13, 0.96 WHIP in 55 innings.  Unfortunately for him, that was the only good season he's had so far.  He struggled in 2017 and was sent back to AAA in mid-June.  He did well there and came back as a September call-up.  In 2018, however, he struggled in both the majors and AAA and was traded to Toronto at the start of the 2019 season.  He came up to the majors in early May and struggled for a while, but actually did okay in the second half of the season.  He signed with Texas for 2020 but did not play and was released after the season.  The Twins signed him for 2021.  He spent most of the season in AAA but was in the majors for two stretches that add up to about three weeks.  He was not terrible, but not particularly good, in both places.  As a Twin, he was 0-0, 4.20, 1.60 WHIP in 15 innings (9 games).  He became a free agent again after the season and signed with Detroit for 2022.  He pitched very well for them in AAA, but made just two major league appearances and was released in early August.  He signed with Cincinnati a week later and came to the majors at the end of August, where he remained through the end of the season.  He wasn't anything great for the Reds, but he wasn't awful, either.  He signed with Washington for 2024 and had his best season since his rookie year.  Unfortunately, he was injured in 2025 spring training and has missed the entire season.  He signed with Arizona for 2026, got healthy again, and has pitched very well for them since being called up in late August.  He turns thirty-six today, but when healthy he's been a good pitcher in recent years.  We'll see how long he can keep it going.

Left-hander Andrew Jude Vasquez pitched for the Twins in 2018-2019.  Born and raised in Rancho Cucamonga, California, he attended the University of California at Santa Barbara and also attended Westmont College, also in Santa Barbara.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the thirty-second round in 2015.  He pitched really well in the low minors but remained in low Class A through 2017.  After a fine season in the Arizona Fall League he started 2018 in Fort Myers, went up to Chattanooga, was promoted to Rochester, and earned a September call-up.  He did not do well in the majors, but his 2018 combined minor league numbers were 1-2, 1.30, 1.02 WHIP with 108 strikeouts in 69.1 innings.  He looked ready to take a step forward to the majors, but instead he took a step backward.  He battled injuries in 2019 and did not pitch well when he could pitch.  He did not play in 2020, but pitched in AAA and was doing reasonably well when, for no apparent reason, the Twins traded him to the Dodgers for Stevie Berman.  As a Twin, he was 1-0, 10.80, 1.80 WHIP in five innings. He made two appearances for the Dodgers.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with Toronto.  He battled injuries much of the season and made nine appearances in the majors, not doing particularly well.  The Blue Jays waived him in early August and he was claimed by Philadelphia.  He pitched well in nine AAA appearances, but was waived again in mid-August and was claimed by San Francisco, for whom he finished the season in AAA.  He was waived again after the season, was claimed by Philadelphia again, and was having a good season when the Phillies waived him again.  He was claimed by Detroit and was pitching well until he tried to pitch through an injury, leading to a disastrous outing and making his numbers as a Tiger look terrible.  He has pitched in AAA for Detroit in 2024 and has not done well, making one think the injury is still bothering him.  He signed with the Angels for 2025, but pitched poorly in AAA and was released.  He went to the Mexican League and had an excellent season there.  He does not appear to have played anywhere in 2026, however, and as we have did not find anything about an injury we assume he decided to move on to the next phase of his life.  We wish him well.

September 13

Mike McNally (1893)
Dutch Reuther (1893)
Pat Collins (1896)
Eddie Rommel (1897)
Rabbit Warstler (1903)
Thornton Lee (1906)
Ed Sudol (1920)
Rick Wise (1945)
Rick Dempsey (1949)
Jim Obradovich (1949)
Mike Fischlin (1955)
Erik Bennett (1968)
Bernie Williams (1968)
Denny Neagle (1968)
Brent Brede (1971)
Armando Rios (1971)
Daisuke Matsuzaka (1980)
Rickie Weeks (1982)
Marcus Walden (1988)
Andy Wilkins (1988)

Ed Sudol was a minor league first baseman from 1940-1953, never getting higher than AA.  He then became an umpire and was National League ump from 1957-1977.

Catcher John Rikard “Rick” Dempsey played briefly for the Twins from 1969-1972. He was born in Fayetteville, Tennessee, went to high school in Encino, California, and was drafted by the Twins in the 15th round in 1967. He hit well in Class A in 1968 and 1969, but not so well at higher levels. He was considered an excellent receiver, however, and was called up briefly by the Twins each year from 1969-72, getting a total of 66 at-bats in which he hit .227/.320/.273. In the 1972-73 off-season, Dempsey was traded to the Yankees for Danny Walton. He spent most of 1973 at AAA Syracuse, but then stuck with the Yankees as a backup catcher from 1974-June 1976. He was traded to Baltimore in a multi-player deal that included Tippy Martinez, Scott McGregor, Doyle Alexander, Elrod Hendricks, Ken Holtzman, and Grant Jackson. Dempsey was in Baltimore for the next ten years, never a superstar, but always a competent catcher. He appeared in two World Series’ with the Orioles, 1979 and 1983, and was MVP of the 1983 series. Dempsey slumped to a .208 average in 1986, and was allowed to become a free agent. He was with Cleveland in 1987, but appeared to be done, batting only .177 as a reserve. He signed with the Dodgers at the end of spring training of 1988, and found himself on another world series team, to which he contributed by batting .251 as a back-up catcher. Dempsey was with the Dodgers for three years, played for Milwaukee in 1991, and had a last hurrah with the Orioles before calling it a career after the 1992 season. He is probably best remembered for an imitation of Babe Ruth that he once did to entertain the fans during a rain delay. After retiring as a player, Rick Dempsey remained in baseball, first as a minor league manager, then as a major league coach, then as a broadcaster for the Orioles.  He does motivational speaking and according to his website, "is also an accomplished singer and entertainer, performing with the Deanna Bogart Band."  He also operates a training facility called Rick Dempsey Sports in Columbia, Maryland.

First baseman James Thomas Obradovich did not play for the Twins, but was drafted by them. He was born in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, went to high school in Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was drafted by the Twins in the 24th round of the 1967 amateur draft. He was in the Twins minor league system through 1976, with the exception of 1971-72, when he was in the military, and with the exception of a brief time in 1974 when he was in the Braves’ system. He gradually developed some power in the minors, hitting over 20 homers in both 1975 and 1976 for AA Orlando. Released by the Twins shortly before the 1977 season, he signed with the Houston organization on the same day. He had his best minor league season with AAA Charleston in 1978, when he batted .306 with 21 homers. He got a September call-up with the Astros that year. He was back in Charleston in 1979, then spent a several years in the Mexican League before his playing career came to an end. In his big-league career, Jim Obradovich batted .176 (3-for-17) with a triple and 2 RBIs. Jim Obradovich passed away on March 3, 2012 in Lancaster, Kentucky, at the age of 62.

Right-hander Erik Hans Bennett appeared in twenty-four games for the Twins in 1996. He was born in Yreka, California, went to high school in Eureka, California, and was drafted in the fourth round by the California Angels in 1989 out of Cal State-Sacramento. He did well in the minors through 1982, but hit a bump in 1983, when he had an ERA over 6.00 and a WHIP of more than 1.5 in a season split between AA Midland and AAA Vancouver. A starter to that point, he was converted to relief in 1984 and had a strong season at Vancouver. Bennett made one appearance for the Angels in 1995, pitching one-third of an inning and retiring the only batter he faced. Playing the first part of the 1995 season in Vancouver, he was placed on waivers and selected by Houston, who sent him to AAA Tucson for the rest of the year. Bennett became a free agent after that year, and was signed by the Twins. He played for Minnesota early in 1996, appearing in 24 games. He was 2-0 with one save, but also had an ERA of 7.90 and a WHIP of 1.79 in 27.1 innings. Returned to AAA Salt Lake in early June, Bennett did not pitch particularly well there and was let go after the season. He hung around in the minors for several more years, pitching in the Cleveland and Houston organizations as well as for a variety of independent teams, but did not make it back to the major leagues. After his playing career ended Erik Bennett went into coaching, working as a pitching coach for the Angels for many years. His LinkedIn page states that he is "looking for new opportunities" and is living in Medford, Oregon.

Left-hander Dennis Edward Neagle appeared in seven games for the Twins in 1991. Born and raised in Gambrills, Maryland, he was drafted out of the University of Minnesota by the Twins in the third round in 1989. He pitched very well in the minors and advanced rapidly, reaching the Twins for seven games in 1991, three of them starts. Coming off their World Series victory, however, the Twins were trying to win now, and so traded Neagle along with Midre Cummings to Pittsburgh for John Smiley. He spent two years in the Pirates bullpen and then most of the next three as a starter before being traded to Atlanta in late August of 1996 in a trade that included Jason Schmidt. He had two fine years in Atlanta, finishing third in the Cy Young balloting in 1997, but was traded to Cincinnati in November of 1998 in a trade that included Bret Boone and Mike Remlinger. After a solid year and a half for the Reds, he was traded to the Yankees in July of 2000. Becoming a free agent at the end of the year, he signed with Colorado, but his time there was mainly marked by poor pitching and injuries. He signed with Tampa Bay for 2005, but could not play due to injury, and his career was over. Sadly, life after baseball was not easy for Neagle; he was convicted for a couple of DUIs as well as for patronizing a prostitute. Denny Neagle was also named in the Mitchell Report. In January of 2012, he filed a lawsuit against his former financial adviser.  No result of that lawsuit could be found.  As a Twin, he was 0-1 with a 4.05 ERA in 20 innings.  He is currently on the board of directors of the Connor Cares Foundation, whose mission is to further the education and training of lifesaving personnel at all public and private pools.  The foundation is named after Neagle's nephew, who drowned at age five in a country club pool.

Outfielder Brent David Brede played for the Twins in 1996-1997. He was born in Belleville, Illinois, went to high school in Trenton, Illinois, and was drafted by the Twins in the fifth round in 1990. He struggled some in the minors, but had a breakout year in AAA Salt Lake in 1996, batting .348 with 38 doubles and 11 home runs. That earned him a September call-up with the Twins in which he hit .300 in 20 at-bats. He again hit well in 1997 in a year split between Salt Lake and Minnesota, but he was left unprotected in the expansion draft, and was chosen by Arizona. Brede again hit well in AAA Tucson in 1998, but batted only .226 with the Diamondbacks, and was released after the season. He went to Japan in 1999, and then came back to the United States to play for AAA Nashville in the Pirates organization in 2000. He batted only .249, however, and his career was over. He hit .324/.417/.480 in 1176 AAA at-bats, but could never get anyone to just put him in the lineup and see what he could do in the majors. As a Twin, he hit .276/.346/.390 in 210 at-bats.  At last report, Brent Brede was a high school basketball coach and government teacher at Wesclin High School in Trenton, Illinois, where as a high school student he played on a state champion basketball team. He also operates a baseball instructional school in Trenton and coaches youth baseball there.

Outfielder Armando Rios did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 2005. He was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, went to high school in Villa Fontana, Puerto Rico, attended North Carolina—Charlotte and LSU, and signed with San Francisco as a free agent in 1994. He hit well throughout the minor leagues, never posting a batting average lower than .280, and gradually developed power as well, hitting double-digit home runs each year after 1996. His best minor league season was 1998, when he hit .301 with 26 homers for AAA Fresno. Rios got a September call-up that season. He started 1999 in San Francisco as a reserve outfielder, but despite the fact that he was hitting .306 he was sent back to the minors in late June. In 2000 he was finally in the majors to stay, but was still a reserve, hitting in the .260s in consecutive seasons in a part-time role. At the July deadline in 2001 he was traded to Pittsburgh in a trade involve Jason Schmidt. He again hit in the .260s in 2002, but got even less chance to play in Pittsburgh than he had in San Francisco and was released after the season. He signed with the White Sox for 2003 and again hit well in AAA, but again did not get much of a chance to play in the majors. A free agent after the season, he signed with Florida, was released in spring training after only thirteen at-bats, went to the Mexican League, was in AAA with the Orioles for about three weeks in July, was sent to St. Louis, was with them for about a month in AAA, and was released in late August despite the fact that he was hitting .333. The Twins took him to Spring training in 2005, but he did not make the team. He played for the independent Long Island Ducks in 2005 and then his playing career was over. Rios hit .301/.379/.494 in 830 AAA at-bats and .269/.341/.445 in 1021 major league at-bats, but he never got a chance as more than a reserve at the major league level. He was one of the players named in the Mitchell Report, admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs to help recover from injuries to his knee, elbow, and shoulder. At last report, Armando Rios was living in Puerto Rico and was the president of Fundacion Armando Rios there.  He is also a senior certified agent for Octagon, a marketing company.

Right-hander Marcus Walter Walden did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 2016.  Born and raised in Fresno, he attended Fresno City College and was drafted by Toronto in the ninth round in 2007.  It appears that he had injury problems, as he appeared in just thirty games from 2007-2009 and missed the entire 2010 season.  He came back to pitch quite well in 2011 and 2012, but he was still in A ball.  He had a poor year in AA in 2013 and was waived in April of 2014, claimed by Oakland.  He again did not pitch well in AA and became a free agent, signing with Cincinnati.  The Reds released him in April of 2015 and he spent the summer pitching for Lancaster in the Atlantic League.  The Twins signed him for 2016 and he had a surprisingly good year in the Rochester bullpen, going 1-1, 5 saves, 2.54, 1.17 WHIP.  He was twenty-seven that season, however.  He signed with Boston for 2017 and has stayed in their organization since that time.  He had a decent season in AAA that year and started the 2018 season in the majors, but was sent back to AAA after just eight appearances.  He again appears to have battled injuries.  He started 2019 in AAA but was brought up to the majors after one game and has stayed there all season.  He pitched very well for the Red Sox, going 9-2, 2 saves, 3.81, 1.19 WHIP.  His numbers in 2020 look awful, but other than one game in which he allowed six runs without retiring a batter he's actually done fairly well again.  It's interesting--he really hadn't done much of anything in the minors for his first nine seasons there, but he kept finding a team to give him a chance, and he eventually was able to figure it out.  He couldn't sustain it, though--he had a poor year in AAA for the Red Sox in 2021, was released in early August, signed with the Cubs a couple of weeks later, and did worse in AAA for them.  He went to the Atlantic League in 2022, did very well, and signed with Milwaukee in mid-June.  They sent him to AAA and he had a mediocre rest of the season there.  He began 2003 in the Atlantic League, but after four starts he signed with Seattle, for whom he did not pitch very well in AAA.  That appears to have brought his playing career to an end.  At last report, he was part-owner of the DIB Baseball Academy in Fresno, California.

First baseman Andrew Robert Wilkins did not play for the Twins, but was in their minor league system in 2017.  He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, went to high school in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, attended the University of Arkansas, and was drafted by the White Sox in the fifth round in 2010.  He hit 23 home runs in Class A in 2011 and 17 in AA in 2012.  He batted just .239 in the latter season, but had an OBP of .335.  He did well when he repeated AA for the first half of 2013 and was okay in AAA in 2013 as well, but for some reason (or for no reason) his walks went down significantly.  He had an outstanding year in AAA in 2014, batting .293 with 30 home runs, but the White Sox had Jose Abreu at first base, so Wilkins did not get promoted until September and played only sporadically then.  He was waived in March of 2015 and selected by Toronto, then was sold to the Dodgers in early May.  He was not as outstanding in AAA as in 2014, but still had a solid season. He had an interesting off-season after 2015:  he was waived by the Dodgers and selected by Baltimore in early September, waived by Baltimore and selected by Seattle in early December, waived by Seattle and selected by Texas two weeks later, and waived by Texas and selected by Milwaukee a week and a half after that.  He did not have a particularly good year in AAA for the Brewers in 2016, although he got about a month and a half in the majors as a pinch-hitter.  A free agent after the 2016 season, he started the 2017 season with SugarLand in the Atlantic League before signing with the Twins in mid-June.  He went to AA Chattanooga and had a fine year.  He remained in the Twins organization in 2018 and split the season between Chattanooga and Rochester.  He showed some power in Chattanooga but did not hit for average in either place.  He moved on to the Atlanta organization and played most of the year for AA Mississippi when he wasn't battling injuries.  In his two brief major league trials, he has played in 43 games but has started only 12 of them, getting just 67 at-bats.  It must be admitted that he didn't do much with them, batting just .134/.194/.224.  He became a free agent after the 2019 season and his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Andy Wilkins was an enterprise regional sales manager for Splunk, "the cybersecurity and observability leader" in Rolesville, North Carolina.